You South Africa – 29 August 2019

I

T’Soneoftheproblemslikelytokeep

parentsofyoungkidsupatnight

• how topayfortheir children’s
  education.Justlikethepricesoffood,
  electricityandpetrol,thecostofsend-
  ingchildrentoschoolgetsmoreand
  moreexpensive.
  Eachyearthecostofeducationisex-
  pectedtorisebyabout9%,accordingto
  OldMutual.
  Andit’snotonlyschoolfeesyouhave
  tothinkabout.There’salsothecostof
  uniforms,sportsgear,extramuralactivi-
  tiesandpossiblyextralessons.
  Expertsgenerallyadvisethatyoustart
  savingassoonasyourchildis born.
  “Ifparentsdothis,it givesthematleast

12 yearstogrowtheircapital,”saysWar-

renIngram,GalileoCapitalexecutive

directorandauthorofHowtoMakeYour

FirstMillion.

“Let’sfaceit,justthecostoflivingis

high,”saysGuguSidaki,anindependent

financialadviserandcertifiedfinancial

planner.Addingrisingeducationcoststo

analreadystretchedbudgetissome-

timessimplynotfeasible,shesays.

“That’swhyyoushouldstartasearlyas

possible.”

Butdon’tdespair– it’snevertoolate

tostart,evenif youdidn’tbeginatthe

“idealtime”.Ifyouhavekidstoput

throughschoolandcollegeoruniversity,

thebesttimetostartsavingis now.

THEBESTWAYSTOSAVE

Ingramsuggestsputting money into a

balancedunittrust if you have a child in

primaryorhighschool. “You can set up

a monthlydebitorder and add lump

sumsif youwant,”he says.

Oneadvantageof this way of saving is

thatyoucanwithdraw small amounts

fromtheunittrustif you need to without

beingforcedtosellthe whole investment,

Ingramsays.

Headdsthatanother good option, es-

peciallyif youwant to save for university,

istoopena tax-free savings account

(TFSA)inyourchild’s name.

Therearemanyoptions with a TFSA –

it canbea money-market or fixed-term

Rising educationcostsarea headache formostparents. Here

experts advise onthe bestways to saveforyour kids’ future

BYGABISILENGCOBO

GIVE THEM

46 | 29 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za