Amounts in your currency, rates per year.
Enter the ages to set the timeline.
Enter the plan above and a rate.
Fill in the sections above to plan.
The planner works out what a course of study will cost by the time a child gets there, then what to set aside now so the money is ready on the first day.
It takes today's tuition per year, raises it by the tuition increase rate once a year until college starts, and keeps raising it through each year of the course. The total fund is the sum of those inflated yearly costs, and the planner lists each year with the child's age beside it.
The second part asks what a rate on savings would do. It reports the monthly amount that, saved at the end of each month and compounded monthly, reaches the total fund by college day, and the single sum invested today that would grow to the same figure. The whole fund is targeted for the first day of college; nothing is assumed to keep growing during the course.
Take today's tuition per year and raise it by the tuition increase rate for every year until enrolment. At 8 percent a year, a course that costs 150,000 today costs about 324,000 in ten years, and later years of the course cost more again. Enter the age, the tuition and the rate to see the figure for each year of study and the total.
The planner gives the exact monthly figure for your inputs. It is the amount that, saved every month and growing at your rate, arrives at the full fund on the first day of college. The earlier you start, the more of the fund comes from growth rather than deposits, which is why the same target costs far less per month for a toddler than for a teenager.
The planner shows both for the same target. The lump sum is the present value of the fund at your rate: pay it once today and let it grow. Monthly saving spreads the same target across the months, at a higher total outlay because later deposits have less time to grow. Many families do some of each.
Look at how the school's fees have moved over the last few years, not at general inflation. Private tuition has often risen faster than consumer prices. If you are unsure, run the plan at two rates and prepare for the higher one.