• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

How you can save towards your child’s education

Nigeria, Ghana, others to access US$63.2m scholars programme

Former South African President, Nelson Mandela, once described education as “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This, in clear terms, expresses the importance of education as an investment towards the transformation of our world.

As a parent, while you keep tabs on key performance indicators in the financial markets such as stock benchmark indices, bond yields, short-term rates, commodity prices, and exchange rates for good investment decisions, it is equally vital to place high premium on the quality of your child’s education as that in itself is a form of investment.

Although that may not come with ease for low or middle-income earners in the country considering several other financial obligations that you would meet as a parent and the increasing costs of education in the country, no thanks to poor government funding to the sector.

Meanwhile, a good way to stay focused on your determination to provide your child a quality education while balancing that with other expenses is having a good saving plan. These seven plans highlighted below could guide you.

Read Also: Nigeria education system: Fixing the learning crisis

Start saving early

There’s a popular Chinese proverb that says: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” The saying wasn’t referring to “tree” in its literal meaning but when properly contextualised, the best time to start saving for the transformation of our world is now.

You may think you just got married, or your children are still very young. Even though the reasons are valid, they may not be good enough not to consider planning for your children and saving towards their school fees. This may not be rosy for young couples as they are at a stage where they’re starting up their families, all you need to do is to stay determined and start saving NOW!

Set your goals

You can’t be determined if there are no goals to achieve. So, identify your goals in line with your income, you wouldn’t want to plan to save N90,000 monthly towards your children’s school fees when you barely earn N100,000 in one month.

Choose the school wisely

Part of the ways of identifying your goals is to know your dream school for your child, the amount it would cost to fund a child’s education and how much it would likely be when the child grows up. All these, as well as your income level, must be considered as you make the decision.

Prioritise your finances

While there might be a number of expenses to make, it is important to prioritise your children’s school fees. This would definitely come with a price as you may need to cut down on some spending to make the goals you have set for yourself feasible.

Don’t plan alone, involve the children

You wouldn’t want to make this long-term commitment without passing the legacy to the children who will be the beneficiaries. You need to get your children involved in the planning process by discussing the idea with them, not only would it teach the children a sustainable way of achieving their financial goals, but would also introduce financial education to the children at the early stage of their lives.

Conduct a routine evaluation of your plans

Life is dynamic and everything therein is changing. Your face was probably not looking the same way it looked some five years ago, so will the conditions and factors you considered when you started with the plans.

The conditions, which include some social and economic realities, could change positively or negatively. Whichever way it goes, it is important to evaluate and re-evaluate your plans to suit those changes.

Get an education insurance plan

Insurance policies are very important in case of any exigency. While parents are working hard to ensure they make adequate provision for their children’s school fees, these savings could be protected using an education insurance policy. Axa Mansard Insurance Plc is one of Nigeria’s insurance companies offering such a plan.