A Suze Orman exclusive

One of the best things you can do for you and your kids is to make sure you are financially secure when you reach retirement age. Given that the monthly mortgage payment is the biggest financial burden for most of us, I think one of the wisest moves is to get your mortgage paid off before you retire.  Even if it means focusing on the mortgage rather than the college fund. Please realize that if you can't afford the mortgage payment when you retire you're going to lose the house. But what happens if you don't finance your kids' college education? They don't lose anything. They just need to take advantage of loans and financial aid.

Let's do some math together. Let's say you're 45, married, with two kids, age 13 and 16. And lucky you, you just bought your dream home, a fabulous $500,000 charmer you financed with a $450,000 mortgage, after making a 10 percent down payment. Currently that's going to cost you about $2,733 a month for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

You're kicking back in the new house and you realize, "Whoa, I should really be saving for the kids' college education." You're actually about 10 years late to that epiphany, but let's stick with this example, since it's how so many parents deal with this issue.

You do some mental calculations and realize you can come up with $500 a month for each kid's college fund. That's $12,000 a year. And let's assume you commit to keep up with the $12,000 annual outlay until your youngest enters college in five years. Since I don't believe any money you need in less than 10 years belongs in stocks, I am going to assume you invest it fairly conservatively in some bonds or bond funds and earn an average of 5 percent a year. After five years, the college fund for your youngest is going to be worth about $34,000; that's going to be barely enough to cover one year at a private school.

And two years of socking away money before the 16-year-old heads off to school is going to net you just $12,600, which will be enough to cover the first year of a public school, or about six months at a private school. As noble as your cause was, you can see that your effort will barely get you through the first year for each child. So you have the other three years to worry about, plus the monthly mortgage.

I have a better idea for your money. I wouldn't make the college contributions. Your best parental move is to take the $1,000 you were going to commit each month to their college savings, and instead use it to pay off your mortgage faster. (Of course, this only makes sense if you intend to retire in the house.) Stick with me; I know it's a bit hard to get your head around at first, but it's going to make a lot of sense by the time I'm done.

Okay, right now your mortgage is the $2,733 we discussed earlier. And you intend to pay it for the next 30 years. Great intention, but that means if you're 45 you'll be paying off the house until you are 75. Good luck. Even if you think you want to work that long, are you sure you will still be able to hold on to your job? It's hard to stay employed even up to 65 these days. And what if your health prohibits you from working full-time? You get my point; even though you can afford the $2,733 a month right now, I don't want you to risk having to pay it once you're in your 60s and 70s.

So let's take that $1,000 a month and use it to make extra payments on your mortgage. And let's assume you keep making the $1,000 payment until the loan is paid off. My friends, if you do that you will have the mortgage paid off in less than 16 years. That means just as you enter your 60s you'll have gotten rid of one of the biggest financial costs in your life. You own the house outright; that's going to be a great relief to you...and your kids. And while we're at it, let's consider these nifty numbers: over the course of the regular 30-year mortgage you will fork over a staggering $533,800 in interest costs. But if you make the extra $1,000 payment every month and get the mortgage paid off in almost half the time, your total interest costs will be about $250,000. You don't need a college education to understand what a big deal that is.

Trust me, you and your kids can figure out plenty of ways to finance college. By taking care of your own finances you are giving your kids an incredible gift: parents who will be safe and secure in their retirement.