Staff Reporter
CHILDREN are our greatest gift, and making sure they have a good education is one of the important gifts a parent can give them.
A good education will give your children the best possible start in life, but it can also be very expensive and put a huge strain on the family’s finances.
What are the best schools? Where do we want our children to be educated? What type of education do we want them to have? How much will it all cost?
A significant number of expatriates choose to send their children to boarding schools or universities abroad. Others, of course, opt for local schools, but many of these are fee paying which means parents will also need a financial plan to cover their children’s education.
Education costs can vary hugely, whether you send your children to home-based boarding schools, private international schools or universities abroad. Travel costs also need to be considered for children studying away from home, as well as visits from parents.
From my experience, the most important piece of advice I give to parents when it comes to investing in your children’s education is to plan ahead, and plan well.
Education fees are rising sharply, up to 17pc each year. Many parents are not aware of this. In a lot of cases, families who didn’t plan properly came unstuck and had to sell assets just to educate their kids.
Sound financial planning will ensure that financing your children’s education will not become an unbearable burden and protect you from unexpected further expenses down the road.
Expat children typically have access to unique educational opportunities that can reap huge benefits for them at a later stage. Although the cost of educating your children may be higher as an expatriate, by planning ahead you can save to offset these additional costs and minimise the impact this has on your family’s standard of living.
Doing your homework when investing in your children’s education is essential. With continuing uncertainty over Brexit, and education fees rising way above inflation, there has never been a more important time to plan for your children’s education.
Getting the best advice possible is the first key step, and this is where the Woodbrook Group can help.
We are unique in that our financial plans are individually tailored to meet our clients’ specific needs, regardless of their circumstances.
Our team of financial experts will work with you to find the best education plan on the market to suit your children’s requirements. Again, early planning is vital. Many of our clients have financial plans for their children’s education in place before they are born, and each individual plan is reviewed every month.
Put simply, Woodbrook is best in class when it comes to planning for your children’s education. Planning for your family’s financial future can be daunting, but by doing it correctly you will learn a lifelong lesson that could pay very high dividends for you and your children.
*For more information, contact our team at the Woodbrook Group Office in Marbella: Av. Ricardo Soriano, 72 Edificio Golden Portal B, 1ª Planta 29601 Marbella, Málaga, Spain.
Telephone: +34 952768471
Email: officemarbella@woodbrookgroup.com
