It's never too early to start saving for your child's education. That's particularly true in Hong Kong, where parents can pay between $50,000 and $120,000 a year to educate a child at an international school.
With some careful planning, however, school fees can be less of a burden.
Ewan Stirling, head of customer service propositions, personal financial services at HSBC, offered some advice to parents planning an education fund. First, parents should properly estimate the cost of the desired type of schooling, including costs for trips and extra curricular activities, to determine the amount they needed to save and the length of time required to do so.
Inflation has to be factored in, as school fees can rise faster than inflation. When the saving begins, parents should segregate education funds into a separate account so that it could be managed independently.
Instead of opening a passbook savings account for their children, parents should consider alternatives that can provide a single integrated account to hold a balanced portfolio of deposits and investments.
HSBC's children's integrated bank account can be used for this purpose. It can also be used for children to manage the money they need once at school, with parents able to authorise them to have free access to the ATM network and to internet banking.
