Investing in September- How parents can help fund university costs

The end of September is the time when students will typically head to university for the first time. For most this will mean putting themselves into substantial debt, whilst still needing to find the funds to be able to live comfortably during term time.

· Average debt of a student at graduation is £50,000*

The maximum tuition fee for an undergraduate degree for an English student is £9,250, this can rise to up to £35,000 annually for an International student, and there is no maximum threshold for the cost of a post-graduate degree.

On top of this accommodation costs over a three year period are typically £14,625- and that’s not counting spending more for food, exercise or leisure activities, nights out or other necessary items.

Parents will often, where they can, try to help their children with these costs.

However, mothers wanting to fund their children’s education can often be at a disadvantage due to the gender pay gap

In addition, women still don’t make their money work hard for them: they choose to save in cash, rather than invest, meaning they fall behind when meeting larger financial commitments

By investing £165 a month into a junior stocks and shares ISA as soon as your child is born, coupled with investment growth, you could give them over £51,000 by the time they turn 18