Saving for college, Kids' Trust Funds, etc.

[sweetwahm]

A question to parents:
- Have made a college fund for your kids?
- Or made investments for the purpose of funding your kids' education, especially college?
- Trust fund?

Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon, alam natin lahat importante may plano para sa mga anak, lalo na pag-aaral nila.

So what strategies do you/have you/will you have para sa pag kolehiyo ng anak?

[DELISYUS]

Kami sis, honestly wala pa.... I have been meaning to research on trust funds pero wala pa talaga. I have friends na nag-time deposit lang ng dollars and that's what they build on for their kids' education...

We also haven't bought insurance... medyo wary kasi ako sa education plans now... usually by the time you want to use them na, either you can't or hindi na enough...

Sabi ko na nga lang, kelangan makapasok sa UP ang anak namin and wag na sya magnasa ng private university

[kim G]

Fortunately may nakapag turo sa akin ng about education funds before its too late.

we've been saving education fund para sa mga bata since they were born.i put in xxx amount of money every month at pag pasko at birthdays,i take half of their loot para ilagay din sa investment nila.

at may stipulation ako sa education funds nila na pag hindi sila nag enroll sa university, di nila pwedeng i cash ang pera.the whole amount will be transfer to my name.i call it my "european travel fund".alam nila ang stipulation na ito kaya wala silang choice kungdi mag aral talaga.

[zarahj4]

ako din wala,marami nag aalok ng educational plan kaya *** natakot na ako,4 years from now mag ka college na panganay ko,i'm a mother of 3 and as a single mom mahirap dahil ako lahat,imbes na educational plan , nag invest ako sa bahay,apartment and may kinuha din isang house sa isang subdivision ,for rent yun na lang ang pampaaral nila in the future mga kita ng bahay.mas safe rather than educational plan na pag gusto mo na gamitin either close na yung company,kulang na yung budget

[sweetwahm]

I brought this up to gain info from the experiences of parents in setting up a trust fund. How is one set up in the Philippines anyway? Details.

Or if not a college trust, what savings strategies do parents have for college money. Lalo na kung dito sa Pilipinas.

kim G, I like the idea of the european travel fund That way, they have to go to university talaga.

Kami, we only have school savings. The current fund is intended to fund preschool, elem and high school. So this fund moves a lot money in, money out, especially tuwing tuition payments na. Only one kid in school at the moment (preschool), the other will be school-ready next year pa.

A separate school savings fund is intended for college. We might invest this amount para di lang sya nakatulog sa bangko. Or other ways -- trust fund maybe? Kaya nga ako nagtatanong... ways on securing some money for the kids future at the right time.

Didn't consider educational plans. Truth is, I am wary. Look at what happened to CAP and a few others.

[sweetwahm]

How to go about the trust fund route anyway? Pros and cons? And where/which company (in the Philippines) do you go to to set one up?

[DELISYUS]

don't know anything about trust funds but i do know sayang ang pera if asa bangko lang... even time deposits sometimes waste your money sa liit ng interest (and laki ng inflation rate).... i have been meaning to study mutual funds sana, haven't made any headway lang

[mcgirl04]

I don't really have a specific account set up for our son's education. All our accounts are joint between me and my husband. Our son is our beneficiary. Should anything happen to one of us, the other one will of course take ownership and take care of our son.

[sandan]

A question to parents:
- Have made a college fund for your kids?
- Or made investments for the purpose of funding your kids' education, especially college?
- Trust fund?

Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon, alam natin lahat importante may plano para sa mga anak, lalo na pag-aaral nila.

So what strategies do you/have you/will you have para sa pag kolehiyo ng anak?

