Without doubt, family tends to be a focus of discussion when exploring a person’s goals, their purpose and the legacy they plan to leave.
The costs of raising children from birth until adulthood is frequently discussed and varies widely depending upon whether the plan is public or private schools and whether they plan to go to university or college.
The reality, if you send two children to a private high school that costs an average of $20,000 a year for each child, you will have spent $240,000 on school fees by the time they both graduate. And that’s not counting extras such as school uniforms, trips, and sporting clinics.
Public schools are obviously much cheaper, but there are still extra tuition fees, textbooks, uniforms, and school camps to be considered.
The cost of going to university or college can also vary. If a child is eligible for HECS-HELP (a government loan available to tertiary students), they can choose to defer payment of university fees. Even if they don’t pay fees upfront, there are still costs for books and materials, union and sports fees and transport costs.
The point being, the earlier you start saving for a child’s education, the better. Education costs are usually a long-term goal that can take more than five years to achieve.
Some considerations around a savings plan:
- Set a savings goal – decide what is being saved for (e.g. education – the type of education and at what level, private schooling and/or tertiary education?).
- Set a budget – how much needs to be saved to reach the required goal?
- Choose an investment option – seek advice regarding which product or where the money should be invested.
- Seek advice regarding whose name should be invested in.
To help assist in reaching your goal, you could put your savings into:
- direct investments such as shares,
- managed funds or insurance bonds,
- term deposits or savings accounts, and
- education fund
It is important to understand that each of these have their own advantages and disadvantages and that everyone has differing circumstances and objectives, advice should be received to ensure that the correct vehicle is used.
At Boutique, through our 5 Pillars Journey we can provide clarity around all of these decisions, ensuring that the future of your child’s or grandchildren’s education is off to a great start.
For a confidential discussion on how this could help you & your family please phone us 08 9381 8779 to arrange a time.