Paying the children’s University Fees….

Now the majority of UK Universities are lining up to charge the maximum £9,000 tuition fees, what is a hard-pressed parent going to do? Not only will a student leave college with a whopping great debt burden but will join the workforce (hopefully?!) to spend the next thirty -odd years repaying that money.

At the same time he or she will be pressured into paying off our (the baby-boomers that is) Governmental debts and not forgetting having to save for their future retirement, buying a house and having a family.

Parents want the best for their kids, so if you don’t have well off parents/ parents-in lawn no inheritances, no lump-sums, then it’s down to you!

The critical factor is to start early and get into the savings habit. By doing a little early on can build up quite significant amounts for the future. You may have heard of Child Trust Funds (they’re being changed) , well welcome to the Junior ISA! You probably know of ISAs and may have other savings accounts which have a plethora of complex names.

Well don’t get too hung up on the names and what they do, sit down with a pen and paper and start with the end in mind. Try and work out the amounts required in today’s terms and then with value add a bit of inflation (most of our clients are happy with 3-4%p.a as a current guess on the coming years).

The result is your target! The next step is to see what it would cost in say a regular savings scheme. Just remember that Cash is King in the short to medium term (up to five years), but beyond that and you should consider if asset backed investment schemes such as unit trust or OEIC plans are going to provide a better result. Contact a Financial Adviser, if you can afford it get independent and unbiased advice.

You may have to pay a fee, nothing in life is free! Or if you want to go it alone, Google ‘MoneyAdvice.org.uk’ a Financial Services Authority (FSA) sponsored website aimed at helping provide information to the UK populace.

With a little bit of planning you may be able to provide your children the sort of education that you believe they deserve.