Paying for your child to go to private school is a major financial commitment and will take some planning - whatever your income.
With private school fees averaging over £12,000 a year and fees of more than £24,000 a year for boarding school, the tough economic times of the last two years has seen an increasing number of parents struggling to afford them. Even before the recession, finding around £1,000 a month was a tall order. If you want your child to go to private school, it's important to start saving as early as you can - even if you can only save a modest amount. Leaving it to the last minute will reduce your options and mean it's a real financial squeeze.
Is your child learning about money at school? It’s not yet compulsory.
The government has had to drop plans to introduce money lessons from next September. At the moment, it’s down to schools to decide.
Despite the fact that 66% of us think that being taught about money at school would help us deal with today’s financial challenges, finance lessons still aren’t compulsory. Giving children a basic understanding about money is more important now than ever before. The government had planned that all children in England would be taught about money from the age of five from September, but in the pre-election tussle over last-minute legislation meant it was dropped.
If you’re dreading the start of the school term because of the costs that go with it, try these money-saving ideas
The school holidays are normally an expensive time for any parent. If you work, you'll often have to pay extra for holiday clubs and child care and if you take some time off, you'll pay more for your holiday - not to mention funding days out and activities to stop the endless cries of 'I'm bored'. Roll on the start of the school term, then. Except that can be an expensive time as well. But you can bring the costs down - it may not be child's play, but it's not mission impossible either.
