Judy Sciaky is a Certified College Funding Specialist (CCFS), and a Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP). When asked what retirement income has to do with college planning, she always replies: “Just think about how old you will be when your youngest child graduates college. Retirement will be right around the corner.”

Judy knows first-hand the effect that paying for college can have on your retirement. In 2008, she retired early from her media buying company thinking she was financially secure. She was recently widowed, and her daughter was an undergraduate at Northwestern. Then the stock market crashed. She realized that paying $50,000 a year to put her child through college while her nest egg was losing money, was a recipe for disaster. She immersed herself for the next year in getting educated about the college process and about saving her retirement. She became a CCFS through the Association of Certified College Funding Specialists (known as the National Institute of Certified College Planners at the time) and an RICP through the American College of Financial Services. Judy is dedicated to helping others avoid the mistakes she made.

Judy is a member of the National Ethics Association and the Better Business Bureau.