Juggling your money

Here's a release from Edward Jones...

"A new study by financial services firm Edward Jones found that nearly a third of parents (29 percent) have it covered and are saving equally for retirement and their child's college education. About another third (31 percent) are favoring one over the other and 26 percent aren't saving for either.

"The survey, which reports on parents-savings strategies, showed that younger parents ages 35 to 44 are more likely to save equally for retirement and college education (37 percent), than older parents ages 55 to 64 (23 percent).The study of 1,497 parents, which was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Edward Jones, revealed men are slightly more likely than women to save equally for both retirement and college (31 percent and 27 percent respectively), while a higher percentage of women (29 percent) revealed they are not saving at all for retirement or their child's education, compared with 23 percent of men.

"More respondents are choosing to only save for retirement (22 percent) rather than just their child's college education (9 percent). The survey also showed 37 percent of parents ages 18-34 are not saving for retirement or college at all.Differences in household income also had an impact on responses. Higher earners are primarily saving for retirement (33 percent) over saving for their child's college education (10 percent).

"Not surprisingly, higher earners are more likely to save equally for both retirement and college than lower earners. Nearly half (44 percent) of respondents who make less than $35,000 annually are not saving at all.Based on educational history, college graduates are more likely to save equally for both retirement and their child's college education than high school graduates (40 percent and 24 percent respectively).

"Forty percent of high school graduate parents are not saving at all, compared with only 12 percent of college graduate parents.Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliates, in Canada and the United Kingdom. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work.

"The firm's 12,000-plus financial advisors work directly with more than 8 million clients to understand their personal goals -- from college savings to retirement -- and create long-term investment solutions that emphasize a well-balanced portfolio and a buy-and-hold strategy. "