Every parent knows education is highly important for their children.
Without education, there would be no bright future.
At least, education increases one's chances for a better living standard next when becoming an adult.
But the problem is that not many people know that the value of their retirement plans is not considered an asset.
Instead, the money that they save outside of a retirement account (especially if the amount of money is saved in the child's name) is counted as an asset.
What does this mean to you? You have to know that  the more asset you have, the harder it is to qualify for a scholarship.
Therefore, saving money outside of a retirement account will reduce the scholarship's chances of successful application.
  On the same time, it does not make sense to not invest in your retirement account just to save money in a taxable account for Junior's college fund.
What happens if you do this? The result is you will be paying higher taxes for both on your current income and on the interest and growth of the college fund money.
The solution to this problem is to fund your retirement savings way before your children needs money for college.
Some examples of retirement accounts are 401(k), 'IRA' and 'Keogh'.
The benefit is you will get a tax deduction in the year you contribute money.
Therefore, it is clear that you must start early when it comes to saving money.
You have to know that retirement accounts limit the amount of money being contributed every year.
Time is money.