My mom always tells me that education is the best gift she and my dad could give to me and my siblings. They worked hard to send us in the best schools and made sure that we will get the best and quality education. After all and based on my experience, where you graduated does matter. Now that I’m a mom, I hope to give the same to my girls.
Let’s face it. Education in the Philippines doesn’t come cheap. Tuition fee for preschool could go up to 100K and studying in the best universities in the country means spending at least P150,000 a year! That’s the tuition fee alone. Imagine how much it would cost 10 to 15 years after. That’s not all. You have to include daily allowance, gas money, books, school supplies, and other school-related expenses in the budget.
The key here is EARLY PREPARATION. Even if your child doesn’t start going to school until s/he is three or four years old, this doesn’t mean you won’t prepare. To ensure you meet your child’s education needs, here are some of the things you could do. 
1. The power of estimate.
This is the first thing you need to do when preparing for your child’s education. If you’re not the future type of person, now is the perfect time to be one.
Estimating the costs of education gives you an idea as to how much you will spend. Aside from the tuition fee, add other school-related expenses in your computation. After getting the total, multiply it by three (or higher) since there are other factors to consider such as economy, inflation, and value of peso x years from now among others. Estimating will allow you to adjust your spending habits and evaluate how much you could set aside for your child’s education.
2. Start saving – now!
When do you think is the best time to start saving for your child’s education? There’s nothing wrong with giving your wallet a break and enjoy your hard-earned money after paying for the hospital bills. However, the best time to start saving is as soon as possible. This will give you a head start financially instead of saving a year before your child goes to school. At the same time, nothing beats preparing early.
Explore your options on how you could save and grow your money – which leads you to the next one.
3. One word: commit.
Sure, you started early in saving for your child’s education. The question is are you willing to commit to it?
Start with setting aside a portion of your income. It doesn’t have to be half or the entire amount since you need to pay for other household expenses and bills. Starting small and eventually increasing the amount could help you adjust in the process. Open a bank account dedicated for your child’s education and deposit a considerable amount every month. Make sure to stick to that commitment.
Think about this. If you are able to set aside P2,000.00 every month, then you will have P24,000 in one year. In five years, you already have P120,000.00, which is already a good amount when you enroll your child in school. What more if you are able to save or invest more than P2,000 monthly?
4. Go school hunting.
Aside from saving, one of the best ways to help you prepare for your child’s education is to go school hunting (Read about my tips on how to choose a preschool for your child). Remember Tip No. 1? Visiting schools and asking about tuition fees and other miscellaneous expenses could help you in the estimation process. At the same time, this allows you to check whether the school you are eyeing for your child gives what you paid for and is worth every centavo – facilities, manner of teaching, teachers, and the like. This also gives you an opportunity to explore payment options available.
5. Consider other methods in growing your money.
Putting up a savings account could help you prepare for your child’s education. However, you need something that allows you to grow your money more through legitimate means.
Getting an education plan is a good option, but with the controversies surrounding it, make sure to choose tried-and-tested insurance companies. Investing in the stock market could be a feasible option, but you also have to consider the volatility of the market. You could also look into time deposits, mutual funds, forex, or bonds, whichever works for you. Regardless of where you invest your money, make sure not to put all eggs in one basket and balance your portfolio. Make wise investments since the money is for your child’s education.
Education is an investment. With proper planning and ample preparation, you will be able to secure your child’s education and not worry about it later on in life.
Ayi is a stay-at-home mom of two. When her kids are in their best state, she keeps up with chores, work, and ensuring that her sanity is intact. Join her as she navigates through this rollercoaster ride called motherhood.
I need to learn from your post. My son is just one and I hope that we can start saving already for his education.
We should start saving, haha.
We should start saving, haha. Everytime we have extra, all we could think of is how to spend it, so we’ll end up going on a vacation or buying unnecessary things.
School is really expensive! I was surprised to know how much tuition fee costs in preschool these days. Early preparation is really a must š
Thanks for these tips! I’m also wary of educational plans because of experience. My parents invested in one for my sister and then the company, a huge insurance company, filed for bankruptcy. They were only able to return a fraction of the investors’ money.
Is that CAP? Hehehe. My parents are not a believer of educational plans and preferred saving.
Same goes with my parents. They invested for my youngest brother and then boom, company filed for bankruptcy. š Education is really expensive here in the Phils! It’s enviable in other countries where state education is of high quality.
I love reading useful posts such as this! Thanks mommy Ayi! I have a 2 year old. This one’s a wake up call to prepare and not to underestimate the wave of expenses these little ones will defray us of someday!
Hi Ayi, it really pays to plan for your family’s future. There are ofcourse risks whichever way you plan to invest. But the important thing is you take action. Thanks for this post
I have a one year old and yes, preparing for his future education should start as early as now. Thanks for the tips!
During my freshman year in Ateneo, my tuition cost P10k. By the time I graduated (4th year) it was P20k. I don’t know if it’s accurate to say tution doubles every 4 years… XD
Wow. And imagine how much it costs now. I went to the rival school 10 years ago and the tuition fee per term is P45-50K. Now, it’s additional 10 to 20K. Really expensive.
My kids are 4 and 2 and I definitely feel the same way about the high cost of education, even in preschool. But whatever it takes, I, too, would make sure they get the best education. Just like what my parents did to us with my 5 siblings, they made sure we were enrolled in a good private school bahala na magka-utang-utang. I am all for great education, it’s the best thing we can give to our kids. Great post!:)
This is a nice post as it brings awareness to parents who wants the best for their children. We have a long way to go considering the new curriculum (K12) but the earlier we prepare the better š Thanks for the tips
That’s true. Educating your children is a commitment and it’s not easy.
Totally agree. This is why it’s so hard to have too many kids financially speaking
It’s true! Education is very expensive but it’s the one thing we can leave to our children. We really have to prepare for it ahead of tie as much as possible.
it really is a must that we prepare for our children’s education especially that education do not come cheap in this country. a good education is a legacy we can leave to our children that we really ought to leave no stones un-turned to provide them with the best we can afford