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Despite stock market shocks, falling returns for investors and many other forms of bad news, I recently completed one of the most important financial objectives of my life. No, not to repay the mortgage or furnish myself with an adequate pension; both of those goals still lie some way off in the future.

If you want another clue, this was an ambition shared by rising numbers of parents in Britain. Yes, you have guessed it: I finished paying the school fees. To be candid, this was an infinitely more worrying project than paying for the roof over our heads or funding retirement, because it would not have been me who suffered if I made a mess of it.

It would be no exaggeration to say that I sometimes suffered nightmares about falling short

in this long-term commitment to find daunting sums of money out of taxed income.

Even at the best of times (and current conditions could scarcely be described that way) journalism is an unpredictable racket. It was all very well knowing that I had the cash for this term's fees, but what

'Many parents... trade down to a smaller property rather than switch schools'

about next year and the years after that?

Many other parents of an estimated 600,000 children being educated in the private sector would, like me, have sold the house and traded down to a smaller property, or happily worked beyond retirement age, rather than switch schools prematurely. It is a great relief to no longer have to worry about where to find fees that, in my favourite part of London, ran up to considerably more than the £9,000

The saving graces Page 2 of 3

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a year national average for day schools cited by the Independent Schools Council (ISC).

Fees were rising at more than 13% two years ago but, as the credit crisis hit, this abated to 6% in 2008. Even so, the ISC's members' pupil rolls stood at an all-time record last year, which tells us something about the satisfaction levels, despite eye-stretching grade inflation.

So, how to meet this long-term commitment? The traditional advice

is to start planning early, rather like doing a little homework every night instead of waiting to start just before exams. If you have at least five years before the money is needed, you might consider shares and share-based funds.

'If you have 5 years before the money is needed, you might consider shares and share-based funds

This asset class beat bonds and deposits over most of the periods of five consecutive years during the last century and the probability of equities' outperformance increased over longer periods.

But the past is not necessarily a guide to the future and those who need to be sure that sufficient cash will be available may prefer structured products with a guaranteed return.

Remember, no guarantee is worth any more than its guarantor.

Shorter-term objectives are probably most safely met by cash deposits in a reputable institution.

Thinking ahead

However you choose to save or invest, the mathematics of compound interest demonstrate that the earliest invested pounds have longest to work for your benefit. But the fact remains that many parents rely heavily on income and take this daunting task one term at a time. We did. t's worth stating that some schools may have set up a fighting fund to help families in difficulty at this time. The message is to speak with the school, as they may be able to help.

Many regard a good education as the most valuable gift you can give to children. Given the substantial sums involved, it's an effective form of inheritance tax planning because it will certainly reduce your estate.

On a brighter note, I used to cheer myself up with Enron-style

accounting, which appeared to show that I had made a large paper profit out of our son's education. Because I wanted my son to walk to school, I bought a house nearby that has multiplied several times in value since he started school. Of course it is foolish to compare unrealised profits with real costs, but it kept me going through difficult times.

Winston Churchill, who knew a thing or two about resilience in adversity, once observed: "There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into

babies." Half a century later, paying for your children to receive a first-class education is one of the best investments any parent can make.

Remember that the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and that you could get back less than orginally invested. Aim to invest over the medium to long-term, for example at least five years.