Those of us who are parents—like me, the parent of teenagers—already understand the basic need for a university fund for our children. However, if you wait until your kids are teenagers before you establish this fund, you’ll quickly discover that the savings don’t amount to much by the time they’re ready to attend university. Instead, consider starting while your children are small, as early as possible to take advantage of compound interest.

Even if they decide not to go to university, it’s a great idea to have a ‘start in life’ fund for them – this might help them with funding a trade or business, their first car purchase or their first home purchase. Certainly having funds available is better than the alternative – right?

How Much to Save

There is no set amount for how much a family should have saved for a child or children to use for university, mostly because these fees change often and unless you have a guarantee of where your child will attend, you really have no foundation for a set amount. Save as much as possible so that your child has more flexibility when it comes to choosing the right university—the only responsibility will be on their own shoulders to keep up the grades so that they qualify.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t save up a minimum amount at least, because university is costly, and tuition is not the only thing they’ll have to spend money on during this time in life. You have to account for other things also, such as:

• Where will he or she live? On-campus housing can be expensive, but off-campus housing (such as an apartment) can be far costlier. If the campus is close to your home, you may even consider your own home as a possibility.
• How will he or she travel? You’ve worked really hard to get out of debt, but your child will need a way to get around at university. Most of us can’t afford to buy a car for our child, although we’d like to, so consider a fund for a great bike or scooter. Factor visits home in this category as well, since a lack of a vehicle will be their excuse for not visiting (or for catching rides with that boyfriend/girlfriend you’re not so keen on).
• Will food be provided? Very few universities offer a cafeteria for all meals, but kids will still need to cover one or more meals per day, plus snacks. In addition, most of the cafeterias are not free, and only a few offer all three meals per day. Most offer a basic breakfast (such as muffins) and lunch, but only a limited number offer dinner.
• What about laundry? They may not think about it much, but laundry services are not free, even in most dorms. It costs money to go to a Laundromat, so unless the university is close to home, be prepared for your child to have to do laundry.

The Dreaded Job

Some of the costs associated with university can be offset with a part-time job, but the average student has to be convinced to work on top of a full-time class schedule. By not catering to their wants, only their absolute necessities, you can encourage them to go to work for spending money and more. There is no reason that they can’t work and help pay for books, clothes, food, spending money, fuel (if they have a car/motorbike), mobile/cell phone and so on. They won’t like it, but that’s been the story of their lives from birth, right? It’s also a great part of their overall education.

When to Draw the Line

Most kids will not expect parents to pay for everything as they become more mature and responsible, but there will always be a few bad bananas in the bunch. Draw the line at sending money for pizza every weekend, renting video games each day or mall shopping trips. Only pay for the things that they can’t do without, and if you’re worried about what they spend money on, don’t send cash. Send the item you want them to have, especially when it comes to food, to make sure that the money goes where it’s supposed to go each month.

Sometimes it’s more loving to say no, than it is to say yes… in the long-run.

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