There are plenty of stories out there covering the issue of spiraling college costs and ridiculous student loan amounts piling up on college kids. College students need to be smarter about taking on so much debt and start taking cost into account when they choose a college.

Parents need to get smarter as well, otherwise college costs will suck up their retirement savings. Here’s a familiar story.

Terry Williams borrowed about $7,000 to earn a degree from Spelman College 38 years ago. For her youngest child, a sophomore at Belmont University in Nashville, she will take on almost $40,000 in parental loans. Williams, a 59-year-old widow who runs a nonprofit that helps black families navigate private-school admissions, is watching her retirement savings dwindle as she pays college bills for her three children. “I’ll probably work until I fall dead at my keyboard,” says the Decatur (Ga.) resident.

Read the article and avoid a similar fate.