Any good parent regularly puts the kids’ needs ahead of spending on designer clothes, household goods or other non-essential things for themselves.

But it’s a mistake to neglect your retirement planning, even if it means setting aside less for your children’s college education.

Loans and scholarships for college are out there and your kids can work part-time, but you won’t find any financial aid for retirement. 

Start saving for retirement as early as possible, because you can’t make up for lost time. After you’ve met all monthly household expenses, tuck money into a 529 plan for your child. Budget for college savings, but don’t take the money out of your future needs.

Make your savings stupid-proof by setting up automatic payroll deductions for your retirement fund. If you plan to save what’s left over at the end of each month, you’ll discover that expenditures expand with income and you’ll set little or nothing aside, even after a hefty raise. Pay yourself first and consider setting up a Roth IRA if you meet the income limits.

Funding your retirement while meeting routine expenses underscores the need for a household budget.

Taking retirement savings off the top also allows you to take advantage of your employer’s contribution. Many companies offer a 50% match of every dollar you contribute up to about 6% of your salary. This is free money – grab it.

In general, be aggressive with your investments when young and become more conservative as you grow older. You have time to make up market dips when you’re young, but can’t do this in your 50s. When your hair is gray, move more of your money into CDs and bonds because you want to preserve your nest egg.

A survey by TransAmerica found that 61% of respondents plan to rely on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income. This is a mistake and ignores U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s comment that Social Security as now funded is “financially unsustainable.”

This means a secure retirement is up to you. 

Your children will learn a lot from the way you handle money. The basic lesson: there’s never enough money . So you’ve got to set priorities and make choices. Some adults never understand this point as evidenced by the nation’s crushing credit card debt.

Most parents put their children first and limit what they spent on themselves. There’s no reason to feel guilty about an occasional extravagance, but who needs designer duds or a fancy car?

The Websites of major financial institutions offer good tips about retirement planning and how to better manage your money, including T. Rowe Price (TROW), Merrill Lynch (MER), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Wachovia (WB).

Rule of thumb: the kids come first in all matters except your retirement. If nothing else, you don’t want to be a burden to your children in your geezerhood.