Whether you want your children to attend university, or want to help them start a business after leaving school, it will cost money. It's not too soon to start looking at how much, and how to get it.
With all the news of the credit crunch, the global recession, the stock markets falling and plummeting property prices, it's very easy to lose sight of your long-term goals.
Chances are that you are now likely to spend, wanting to keep any money you have in the bank. It's a shame, however, that we haven't heard enough in the press about how down markets present a canny investor with golden opportunities.
Your long-term goals may not have changed during this financial crisis: you still wish to retire comfortably, and you still want to protect your family if you're no longer around. Of all the financial goals for which we plan and save, here's one that is sometimes made a low priority: would you like your children to go to university?
Of course, this does depend on how your children feel, and they may not know for a good few years. I personally have fond memories of university, and I'm grateful to my parents for allowing me the opportunity. So, do you want to give your children the option of going to university, even if they are not thinking about it yet?
As expatriates, it would be fair to say that many of us would like our children to attend university in our home country. It is likely that they would be classed as overseas students, unless they have been resident in that country for some years prior to the course starting. The difference between overseas student fees and resident student fees can be huge. When was the last time you checked?
Taking the UK as an example, I checked last year's course fee charges from research put together by Mike Reddin of the London School of Economics. For a typical undergraduate course as a UK resident student most universities charged £3,145 per year for the course alone. As an overseas student this fee would be £12,250 for Birmingham University, £11,700 for Cardiff, and £13,100 for Bristol.
So a four-year course at Bristol would cost you more than £52,000 per child. This doesn't take into account their rent, books, clothes, council tax, gas, electricity ... the list goes on. As an overseas student this is easily more than £100,000 per child of money that you may be asked to provide.
When my father sent me to university, we had been living abroad for years, and this difference in the fee structure came as a surprise. By the look on his face at the time, I'm sure he would have appreciated the opportunity to save this money beforehand, rather than have to find it at short notice. And most universities around the world are raising their fees at a pace higher than inflation. This becomes critical when calculating how much you will need to save to build this pot of cash. Planning for £100,000 when you might actually need £220,000 would be disappointing, to say the least.
So how do you do it? How do you get yourself into the position where you can feel that this bit of your children's future is covered? It is far easier, and far more sensible, to save for something than it is to borrow money for it later on. Put some money away each month. Start now. The longer you save, the smaller the amount you can get away with each month, as your money grows for longer. I know people who have education fee savings plans in place before their children are born. Yes, I am one of these people, and unashamed to say it aloud.
Discuss your budget with a professional financial adviser, to see how much you could realistically afford each month. It is better to start small and increase the payments later on, than to not start anything at all.
What do you gain if you do? A more secure future for your children, which is generally considered a good thing in parenting circles.
Stuart Birch is a financial consultant with Acuma Wealth Management in Dubai. He can be reached at sbirch@acuma.ae
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
RESULTS
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MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE%C2%A0SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%20four-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Starting%20from%20Dh89%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