I can't contribute to the Philippine setting but, I can for the US setting. In Maryland, aside from plans available through private financial institutions, there is the College Savings Plans of Maryland. In a nutshell, it is an independent state agency with programs backed by a state legislative guarantee. There are two basic plans, the Prepaid College Trust and the College Investment Plan. These plans are called 529 plans, as referenced by sections in the Internal Revenue Code. The PCT is basically a plan that you invest in that guarantees a payout equal to the tuition of a state university. The CIP is for supplementary tuition for private university and all other educational expenses. Both have federal tax deduction, state tax credits and federal and state tax free earnings. Eligible to MD residents at the time the account is opened.

I enrolled my first daughter in the PCT but she went to private university. She received the equivalent of the University of Maryland tuition and it was applied to her private university tuition. As for her other educational expenses, whatever I was spending on her private high school tuition in the past I continued to spend on her room and board and supplies. I am enrolling my second daughter in the PCT next year.

[caryatid_kitten]

I heard about this millionaire who did not leave a "trust fund" for his child, instead he funded his child's education (premiere institutes) 100% and he said, that is the best 'inheritance' and "investment" his child can receive for him. Makes sense.

I would concentrate on saving for/investing for my child's education than leaving a significant amount of money for him (trust fund) more than anything. I'm not in the PI, and college education, private universities (especially the really good ones) are really expensive and I would like to help our child as much as possible - - in short, if we can do away with student loans, so much the better.

I don't trust educational plans in the PI. I would instead put my money in the bank (high earning accounts or tier 2's) or play with low risk mutual funds for my child's college education - - and if I were in the PI, I'd make it a goal to send my child to a good university outside the PI...Be it Singapore, Australia or U.S since I know that will give him the competitive edge in the future.

[Ice Burn]

Gaah, college? Preschool tuition already costs as much as college. bleh.

I don't believe in educational funds. I'd rather put a fixed amount monthly in the bank for those high yield accounts.

[sweetwahm]

Gaah, college?

I know, right?

Preschool tuition is already killing me. And another kid going in next year. Which is why college worries me.

I have not considered educational plans either. Too scary. Our separate school funds is not really designated as "for college" ... but hopefully we won't have to touch it for anything else. Kaya nanalangin palagi na sana maayos lang ang kalusugan at laging may kakayahan pa maghanap buhay.

[kim G]

reading posts here,parang napakamahal ang cost ng education sa pinas.

when i was in sienna college in late 80s,parang less than 10k per sem yata.

mahal din dito pero may low interest student loan,i think 3% p.a. from the govt not bank. but as they say,education is the best investment.

[sweetwahm]

Indeed kim G!

Nasa province kami so di naman sing mahal ang tuition fees dito compared sa Manila. But it is our goal to be able to send our kids to a good university in Manila! God willing, maybe there will be other opportunities for education outside the country for the kids.

Preschool pa lang naman anak namin, pero papasok na rin si bunso next year or the year after. They go to private school, one of the best in our city. We plan to have them finish their elementary education in that school, and maybe also for high school. Although yung sa high school, I am not crossing public schools off my list. Not just any public school though... i believe our provincial high school here is top caliber. I've had the opportunity to interact with the kids from the honors class of this public high school and I was impressed. Di mo akalaing taga public school. And they are really smart! If my kids can get into their honors section, I would not mind them having go there for high school. Zero tuition fees, save for some miscellaneous expenses.

Yung nga lang, may downside: as a public school, well meron din naman mga students whose attitudes and influences are not good. Dahil nga provincial school, malaki and student population, almost 8,000. Meron din naman mga adik, mga frat wars, etc. I am guessing di naman siguro maka interact masyado ang higher sections sa lower sections because the school has managed to produce a lot of really bright and deserving graduates. Imagine hanggang 30+ sections! Should my kids have the misfortune to be in a very low section, hahaha, private school nalang sila. Anyway, I am only considering public high school kung nasa top sections sila. Think about the money we’ll be able to save, pwedeng pwede idagdag sa college fund.

Hehe. I know the above is medyo off topic and my kids are only preschool age pero kung tutuusin, high school and college is really not that far off, don't you think? I mean, here we are enjoying our babies and little kids, enjoying their moments in preschool and elementary thinking that high school and college are years away... but before we know it, ayan na, high school at college na pala sila!

