Planning for the future? How to save for your child's higher education costs
If your child is thinking about attending TAFE or university in the future, you may be concerned regarding the costs. According to Business Insider, the cost of attending university continues to rise, especially for undergraduate degrees. This leaves many families asking the question: “How can we pay for such high costs?”
With educational costs in Australia being one of the top expenses that families pay, starting to plan for the future now can be beneficial. To help get you started, we’ve composed a list of how to save for your child’s higher education costs:
- Explore education funds and investment options
- See if you qualify for the Saver Plus program which will help develop good savings and financial habits
- Add a higher education line to your budget and put into savings the amount you pre-determined every month
- Cut back on unnecessary expenses such as travel and gym memberships and apply the extra money to higher education savings
- Cut back on major expenses such as deciding to only have one car and one car payment for your family for a few years
- Have your child or children contribute to their education fund. Teaching good financial habits early can help prepare your children for financial success later on in life. In addition, if an older child is contributing to their own TAFE or university savings, they will have a sense of pride in being able to pay for their education
- Explore government assistance programs that may be available to your child or family based on your specific financial circumstances
Higher education debt can easily add up in a short period of time. While a small loan may be a short-term option, starting to save now will help ease the financial burden later on down the road.
Saving for TAFE or university isn’t the only good financial habit you can start teaching your children. Click here to learn more financial habits to start teaching them now!