How to Plan for Your Child Education Fund

Children and their education are extremely high priorities for many families. Many are aware that it can cost a fortune to support their children especially for higher education. The cost of higher education has increased dramatically in the recent years. This can result in a tremendous financial drain for a family with college age children.

How Much is Needed?

Generally, the following costs will be needed - tuition fees, books & supplies, travel costs of child including costs of travel of parents & family, and accommodation & food. 

The cost of tertiary education can knock a sizable hole in your savings! See below chart:
 

Year	Malaysia	Australia	US	UK
2000	RM50,000	RM194,000	RM271,000	RM306,000
2004	RM73,700	RM285,000	RM398,000	RM451,000
2009	RM108,200	RM419,000	RM584,000	RM662,000
2014	RM159,000	RM615,000	RM858,310	RM973,000

Living expenses, books, travel costs

If the child is sent overseas, it depends on where. The costs of living expenses, books and travelling also vary significantly. 

For popular destinations like UK, living expenses can be GBP5,000 per year. This approximates to a cost of RM30,000 per year. For Australia, living expenses can be A$10,000 per year. At an exchange rate factor of 2.3, it can cost RM23,000 per year. For this economic reason, many Malaysian parents send their children to study in Australia even though the preference is to study in UK.