5 Financial Planning Tips for Children’s Education

Every parent would want to give the best for their children, including education. Maximizing the
interests and talents of the child through the best education is a parent’s dream. Therefore, the cost of
children’s education is one of the things that should not neglect to prepare. Moreover, the estimated
cost of education rises by 20 % each year which much greater than the change in inflation and salary
increases.

With this increase, the best way to prepare children’s education funds is investment. The following
five tips below may help you more

Prepare early

Investments take time to develop. The cost of education is usually a long- term targets that take more
than 5 years to be achieved. Therefore, the sooner you start setting aside money and save it as
investment, the better it will be.

Plan your child’s education

Plan your child’s education, such as the type of school you want (public school, private, or overseas),
the type of education according to the interests and talents of your child (school of art, or medicine,
etc.).After that, use the internet to browse the information of the estimated cost of your child’s
education in the future.

Calculate the amount of investment you need to do

After getting the target cost of education, you can calculate the amount of investment you need to do
to achieve those targets. Total investment is also influenced by the type of investment you are doing,
for example education savings, mutual funds, etc.

Get a Life Insurance

You also have to think of the worst possible. What would happen if you or your spouse as a family
breadwinner could no longer finance the family, such as illness or death? Prepare for your child’s
protection, so when the worst happens, your child can still live decently and get the best education.

Do not Doubt to Ask

Knowledge of financial planning you can get from books, the internet, financial news, or ask family
or friends who were/are investing. If necessary, you can also consult a financial planner to create a
plan to fund the best education for your child.

After having a good plan for the preparation of educational funds, you’ll need next is the discipline to
execute the plan. Reevaluate your plan within a certain period, for example, once a year, adjust to the
economic conditions, the condition of your finances, etc. Do all in order to give the best for your
child!
 Shanghai Is Number One In The World Education Rankings

A global educational study called PISA (Program for International Assessment ) tests
over 500,000 pupils in over 70 countries every three years. The 2010 results showed that
pupils in Shanghai are the world’s best in reading mathematics and science . PISA studies 15
year olds and their abilities in the three fields. The study did not rank China as a whole but
Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao as separate countries.

South Korea, Singapore Taiwan and Japan were other Asian nations that ranked well. In
many western countries the reading score was down. In Europe, Finland still stays in the
number one spot although it is ranking third overall. Americans are, at best, average ,
ranking 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in mathematics.

Why have Asian countries overtaken Europe and America in the tests? First, they put more
focus on education. Children, parents and teachers know that a good education is the key
to being successful. They are not tolerant when pupils fail . Asians believe that if you do
hard and succeed in school you will be successful in your job as well.

Starting at a very early age China teaches its children that you can only succeed if you are
better than the others. They are tested as soon as they come to school. Only the best can go to
college and then get a good job. Examinations are held very often and lists of students
rankings are posted on the walls of a school. Shanghai students study much harder than
western pupils do and they spend less time on extracurricular activities or sport. Teachers
are also respected , paid well and highly motivated .
 South Korea Switches to Digital Textbooks in the Classroom

South Korea is planning change from paper to digital textbooks in the next few years. All content of
South Korea’s school subjects will be available on PC’s, iPads and mobile phones by 2015. The
education department has announced that South Korea is preparing for a new digital revolution that
will change schools of the future.

The project was started last summer. Classrooms throughout the Asian country will be equipped with
wireless LANs so that students can access learning materials whenever and wherever they want.
Pupils won’t have to carry heavy schoolbags and satchels any more.

South Korea is a model nation when it comes to using modern technology. The OECD found out that
youngsters in South Korea lead the world when it comes to getting information from the internet and
working with computers. The country focuses on teaching children the basics of technology at a very
early age.

Compared to South Korea, western nations lag behind. American president Barack Obama has
announced that United States is installing a national learning centre which is to improve teaching
standards and develop new teaching methods.

Educational experts, however, are currently discussing whether digital technology in the classroom
makes a grave difference. Some argue that bad pupils will stay bad even if they have a computer in
front of them. They agree, however, that going digital could motivate children more and help schools
save money. The biggest problem is how to get teachers to integrate new technologies into their
lessons.

American developers have been working on special software that could make learning even more
effective. An American army project has shown that students can learn things even without a teacher.