[sweetwahm]

I can't contribute to the Philippine setting but, I can for the US setting. In Maryland, aside from plans available through private financial institutions, there is the College Savings Plans of Maryland. In a nutshell, it is an independent state agency with programs backed by a state legislative guarantee. There are two basic plans, the Prepaid College Trust and the College Investment Plan. These plans are called 529 plans, as referenced by sections in the Internal Revenue Code. The PCT is basically a plan that you invest in that guarantees a payout equal to the tuition of a state university. The CIP is for supplementary tuition for private university and all other educational expenses. Both have federal tax deduction, state tax credits and federal and state tax free earnings. Eligible to MD residents at the time the account is opened.

I enrolled my first daughter in the PCT but she went to private university. She received the equivalent of the University of Maryland tuition and it was applied to her private university tuition. As for her other educational expenses, whatever I was spending on her private high school tuition in the past I continued to spend on her room and board and supplies. I am enrolling my second daughter in the PCT next year.

This is pretty cool info, thanks for sharing! Asa pa kaya sa Pilipinas may ganito. I guess here in the Philippines, it really boils down to really preparing for education at all levels. And to start preparing as early as possible.

[caryatid_kitten]

Indeed kim G!

Nasa province kami so di naman sing mahal ang tuition fees dito compared sa Manila. But it is our goal to be able to send our kids to a good university in Manila! God willing, maybe there will be other opportunities for education outside the country for the kids.

Preschool pa lang naman anak namin, pero papasok na rin si bunso next year or the year after. They go to private school, one of the best in our city. We plan to have them finish their elementary education in that school, and maybe also for high school. Although yung sa high school, I am not crossing public schools off my list. Not just any public school though... i believe our provincial high school here is top caliber. I've had the opportunity to interact with the kids from the honors class of this public high school and I was impressed. Di mo akalaing taga public school. And they are really smart! If my kids can get into their honors section, I would not mind them having go there for high school. Zero tuition fees, save for some miscellaneous expenses.

Yung nga lang, may downside: as a public school, well meron din naman mga students whose attitudes and influences are not good. Dahil nga provincial school, malaki and student population, almost 8,000. Meron din naman mga adik, mga frat wars, etc. I am guessing di naman siguro maka interact masyado ang higher sections sa lower sections because the school has managed to produce a lot of really bright and deserving graduates. Imagine hanggang 30+ sections! Should my kids have the misfortune to be in a very low section, hahaha, private school nalang sila. Anyway, I am only considering public high school kung nasa top sections sila. Think about the money we’ll be able to save, pwedeng pwede idagdag sa college fund.

Hehe. I know the above is medyo off topic and my kids are only preschool age pero kung tutuusin, high school and college is really not that far off, don't you think? I mean, here we are enjoying our babies and little kids, enjoying their moments in preschool and elementary thinking that high school and college are years away... but before we know it, ayan na, high school at college na pala sila!

I never considered public schools in the Philippines, except for the PHSA and PSHS knowing those schools are very, very selective. While public schools can be an option here, my issue with public schools is being exposed to kids who think it's "okay" NOT to attend college. I know it sounds bad but a bachelor's degree is mandatory for my children, not an option or a perk so I want them to be surrounded with kids who have the same goals. (likely private school)

[sweetwahm]

^ Yep, another downside to most Philippine public schools. Our provincial high school here isn't without kids of those backgrounds and orientation as well. Kaya as much as we can, the kids are destined for private school all the way. The cost will really require preparation and I believe we are on right track.

But again, I am not crossing off our provincial high school. I monitor how the school is doing, especially in how they maintain the standards of their honors classes. Not that I'm saying the kids will get into their honors class, but if they can, I wouldn't mind having them go there. Otherwise, we'll stick to a good private school.