Investing in your children’s education is one of the best gifts you can give them for life.

Education is an essential part of a child’s development, and a suitable one tailored to their talents can give them a great start in life. 

Providing for your children’s education requires a lot of planning and some major decisions.

The cost from kindergarten to Year 12 is about $80,000 in the government school system and that amount goes up to $250,000 in the Catholic system and close to $600,000 in the private system. 

 

Private or Public

This is certainly a debatable topic with strong opinions on both sides.  While Private education has its benefits, it is costly.  Some believe that the Public system provides just as good if not better an education. However, it has a different challenge; you need to live in the enrolment zone of the school you want your child to attend.  Families moving home for schooling purpose is actually a common practice among parents.

HECS

While HECS provides students the opportunity to receive a tertiary education without the financial burden on their family, it also weighs university graduates with a loan they have to pay back.   Some parents would prefer to give their children an easier start in their working life and fund the education themselves.

When to start saving

In short, the sooner the better.  The best time to start is when your child is born or even earlier.  By putting aside $20 per day, with a yearly return of 5%, you will have a lump sum of $100,000 in ten years.  You can also ask all friends and families instead of buying them presents to contribute into the saving plan.

How

With a medium to long time horizon, it pays to take some risk.  With cost rising yearly, the only way to keep abreast is opt for growth investment. There are different structures and strategies to suit different situation. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice from a licensed professional to work out a plan.   

 

[The information shown in this article is general information only. We haven’t taken into account your needs or objectives when providing the information. Seek advice from a licensed professional before you act on any information in this article.]

  

Author: Tony Chiu, Certified Financial Planner & SMSF Specialist