It’s another school year… Feeling anxious?

"These are the costs for the new books, which the teacher asked us to buy for this semester. Hmm…tuition fees for one-on-one English classes, an interest class, swimming lessons, fencing lessons… And a big pile of school supplies to buy, which means uniforms, shoes, schoolbags, stationery…” You look at the thick stack of documents and the densely packed schedule. You sigh. Oh, yes. Your child is about to start a new school year…again.

 

You pick up your phone and read the news. A bank's investigation from June of this year reports that the cost of raising a child, until he or she is financially independent at twenty-two years old, is now more than HKD six million!

 

"What, more than six million dollars? Isn't it supposed to be four million?" You ask out loud in distress.

 

"The four-million dollar cost was from an advertisement in 2006," your husband replies, before turning back to watch the television.

 

That’s right. You grit your teeth. Raising a child always requires a plan, along with factoring in other long-term expenses such as education, medical expenses, interest classes and entertainment etc. Both of you as a couple would rather spend less on yourselves and set aside money instead for your child to study and live well. You begin to think things over, and gradually you feel comforted by your own thoughts. In recent years, many of your good friends around you have become mothers. Whether they are working or full-time mothers, they will always set aside time to send off their children on their first day of school, and post photos of their children going to their new schools on Facebook to capture good memories for each other. All of you have now taken up parenting, and are striving hard to provide a good learning environment, so that the next generation can be well-educated.

 

Unfortunately, school season has become a time for excessive spending instead. Whenever your child has started school for a new year, you experience again the difficulties and hard work that your parents had to go through. You remember the first time you went to school, when your father had a small business, and your mother was a full-time housewife. Your family was not wealthy, but you wanted your parents to buy you whatever you wanted. Their willingness to indulge you made you believe that nothing was out of reach, until you grew up and had your own child. It turns out that your parents, who were reluctant to spend any money for themselves, had painstakingly saved up every last cent to pay for your comic books, toys, and class reunions. You feel a pang of guilt simmering within you. 

 

You open ZA Bank App to check on your savings and find out that ZA Bank has sent you two "Back-to-School" time deposit rate-up coupons, which are applicable for 1 semester (6 months) and 1 academic year (12 months) respectively. All at once, you realize that if you place these time deposits at the start of this school year, You could even give out some of the interest earned to your child or your parents, so they could buy what they wanted. Best of all, there will be no loss for the principal amounts set aside for these time deposits.

 

At the beginning of the school year, ZA Bank has sent out 2 time deposit rate-up coupons for each parent. In light of today's uncertain financial environment, we think that placing time deposits can give you better peace of mind. Plan ahead now to give your children a successful start for their new school year.