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Education

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Original poster

Saving for childrens higher education

19 replies

maus · 28/07/2004 16:24

Although my children are still very young, I have been slightly concerned about how I am going to afford to send them to University if they choose to go. I suppose this is a common worry for parents! I recently found out about this new credit card though, which seems to offer a really good way of saving without even really realising that money is accumulating for my kids future. Its called iPledge. Has anyone else heard about it?
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OP posts:

Piffleoffagus · 28/07/2004 16:28

Not me, but will look into it, dh has devised a spreadhseet (his virtual toy) and we are hoping to have saved £20k for ds when he is of that age, he is currently 10yo. I think this is too much, but dh comes from wealthy albeit selfmade work hard family who did public school etc and I came from, if you want it, work for it yourself kind of crowd.
I hit somewhere in the middle... I want to be prepared as I would hate money to be the reason to prevent him, but....
Anyway off topic I will research this and get back to you!!!

zebra · 28/07/2004 16:48

If you aren't that disciplined about saving for the future, but you manage to pay off the balance owed each month, it looks ok. Don't know what the interest rates are like.
But there are other credit cards that will give you a better cashback (1%). You could then take that cashback and shop around for the best savings rates, including tax-free accounts. So I'd think if you're very disciplined, not a good deal at all.

Critique here .

bootsmonkey · 28/07/2004 16:52

There was something about this in the Guardian money section a couple of weeks ago - I will see if I can find it - doubt we have managed to recycle it yet!

It is a 1(?)% cash back CC that puts the cash back into a savings account with a reasonable rate of interest. Don't know what safeguards there are to stop you plundering it early though! Will see what I can find out.

Original poster

maus · 28/07/2004 17:30

Have just looked into it a bit further and this card has the highest interest with the lowest APR. is 0.8% interest and only 15.9% APR whereas others seem to be around 17.9%APR. Big difference really!

OP posts:

Flip · 28/07/2004 18:07

We put a hundred pound a month away from each of ds's. £50 goes into an ISA for their education. £30 goes into our OneAccount in a virtual account which is off setting our mortgage but will be there for whatever they want when they're 21. £20 goes into a pension where the government then applies the tax already deducted making it £25 ish.

Hulababy · 28/07/2004 21:21

We went to see a reputable IFA for advice on saving to pay for both DD's school fees and university costs - I think it was before she was bborn initially, and then again when she was about a year old. Our IFA looks at our situation yearly and gives us great advice on where and what to invest. It really is worth going to see a professional about things like this - but try and get a recommendation first if you can.

Twiglett · 28/07/2004 21:25

message withdrawn

iota · 28/07/2004 21:26

i buy my kids premium bonds

nutcracker · 28/07/2004 21:26

What happens if there is no way you can afford to save for your kids to go to uni ???

My Dd1 (6) said she would like to be a doctor the other day, and it was sad to think that i just won't be able to help at all.

Hulababy · 28/07/2004 21:35

I believe that there will always be some fall back funds for those who can't afford the fees, and the rest will be top up loans, paid back by students after the graduate.

My parents couldn't have funded the three of us through uni without the grants and loans. Even though my sister went 9 years after me and my brother my parents cold only help so far and she now has a huge loan topay back - but she will get there and it is worth it in the end.

Original poster

maus · 29/07/2004 10:39

It seems that cards such as iPledge are there to genuinely help you if you are really going to sruggle to send you children to school though. Particularly if you start whilst they are young. I think you will be suprised out how much money can accumulate in an accounct like that.

OP posts:

Piffleoffagus · 29/07/2004 10:44

We just talked to our IFA, with the amount we're putting away for dd and ds mostly for ds as he is 10, dd is not yet 2, we are tons better off with in in an ISA for now,
how much does everyone hope to save by the time uni becomes an issue?
Sorry if thats a bit personal...

mears · 29/07/2004 14:13

I remember worrying about this when my kids were young but unfortunately did not have any spare cash to save. DS is now 17yrs old and is returning to school for a sixth year. He doesn't know what he wants to do (apart from being a rock star). We will get his higher results on 10th August but he really didn't put in much effort despite being capable. I do not think he will he heading to university and half of me is thinking 'Thank Gawd for that!'. With another 3 kids after him we are just taking the view that we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

marialuisa · 29/07/2004 14:26

nutcracker, if your family income is below £15-30k p.a. your DD will actually be better off at uni than the kids with parents in the 30-50k bracket who may not have managed to save very much and cannot really give massive handouts.

I am involved in implementing the new system of grants, bursaries etc. and the funds are being targeted in very specific ways. Only prob is that lots of lower income (as opposed to low income) students will miss out on help they were previously entitled to.

marialuisa · 29/07/2004 14:29

oh, and the investment we have for DD aims to come in at around 50k but she won't be able to tuch it until she's 21. She will have to get jobs/loans througout Uni but should be able to clear most of it when she graduates. If she doesn't go to uni she'll have the money as a deposit for a house (although it probably won't go far!)

Carlislesoho · 29/07/2004 14:58

i've heard about iPledge aswell, i've got the card. Its quite good actually, and they have an online shopping Mall that gives me more cashback into my account. I was a bit skeptical to begin with, it seems a bit too good to be true, but it does seem to be working and i don't actually have to do anything different! Great! I've even got my parents on to it, so they can now contribute to my account!!

I really do recommend it, what have you got to lose?

Richa · 30/07/2004 14:04

There's a children saving policy you can get from your IFA called the Children's Mutual Society. You can put as little an amount in each month for anything upto 10 years+. It's taxfree and there's a guaranteed interest rate of about 6-8percent or more if the markets go up. I started one for Dd's uni after I heard my neighbours son has got a student loan debt of £10k after his 3 years...Even if Dd doesn't go to uni, its still a nestegg for the family.

Original poster

maus · 30/07/2004 14:46

The Childrens Mutual is associated with the iPledge card. Fantastic! I really have been considering this card for a while now and dont seem to be able to find any faults with it. I would recommend it to anyone.

OP posts:

Piffleoffagus · 30/07/2004 14:51

I think the only problem is when you do not pay it off every month, any savings would be wiped out by interest.
We are saving £250 per month for both kids and any extras (no 3 is planned ttc now)
DS is 10 so not that long to go, we also expect his natural father to stump up about £10k towards it too.
It seems like such an absurd amount, in NZ I got my loan, paid it off afterwards within 3 yrs without noticing it really. But now the price has rocketed, kids can come out owing a small mortgage! I do expect them to have to borrow some funds at some point. But am hoping holiday jobs annually can help knock it out every year, this is what DH and I both did...
Bar work and gas stations...
It's such a responsibility and then there is our bloody pensions too!

Flip