Mary Hinojosa and her husband Miles Sigwell have two children to put through college--Franky, born in 2001, and Juliet, born in 2006. They would like to continue the family tradition of attending Caltech in Pasadena, California, so they must brace themselves for the annual $50,000 it will cost for each child in tuition, room, and board.

Mary and Miles have good incomes and still have some time to save. But after putting pencil to paper, they realize that this is not a simple calculation. Here's what they want to know:

Given that the $50,000 annual cost (measured in today's dollars) will arise in 2019-2022 and 2024-2027, how much do they need to save and when not only to meet this bill, but to have a stable living standard before and after they get the kids through college?

Janet is a 55-year-old heart surgeon earning $250,000 a year, and she is burned out working every day. Her husband Jack is also 55, but he spends his days “birding” and has only a modest earnings history. Their 16-year-old son will head off to college to study ornithology in three years. Janet can’t take the work load much longer and plans to retire at age 60.