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Last week we had the pleasure of talking to parents at the open day of a school. One of the major challenges schools are facing is parents who are defaulting on school fees. The owner of this particular a school said the majority of cases are not because parents cannot genuinely afford school fees, it is because of lack of planning as well as lifestyle choices. This is the parent I am speaking to today. I will tackle planning for long-term fees in another article, but today I am focusing on current or short-term school fees obligations. It’s not that we can’t pay school fees; we are choosing not to pay school fees. In other words, other expenses and even at times luxuries take priority over school fees. We are prioritizing cable TV, entertainment, image, clothes etc. over and above fees. Albert Einstein stated, “You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it”. Maybe it is time that we examine our entire thinking about school fees. What is the fundamental problem? The reason we struggle with fees is that at some point your income exceeded your expenses. You have been earning your monthly salary and say you spend it all on various things within that month. The next month you do the same thing and this cycle repeats itself on a monthly basis. One day your child needs to go to school. For you to pay fees, either of two things needs to happen – you cut down on some of your expenses to pay the fees or you have a concrete plan to create more income. Many of us have been earning more money along the way but we simply spend more and hence it leaves us in the same dilemma. We have to consciously make room for fees. It is not an expense that will magically sort itself out. You also have to plan for it based on your current earnings and not income you hope to have. How do you make room for it? You accommodate an overnight guest in your house by moving people and things around so they have a place to sleep. Same thing with fees- you juggle your other expenses to accommodate the fees. Too often people want a solution that will enable them to keep doing what they have been doing and live the life they have been living, but still be able to pay fees. I believe that fits into the definition of madness. You have got to cut down on your expenses somewhere. Are you spending money on things that are not priority over school fees? I believe so. For example calculate what you are spending on Cable TV per year. Could that be fees? Is your child’s education less important than Cable TV? Would you be where you are today if someone had prioritized Cable TV and entertainment over your education? Many times people want to look outside for the solution instead of facing facts that the answer lies in their current habits. Getting a school fees loan is not the solution irrespective of what financial institutions are advertising! It means you will always be in debt and a time will come when you can no longer service repayments or access more credit to pay fees. Then what? Your child gets kicked out of school. Your answer is also not in some big lump sum of money that is going to land on your lap from some unspecified deal. It is in your everyday spending. In our talk we used lunch as an example. If you spend Kes 300 buying lunch every day – that is Kes 9,000 per month. That is Kes 90,000 a year. Isn’t that a significant proportion, if not all of your school fees expenses? The other issue many parents face is taking their children to schools that they cannot genuinely afford. There are many different schools at different prices offering different curriculums and different learning environments. The best school for your child is firstly the one you can afford and offers an environment in which you believe your child can learn. Many parents are starting to bring the “Image” equation into the school their children go to. They want where their child goes to school to fit in with a perceived image about themselves. This motive is terribly wrong! If your plan is to borrow so that your child can go to a certain school, please face the facts that you cannot afford it. If you do not have concrete plan of how your income will increase to accommodate that expenditure or made a decision to significantly alter your lifestyle, do not do it. Contrary to popular belief, many who afford these more pricey schools have made personal sacrifices to do so. They are not having their cake and eating it. This is a highly emotional topic and very emotional decisions with horrible consequences are usually made. You are not doing your child any favour, in enrolling him/her in a school that you cannot afford. When you have to remove them from this school, as I have witnessed many parents having to do, you are causing more damage. If you really do want your child to go to certain school, then work towards it. They can go to a different school now and then change. Do not work from the debt you have incurred because of struggling to live up to what you cannot afford. Take your child to a school that is within your current means and not means you hope to have. Waceke runs a program on personal financial management. Find her at waceke@centonomy.com| twitter @centonomy| www.facebook/centonomy Tips on Planning for School Fees Effectively ü Make room for fees consciously by evaluating your expenses and daily spending habits. List all that are not priority over fees and make a decision where and which you will cut down. ü Treat your school fees like a monthly expense. School fees should not come as a surprise. What do you pay for fees every year? Divide that into a monthly amount and treat it as you would a regular expense such as rent. ü In the months that school fees is not due, put this money in a separate account immediately you get paid. This way it will accumulate so that when fees are due you have the amount required available. Alternatively you can organize with the school to be depositing the funds every month. Waceke Nduati Email your questions or comments to Waceke her at waceke@centonomy.com|
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