Sherilyn is now into Grade 2 of the Royal Academy of Dance for ballet. When she first attended ballet lessons, we paid only about RM70 for a once weekly lesson. Then, a few months before the exam, the teacher increased the lessons to twice weekly and the fees was doubled too. Now that she is in Grade 2, the fee is RM170 a month for twice weekly lessons. This is what The Husband paid last week :
A whopping sum of RM618 for April, May, June fees and other miscellaneous items.
What do you think of the fees? Expensive? If I were to send Cass and Alycia for ballet or music class soon, The Husband would have to cough out at least RM400 a month on ballet and music. With art class, Mandarin tuition, swimming, UCMAS class, pre-school fees and other inevitable expenses, our expenses on our 3 girls alone totals up to RM2k a month. Household expenses and food bill are not included yet. These are all very basic expenses of a medium class family living in the Klang Valley. I have been thinking… if I quit my online store business, would we still have a four-figure savings in our bank accounts every month?? We would require at least half a million bucks for our girls’ university funds though they all have an insurance plan with medical and education roped in.
Do you put in a four-figure savings in your bank account every month? How much do you save for your kids’ tertiary education funds a month? Let’s discuss! 🙂
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I also dont know what to say… what I have done before is to spend within my means…. 🙂
I save at least RM1k per kid per month. Then in between if I got spare, I’ll stash away as well. Engage in a personal financial consultant lah – they are good help.
Agreed with you. Nowadays kids has lots of activities and pre-school fees are not cheap too. Probably when they go into primary school, we can save more 🙂
Wow PL, that’s a lot to stash away since you got 4 now. I tried very hard to do it in KL last time, sometimes can sometimes can’t. Now living in HK, it’s much easier to save than in KL. I wonder is it really our things are so expensive back home, or the salary that’s not enough…
I spent RM 600 on their Tuition (RM250), Art (RM50), Piano(RM120) and Ping Pong(RM180).
May be the cost of living over here is cheaper.
It is better to spend on our kids than on maids… 🙂 I am always use this excuse for self indulgence and extra spending.. 🙂
My ziyi also likes ballet very much, but my time cannot afford to send her to any class. I downloaded some tap dancing or ballet video from youtube and she can self learn.
Her monthly spending is Rm300 (half day school) + RM70 (once a week piano lesson at schol) + extra RM10 for staying full day for one day per week. The rest have so save for zihan’s therapies… 🙂
A business degree now in Australia costs around Rm100k (fees + living expenses) a year. Full degree will be around RM300k. It has doubled since the last time I studied there around 15 years ago.
A medical degree in Australia now will be more than RM1m. These are today’s costs.
In another 10 – 15 years, the costs will most likely doubled & factored in inflation, appreciation of AUD (or further devaluation of RM)… RM500k is definitely not enough for 3 kids to further their studies.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
May – I am fully aware of the appreciation and inflation. I actually am not that ambitious in sending my 3 kids to further their education overseas. What I hv in mind is only a 3+0 program. Hopefully they are smart enough to win scholarships to study abroad. Else, there’s always the bank to take a loan from. In 10 years’ time, I am sure those well known and good overseas Us would have planted a branch or two in our country, hopefully 🙂
Shireen,it is not easy…it is soo hard to save even RM50 per kid for myself… sigh…. I am not sure how much for each kid to get a min degree by the time come even 3+0…
PL…it is great you manage to save min RM1k per kid…
Chanel, I know. Standard of living is too high in KL. Plus our kids need to attend extra curricular classes and it ain’t cheap in KL. We can only pray that our kids will be smart and hardworking enough to win full scholarships to study in a good Uni.
First and foremost, does a child REALLY need to have so many activities? Are we putting kids into activities because everybody is doing it and we think that is the right thing to do? What is it that we REALLY want for our children?
For me, I think one activity is enough and it must be an activity that the child really really enjoy and like. It’s not necessary to have all the activities that other children are having. Such activities are meant to be fun.. a relaxing thing for them and having too many activities is stressful! We dont need to subject our children to such stress and tension at such a young age. They will have their time in this arena.
As for savings, well, one has to save within one’s means. Saving 4 figure amount is ideal but realistically, how many people can do that? Not everyone is rich and can afford it. I suppose as long as we save for our kids, that is what is important.. nothing is ever enough.. nothing is every good enough. So, relax.. enjoy the child.. have faith a little in the Great mighty I AM..
Bunnies, tks for your thoughts!
I spend very reluctantly RM60 monthly for T1’s swimming twice a week, and RM40 monthly for Tae-Kwon-Do once weekly and RM200 per month for 6 hours of Mandarin tuition. Oh, and also RM510 monthly for piano. Shit. That’s RM810 per month!!! No wonder T2 isn’t going to school yet…..
Plus we pay a lot for international school and are bled dry so I am praying hard that she can get a scholarship soon.
As for a degree abroad, sigh. For almost 5 years already, she persists that she wants to be a Doctor, the most expensive course of all. So, let’s just say, that if T1 makes it and gets the grades to get into the same University I graduated from in London, her fees now are Pound Sterling 27,500 per annum. That is RM137,500 per year for 5 years. That is just school fees. What about living expenses? Probably another Pound Sterling 15,000 (ie RM75,000 per annum). That is TODAY’s COST. She is now almost 8 so we’re looking at another 8 years before the bomb drops. Let’s say we take an average inflation rate of 3%, we’re probably looking at RM220k per year by then total for 5 years. That’s already RM1 million that we will need for one kid alone. What if T1 wants to specialise???
*SHUDDER*
The thought of it all is making me sick with worry.
But yes, I can easily save 4 figures monthly with my current job, but the job is so stressful and I’m not sure if it’s worth it. But if I don’t work, then we will probably not be able to save so much at all. *sob*
Mamapumpkin – we’re on the same boat, sigh :((
I do appreciate the pressure of finances on further education for our kids. We all want the best for our kids but they too have to recognize the limitations of what their family is capable of. I also agree with Bunnies on paying for kids’ extra-curricular activities. My dtr took dancing for at least 6 years and NEVER had one exam. The lessons were for fun, it was never for a career. Same with piano lessons. I do get that some child prodigy out there would need more but for most of our kids, it is for fun. We have to put everything into perspective. My kids had swimming lessons but always in the community pool with a bunch of kids. One of the most expensive activity we had to pay for was horseback riding. Cost abt CAD 120 per mth for weekly lessons. Apparel was expensive but we always looked for secondhand. Thank goodness she never wanted to do the hunter derbys which cost abt CAD 50 – 75 each time. Again, it was for fun, and it helped with her balance, posture and confidence.
Chris, thanks for your insights. Shd my girls ever want to take up piano, it would only be for fun too. I don’t want them to get stressed up becoz of the exams, and not to mention the embarassement should their friends fare better than them and all the comparisons/horn blowing that many parents like to do. You’re lucky that you are living in Canada and your kids have the privilege to study in some of the best Unis in the world that would not cost you an arm and a leg.
I am thankful everyday for what I have here, and best of all, the kids are also very appreciative of our lives here. Yes, we are lucky to have reasonably-priced education here though it subsidised through our taxes that range from 40-50%. Which also explains the price-differential for non-residents/ foreign students. It used to be the same up until abt 1978. Compared to the cost of education in the US, it is cheaper here.