If you have high school or college-aged children, you might feel the dual pressure of paying for college and saving for your own retirement. This can be especially difficult if you started saving and investing more recently rather than at the beginning of your career when your children were young. As you grow older and retirement and college years come closer, you may need to shift gears in regard to your investment strategies.

Investigate college scholarships
One of the best ways to deal with soon-approaching college and retirement is to look into alternative ways to pay for college, such as scholarships. Scholarships are awards of money given to students to help pay for college expenses. Scholarship money does not have to be repaid and it can cover anything from the smallest college expense to the entirety of tuition. Scholarships can be awarded based on academics, athleticism or financial need. Colleges and universities also award scholarships to students who are related to an alumnus of that institution. So, if your child is interested in attending the same school that you, your spouse or another family member attended, look into legacy scholarships to help offset the cost of college.

Remember, there are no scholarships for retirement
If you have stopped saving and investing money for retirement as your children are approaching college age, consider this: There are no scholarships for retirement, but there are scholarships for college. If you save money in a 401(k) plan, your employer may match a percentage of your contributions which basically gives you the opportunity to take advantage of savings that don’t come out of your pocket. While you may choose to decrease your retirement contributions when the time to send a child to college nears, you may not want to miss the opportunity to take advantage of the perks of a 401(k).

This might also be a good time to consult a financial planner. A professional of this kind can help you make the most of your income, savings and other financial resources. In addition to helping you make a financial plan for your retirement and your children’s college expenses, a financial planner can also help you deal with financial issues like caring for aging parents and making the most of your home equity.