<prompt> Human: I am 46 and have one child going to college next year. I received a 45k settlement from a lawsuit. I have no credit card debt. I have a house with a 80K mortgage. I do not have much put away for retirement due to a divorce. Maybe 40-50K. I have kind of sat on this money for about a year trying to decide what to do. I have put the max I can in a roth and have a 401K through work now. I know this money in the bank will make it difficult for my child to get financial aid. I want to help but it has been so nice to have this money to fall back on. I have a medical condition which has had me off work for over a year at a time so I would like to keep some where I can use it if need be. Not sure what my best options are.  <response>: Kids can take out loans for college. You cant take out a loan for retirement. 