Local author helps build for future

Author of "Pay for College Without Sacrificing Your Retirement," Tim Higgins Southborough - Financial planner Tim Higgins recently released his book "Pay For College Without Sacrificing Your Retirement: A Guide To Your Financial Future." The Southborough native examined the challenging process of paying for college and offers helpful instructions on the best way to pay. The concept was one that Higgins felt was necessary to get out to the public.

"Coming out of college, I knew that there was a huge opportunity to help people with [planning college tuition]," Higgins said. "I realized a lot of people weren't getting good information."

It was in college that Higgins got his first taste of the problems that can arise. After not receiving any scholarship help for playing baseball, he started the process of financial aid at Wesleyan College. Thinking this was standard procedure for all students, he was surprised at the reality of the situation.

"As an 18-year-old, I thought that's what everyone did," Higgins said. "But what I came to find out was that wasn't true. In fact, about half the students who applied to my school applied for financial aid."

Following college, Higgins decided to get the importance of financial planning for college tuition out to the community. In 2004, he started conducting workshops about the topic. The numberone thing Higgins hoped people learned was the value of planning ahead. According to Higgins, it is the second most important investment, next to the purchase of a home.

"That's sort of the boring topic, but I try to hammer it home when I speak and in the book," he said. "You can't rush into this. People plan their vacation or purchase of their home way more than they plan college. I think it's very important for them to take a step back, think things through, try to be efficient, and then be a smart consumer and find a good buy that's right for the student."

It was the success of the workshops that led Higgins to bring the lectures to paper and ink.

"I had an outline in my head from all these talks," he said. "I basically thought to myself, 'Why don't I get this out in a book and that way, I'd be able to get this out to more people and help educate them.'"

Higgins sites three pitfalls that most people fall into when it comes time to invest in college tuition. The first is a lack of savings. People invest in other areas and neglect to plan for paying for college until it's too late. Second is a failure to apply for financial aid with the school.

"If you were applying to a college and [the families] don't apply for financial aid, what is that saying?" Higgins said. "It's saying, 'I don't want or need your help.'"

And third, families neglect to talk over their financial concerns with the school.

"A lot of these schools are not bullies," Higgins said. "I think if parents were open to explaining their situation, they'd find the colleges can be pretty cooperative."

Higgins is thrilled to provide families with the information and pleased to have gone through the publishing process.

"I was laughing with my wife because after all this work and all this writing, to actually see it in your hand, your own little creation, it's neat to see," he said.