School Fee Planner

Fee inflation is the whole problem

School fees have historically risen faster than general inflation in most markets, commonly by several percentage points a year. Projecting today's fee flat across twelve years understates the total substantially. At 8 percent annual increases a fee doubles in roughly nine years, so the final years of schooling cost far more than the early ones, and they arrive when other costs are also higher.

Front-load the saving

Because the largest fees fall latest, saving evenly across the period leaves you short at the point of maximum demand. Saving more in the early years, when fees are lower, gives the money time to compound and smooths the later burden. This is the opposite of what naturally happens, since early-career income is usually lower.

What sits outside the fee

Admission and one-time development charges, which can rival a year's tuition. Uniforms, books and stationery each year. Transport. Examination fees. Extracurricular and trip costs. Private tuition, which is near-universal in some systems. Together these commonly add 20 to 40 percent to the headline fee and are almost never in the initial plan.

Match the investment to the horizon

Money needed within three years belongs somewhere safe: a savings account or short-term deposit. Money for fees ten or more years away can reasonably be invested, since there is time to recover from a market fall. A single account for the whole period is either too conservative for the distant years or too risky for the immediate ones. Splitting by horizon is more work and materially better.

Revisit annually

Actual fee increases will differ from your assumption, sometimes considerably. Comparing the real increase against your projection each year lets you adjust the contribution by a small amount early rather than facing a large shortfall late. A plan set once and not reviewed is the one that fails.