I want to talk about education investing and specifically where I think 529 plans fit into this framework to save for the cost of college for your children or maybe yourself. Here's my general philosophy. You shouldn't put your child's education ahead of your own financial future. You can borrow for college, often at reasonable rates, but you can't easily borrow for your own retirement.

529s do offer tax-free growth for qualified education expenses, and they can be a really great tool if you know you are going to save to pay for college. However, I like to think about those as secondary to saving for myself, but there are a few exceptions. If you are in a high-income household and you're already on track to fund your future and you know you're going to get there, you could absolutely make the case to move some of your 529 contributions up earlier in this framework.

Or if you live in a state that offers really generous state income tax deductions or credits for 529s, which California sadly doesn't, then it could make sense to prioritize this a little