GuidesUniversity countdown
Most savings goals can slip; this one has a birthday
The University Costs Countdown: Saving When the Deadline Is a Person
A retirement can move; a house purchase can wait. Education saving is unusual because the deadline is fixed — the child's eighteenth birthday arrives on schedule regardless of the fund's balance. That makes the check unusually readable: progress is simply current savings against target, weighed against years left.
The same balance means opposite things at different runways — half-funded with fifteen years left is comfortable; half-funded with five is urgent. This is the countdown logic.
Reading the runway
Divide current savings by the target cost — that percentage only means something against the years remaining. Keel's check flags the sharp case: below half the target inside five years, when the monthly contribution needed to close it climbs steeply.
The useful output is not the percentage but the monthly figure — the contribution that closes the gap in the time left. A specific number can be planned around; a shortfall percentage cannot.
Starting from zero at different ages
Zero saved at age two is a plan waiting to start — sixteen years of compounding ahead. Zero at age twelve is a different problem: six years left means most of the funding has to come from contributions, not growth.
The math is the same either way; what the runway changes is how much of the work the contributions have to do themselves.
When the fund cannot get there
A fund that projects short of target is information, not failure — education funding has levers other goals lack: the target itself can adjust (local versus away, covered versus shared), and loans, scholarships, and part-time work all exist on the student's side too.
The order most guidance suggests: the child's education has alternatives; the parents' retirement does not. Funding education at the expense of retirement is a trade worth making deliberately rather than by default.
How Keel checks this
For each child listed in a profile, Keel tracks savings against target and years remaining — flagging a fund below half-target inside the five-year window, and a fund not started for a child under sixteen, so the countdown is tracked rather than remembered annually.
Common questions
How much do I need saved by the time my child is 18?
Work backward from the expected cost — tuition, living costs, years of study — then let the runway tell you the monthly figure. A qualified financial advisor can help set a realistic target for your plans and country.
My child is 13 and we have saved nothing — is it too late?
Not too late, but different — five years of runway means contributions do nearly all the work with little compounding. The monthly figure may be higher than expected; knowing it early is still better than finding it at eighteen.
Should education saving come before retirement?
Most guidance says no — education has loans, scholarships, and flexibility that retirement lacks. Funding a child's education at the cost of an unfunded retirement shifts the burden rather than removing it.
What accounts exist for education savings?
Most countries offer tax-advantaged education vehicles — the specifics differ by jurisdiction and change over time. Research what applies where you live, or ask a qualified financial professional.
Put your family on the chart — free to start, no credit card — and see which of these areas look light for your household.
Start freeThis guide is general information, not financial advice. Product and provider choices are individual — a licensed professional can evaluate your household's situation.