You can’t put a price on a good education, goes the popular refrain, but that’s baloney.

You can, and it’s steep and climbing steeper by the year.

A recent Sunday Times report shows that some private schools in the country are losing students because parents cannot afford the fees, as well as an increase in the number of students who fall behind on their fees.

Take a look at some of the amounts being thrown around, and it’s not hard to see why.

New parents – start saving now, because this is going to really, really sting.

Some experts predict that the cost of education will increase by around 9% a year, and the wonders of compound interest make for harrowing reading.

Via Business Tech, a table that sticks the knife in:

Heavens above. I know Facebook is full of people who studied at ‘The School of Life’, or ‘The School of Hard Knocks’, but those aren’t actually recognised institutions.

Let’s say your kid has just been born, and thus will attend high school around the year 2035. Let’s assume (wrongly) that the fees will remain fixed throughout their five-year stay – for the purpose of simplicity – and you’re looking at a public high-school stay that costs R748 960.

Enough to encourage your children to steal other children’s tuckshop money.

Going private? The same five-year education costs a cool R2 944 190. Tuckshop money theft isn’t going to cut it, and we haven’t even factored in primary school.

Sorry to give you the Thursday sweats, but that’s just the way it is. Time to get your financial affairs in order, baby or no baby, because the decisions you make today are going to greatly affect your financial future.

It’s daunting, but Consequence Private Wealth know the game back to front, and front to back, and their team of experts will make your money work for you.

We’re all put off by overly complex products and explanations, so they keep things clear and concise.

I wish all you new parents good luck, as I ready myself for another evening of uninterrupted sleep.

[source:bustech]