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Health & Fitness

Finding the Balance in College Savings

By Julie Shields-Rutyna

Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none. ~Albert Einstein

This is one of the inspirational quotes I have pasted around my desk and home reminding me to live in the moment. I believe that is something we could all do more. And yet I am aware of the tension between living in the moment and planning for the future. I spend a lot of time in my job, as Director of Early College Planning at MEFA, encouraging families to plan. Planning seems the opposite of living in the moment and yet I know this is important too. What is the right balance? Can we do both or does one always suffer?

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This struggle around living in the moment and planning for the future feels pronounced in my life these days. My son is a high school junior and fully immersed in all that junior year brings  — tough courses, soccer, PSAT, basketball, friends, SAT prep, baseball, visiting colleges, (ahem) relationships, making the college list, finding a summer job, preparing for the admissions process. How can I best support him to have a great high school experience while also helping him to be ready for the next phase of life? It’s a constant struggle. And I have the same conundrum about college financing. I advise families to save all they can toward paying for college. So what does that mean for me? It means that on a random weeknight when I take my kids to Panera Bread, I get a little pang of guilt that says, “Julie, you should go home and make a meal and save the $25 in the college account.” But then I realize I want to have a relaxed conversation with them after dance lessons and basketball practice and some nights that is what works best.

Like most things in life, there isn’t one answer. Finding that balance isn’t easy and the scales will tip differently for every family. For me, I’ve found that having a plan has allowed me to feel less anxious. I don’t stress about paying for college every day (maybe just once a month  ). Once I started saving for college, I never stopped. However, there were times when I adjusted the amount I was saving up or down. I could be saving more but it would come at the cost of the here and now. I don’t want to abandon the progress I’ve made toward enjoying the moment.

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