海角大神

I have a 2-year-old, and like most parents, I feel pretty sure聽my child聽is a genius in the making. I frequently whisper things like, 鈥淗ow is he so smart?鈥� to my husband, who whispers back things like, 鈥淎nd so聽athletic!鈥�

He鈥檚 also shown some real promise as an artist 鈥� specifically, gluing things to construction paper 鈥� and come bedtime, his acting skills could easily earn him an Oscar.

My point, other than to realize a mom鈥檚 dream of bragging about her kid on the internet, is this: I hope he鈥檒l go to college. I want him to have the freedom to pursue all of his interests. But I鈥檇 also like the freedom to pursue my interests, one of which is retirement at a reasonable age.

I鈥檓 not alone here. It鈥檚 a question many parents ask: Should we save for college or for retirement? And while any financial planner would say that the right choice is crystal clear 鈥� retirement is the priority, because there are student loans and other sources of funding for college 鈥� it feels at odds聽with the instinct聽to put your kid first.

But here鈥檚 the thing we often forget: It doesn鈥檛 have to be all or nothing. Anything you save for college reduces the need for聽student loans. There鈥檚 no reason you can鈥檛 put the bulk of your efforts聽into retirement while still taking steps 鈥� small as they may be 鈥� to build a pot of money for college, too. Here鈥檚 how to do that.

Use the right accounts

The first thing on every saver鈥檚 agenda should be a 401(k) with matching dollars, if your employer offers one.

But once you鈥檝e met that match, you鈥檙e looking at a few account choices. You can continue聽in that 401(k). You can turn your efforts to college with a聽, which allows your money to grow tax-free if it鈥檚 used for education expenses.

Or you can straddle both goals with a聽. Both of these are tax-advantaged retirement accounts, which means if you don鈥檛 have a 401(k), they鈥檙e the next-best option anyway. But if you鈥檙e also juggling college, IRAs allow distributions for qualified education expenses without penalty. The Roth IRA has even greater flexibility: Because you鈥檝e already paid taxes on the contributions, you can remove those (but not investment earnings)聽at any time.

My suggestion:聽, then try to work toward that goal using a combination of a 401(k) and a Roth IRA,聽. In the meantime, open a 529, even if you can鈥檛 yet fund it regularly 鈥� some have no minimum or a minimum as low as $25.

Look for other sources of 529 contributions

In an ideal world, you鈥檇 be able to make regular, automatic contributions to the 529. In this world, you should take a little help where you can get it. Programs like Upromise and a聽are a good start. (This assumes you don鈥檛 carry a balance, in which case the interest will wipe out those rewards and then some.)

Then politely direct family members toward your 529 鈥斅爉any allow third-party contributions for this reason 鈥� when they ask what your kid wants for the next holiday. This has the added bonus of limiting the number of toys that come into your home. If you鈥檝e ever been stuck in a car with a singing truck, you know exactly how valuable that is.

Turn daycare bills into college savings

I know firsthand that good childcare is worth every cent, but there are a lot of cents involved. I expect my bank account and I will both do a little jig when my son is old enough to start public school.

If you鈥檙e also looking forward to that day, plan to use at least some of the money you鈥檙e no longer spending on daycare or preschool to pad that 529: A contribution of just $300 a month for 13 years could turn into more than聽$70,000 at a 6% return, according to NerdWallet鈥檚聽, even with that slightly late start.

Prep your kids for their reality

, while 62% of kids expect their parents to cover the cost of whatever college they choose, only 12% of parents said they鈥檒l be able to pay the entire cost of college.

That disconnect isn鈥檛 going to work out well for either party. I definitely don鈥檛 remember thanking my parents for making it clear they weren鈥檛 footing the bill for college, but in hindsight, I would thank them, and I plan to take the same approach with my son.

The earlier you can start managing expectations, the better 鈥� not only because your kid can tailor his or her college dreams to your budget or get comfortable with the idea of student loans, but because pursuing scholarships can provide a powerful motivation for getting good grades.

鈥淎rielle Answers鈥� is an investing and retirement column for all ages and life stages. I鈥檓 here to help you save more and reach your investing goals, whether that鈥檚 retirement, a house down payment or college for your kids. These are things I鈥檓 saving for, too.

If you have a question, I鈥檇 love to answer it in an upcoming column. (The disclaimer: I won鈥檛 tip you off to the next hot stock or the best mutual fund because I can鈥檛 predict the future.) You can email me at arielleanswers@nerdwallet.com.

Arielle O鈥橲hea is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:aoshea@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.

The article聽聽originally appeared on聽.