"You can borrow for college, but not for…

“You can borrow for college, but not for retirement” is popular family financial advice. A family can borrow for a child’s education, and the child’s future earnings can pay off the student loan. However, borrowing for retirement could be a disaster because future annual income in retirement is often low. It’s not known if any one person originated the now-popular financial adage.

The following advice was cited in print in 2002:

“You can borrow for college. You cannot borrow for retirement. College lasts four years; retirement lasts much longer.”

FamilyEducation
July 1, 2002
Saving for College: Best Advice for Families
by Katy Abel
(...)
Save for Retirement or College?
Q. True or False: Even though college costs will be enormous, you still should save for retirement first.
Miller [Judy Miller, owner, College Solutions (4collegesolutions.com), a financial service in Alameda, Calif., devoted to college planning—ed.] Absolutely true in 10-foot letters. You can borrow for college. You cannot borrow for retirement. College lasts four years; retirement lasts much longer.

Google Books
The Everything Personal Finance Book:
Manage, Budget, Save, and Invest Your Money Wisely
By Peter J. Sander
Avon, MA: Adams Media Corp.
2003
Pg. 262:
You can borrow for college, but you can’t borrow for retirement.

Google Groups: misc.kids
college fund (q. for Americans)
Phoebe & Allyson
9/26/03
Jeff wrote:
> One of the things that they suggest is making sure you save for your
> retirement first.

I agree. Your kids can borrow for college; you can’t borrow for retirement.

AndrewTobias.com
401(k) vs 529 . . . Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!
Published on January 28, 2004
(...)
For one thing, your retirement SHOULD come first, as you can always borrow for college but not for retirement.

Google Books
Getting on the Money Track
By Rob Black
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Co., Inc.
2005
Pg. 69:
You can borrow for college. You cannot borrow for retirement. College lasts four years; retirement lasts much longer.

Saving Advice Forums
Ima saver
06-28-2006, 09:30 AM
Re: How much to save for kids’ college? And what about life insurance?
The biggest mistake parents make it to save for college before saving for their own retirement. You can borrow for college, you can’t for retirement.

MORE
April 6, 2009
College vs. Retirement: Put the Kids Second
Don’t save a penny for college until your retirement savings fund is flush.
By Katy Read
(...)
. Saving for college is optional. Saving for retirement is not.
. Don’t put a penny aside for college until your own future is looking sweet and secure.
. But don’t assume you’ve consigned your kid to an offshore correspondence degree. You’re doing them a favor. Really.

Here’s why. First, as a self-serving mom, you should know that your best friend is the college loan. The great, lifesaving difference between college and retirement? Your kid can borrow for college and has a lifetime to pay it off (maybe with help from you). You can’t borrow for retirement, aside from (probably unwisely) drawing on your home equity. Second, your kids can work their way through college; you cannot, by definition, work your way through retirement.

Washington (DC) Post
Families are trimming plans to pay for college, survey finds
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 5, 2010; 12:02 AM
(...)
“The education and the retirement are two different buckets. We would never put them together,” said Marcia Tillotson, senior vice president of investments for Wells Fargo Advisors. “You can borrow for college. You cannot borrow for retirement.”

The Next 3,000 Days
Retirement Savings versus Life Savings versus College Savings
Posted on February 8, 2011 by The Next 3000 Days in Featured, Retirement Planning
Have you ever been told “Save for retirement because you can borrow for college but you can’t borrow for retirement”. In other words if you have to choose, choose your retirement savings over college savings. This implies that the two can never be the same savings account. Is this true? …No, and it never has been.

Twitter
CreditKarma
‏@creditkarma
Good one. RT @budgetsaresexy: “You can borrow for college, but you can’t borrow for retirement” - Real Simple on saving priorities.
6:37 PM - 11 Jul 2011

CU Student Loans
Parents raid retirement savings for college expenses
November 1, 2011 by Kenneth O’Connor
(...)
2. You CAN borrow for college but you CAN’T borrow for retirement: When parents reach retirement age, time has run out to save more money. Once savings are used for other expenses they are gone forever and all the tax incentives for saving all these years go with it. - See more at: http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/11/01/parents-raid-retirement-savings-for-college-expenses/#sthash.Qy9nBYVP.dpuf

The YNAB (You Need A Budget) Blog
“Your kids can borrow for college. You can’t borrow for retirement.”
Published August 2, 2013
by mark

CNBC
May 15, 2014
Navigating the landscape of increased college costs
Anna Robaton
(...)
“No one ever saves enough for retirement,” said Catherine Valega, certified financial planner and owner of Green Bridge Wealth Management. “The old adage that you can borrow for college, but not for retirement, is very true.”