Parents of Australian children attending non-government schools are forking out, on average, 35 per cent of their income to pay school fees.
That’s more than what an average family spends on their mortgage – leaving an enormous strain on a family’s disposable income.
While education can be one of the best investments you can make, Edstart CEO and co-founder Jack Stevens says years of fees can easily run into staggering six-figure sums.
“With the cost of school fees constantly on the rise, families are certainly feeling the pinch on the hip pocket,” Mr Stevens said.
“We’ve heard many stories highlighting the sacrifices parents are making to ensure school fees are covered.
“From those who have sold their home and gone back to renting, to those where both parents have more than one job.”
He said in addition to those massive sacrifices, one in six parents are paying for school fees on their credit cards.
The cost of schooling is not a topic often talked about or widely reported, Mr Stevens says.
But the reasons for and against sending children to a private or public school often is.
Surprisingly, Ms Stevens says most of the time, cost doesn’t come into the decision.
“What it comes down to, if people have the capacity to pay something for education, they will make that choice,” he said.
“But what inevitably happens, they make a choice on what is affordable, quite often forgetting that school fees go up or they’ve got younger children that will overlap.
“They’ve made a buying decision which is quite different to the paying decision and all of a sudden they’ve got three kids and three lots of fees to pay for.”
Edstart helps you pay for school fees by providing flexible plans you can control, so that school fees don’t hold back your family’s finances.