Other experts focus on a social problem. Introducing digital learning materials to the classroom could
create two groups of children, those who have access to these new technologies and are able to use
them and those who don’t. The first group will have advantages in getting a good job, the others will
stay behind.

Critics also fear that digitizing all learning materials will result in the lack of trust. We have more
confidence in textbooks simply because contents are written in print, whereas we are skeptical of
material published on the Internet.
 The Benefits of Exercise of Our Body
There are many benefits of regular exercise and maintaining fitness and these include:

Exercise increases energy levels

Exercise improves both the strength and the efficiency of your cardiovascular system to get the
oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. When your cardiovascular system works better everything
seems easier and you have more energy for the fun stuff in life.

Exercise improves muscle strength

Staying active keeps muscles strong and joints, tendons and ligaments flexible, allowing you to move
more easily and avoid injury. Strong muscles and ligaments reduce your risk of joint and lower back
pain by keeping joints in proper alignment. They also improve coordination and balance.

Exercise can help you to maintain a healthy weight

The more you exercise, the more calories you burn. In addition, the more muscle you develop, the
higher your metabolic rate becomes, so you burn more calories even when you’re not exercising. The
result? You may lose weight and look better physically which will boost your self-esteem.

Exercise improves brain function

Exercise increases blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain. It also encourages the release of the
brain chemicals (hormones) that are responsible for the production of cells in the hippocampus, the
part of the brain that controls memory and learning. This, in turn, boosts concentration levels and
cognitive ability, and helps reduce the risk of cognitive degenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.There is overwhelming evidence that people who lead active lifestyles are less likely to
suffer from illness and more likely to live longer.

Exercise is good for your heart

Exercise reduces LDL cholesterol (the type that clogs your arteries), increases HDL (the good
cholesterol) and reduces blood pressure so it lowers the stress on your heart. Added to this, it also
strengthens your heart muscle. Combined with a healthy diet, exercise lowers the risk of developing
coronary heart disease.

Exercise enhances your immune system

Exercise improves your body’s ability to pump the oxygen and nutrients around your body that are
required to fuel the cells that fight bacteria and viruses.Staying active reduces the likelihood of
developing some degenerative bone diseases. Weight bearing exercise such as running, walking or
weight training lowers your risk of both osteoarthritis and osteoporosis – the adage of “use it or lose
it” really does apply to bones.
 Why Students Drop Out of School

It’s the middle of September, and by now the nation’s 14.9 million public high school
students have returned to school. Unfortunately, according to America’s Promise Alliance,
nearly 500,000 of them will drop out of high school this year without earning their diploma.

A new report, Don’t Quit on Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power
of Relationships, from the Center for Promise, the research institute of America’s Promise
Alliance, examines how relationships and extended community can play a critical role in
helping a student decide to stay in school.
For many, it isn’t just the family that is fragmented, there is also little support from other
caring adults, causing what the report calls “relationship poverty.” Supportive family
members, peers, and caring adults inside and outside of school are critical to helping students
persist toward a high school diploma, the report concludes.

In addition, it identifies seven adverse life experiences that are predictive of dropping out:

1. Becoming a parent
2. Being suspended or expelled even once
3. Having several friends drop out
4. Feeling academically unprepared for school
5. Experiencing a significant mental health problem
6. Homelessness, and moving to a new home.
Young people who dropped out endured twice as many of these adverse life experiences as
students who stayed in school and graduated on time.

The type of support provided matters. The report identifies four types of social support:
emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental. Emotional support, as you would
expect, means the provision of love and care; but instrumental support (providing
transportation or babysitting) is also key. Ideally, students have all four types working in
tandem in their quest to complete high school, but emotional and instrumental support are
especially needed.

Although support buffers the effects of adversity on graduation, the report states, students
who face five or more adverse life experiences need more than support to stay on the path
toward graduation. Devastating circumstances like trauma or food or housing insecurity
require more intensive resolution efforts to keep such young people focused on graduation.

Young people who have an anchor (one caring adult) and a web of support that can include a
worship community, adults in the community, and teachers and other school staff have
tremendous assets enabling them to complete high school. But the report is unambiguous:
One caring adult is not enough. It really does take a village.

To help students graduate on time, take time to be a mentor, coach, or tutor. Listen to young
people and offer what wisdom you have. Volunteer in your local high school, or find other
ways to get involved.
The Little Mermaid