At 21, he’s balancing a full-time course load with his position as college financial representative at Northwestern Mutual.

“Parents saving for their kids to go to college is a big thing — college is a huge expense,” Alldredge said. “I know I’ve had the liberty of being able to use my parents to go to school, instead of having to pay a ton of money and go and get loans.”

Alldredge was born in the Springs, the eldest of three sons. His father owns a car dealership but Alldredge chose a different path and, after graduating from Falcon High School, went to UCCS to study business finance.

This week he spoke with the Business Journal about saving for college, his passion for hockey, and proving the younger generation can work hard.

Did you plan to work while studying?

It wasn’t really a plan, but it was a path that opened up to me and I decided to do it to get some work experience. It’s been great so far, I love it.

What does your work involve?

I educate people on where they need to be saving their money, so they always have money and options in the best and worst times of life. And building financial plans for people so that they know that one day they’re going to be able to retire.

What are some of the issues surrounding parents saving for college?

What comes up is everyone thinks, ‘This is where my kid’s going to go to school; this is where I want them,’ and they start setting that as their goal. But you don’t know if your kid’s going to get a scholarship or play sports — or not even go to college. So depending on where you’re saving your money, you have to be strategic in that because certain accounts only pay for school, while some are able to be used for school or weddings or down payment on a house. Some have more flexibility and some are very strict. Not knowing is the struggle.

Do you have a path mapped out?

I think this is what I want to do long-term. Right now it’s an internship but it’s not your typical ‘go make coffee for people’ — it’s actually doing what people do full-time. I’m doing it. As soon as I get done with school, I plan to go full-time and be doing this.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

Convincing people that they need to save more money. People know that they need to save more, but they don’t want to admit it to themselves. It’s tough. People underestimate.

What do you do in your free time?

I love to golf and be outdoors; that’s why I love Colorado. But I also grew up playing hockey here locally, and I’m...