Notwithstanding the small number of votes involved in this simple survey, I am not surprised at all with the high percentage of those who prefers to 'buy a property' instead of 'invest in shares'.
We are known to play safe when it comes to investment. Buying properties is one of the safest we can think of, because they are likely to appreciate. Even in a bad market, we can still salvage part of our investment.
Paying for child's overseas education is not everyone's cup of tea for various reasons. I can still remember when I asked my father for a chance to go overseas, he kept quiet. Looking back, he must have gone through a sleepless night before telling me the next morning, to go and find out! History repeated itself when I was asked by my elder daughter who was in Form 5 then, whether I would allow her to go to Japan under Rotary Club's international exchange programme for one year. Again, it took me one night of soul searching before I delegate the decision to others with a, 'if you are selected by the Committee'! This part of the decision was not financial, but emotional – the unwillingness to part with a loved one for a number of years.
The other main consideration is a question of affordability. If parents were to finance a child's overseas education, it is vital to ascertain the actual costs (including airfares for holiday returns, and for some contingencies). We have come across parents who could afford, were educated overseas themselves, but unwilling to pay for their child's overseas education. One remarked, 'I would rather buy him a shophouse so that he could start a business here' (almost no risks, you see), or 'give him the capital to start a business'.
Another important aspect is the uncertainty of tertiary education – the possibility of failure. Even assuming success, the high costs of education, especially in UK eg. it is costing around Rm1 million or more, to qualify as a medical doctor, is almost an uneconomical venture (if I may call it that)! Even if you do not mind (for the love of the child),other people would consider it silly to invest so much when the earnings upon qualification may take many years to get back the so-called capital or investment! We are not even calculating the return on investment!
I have included 'maintain a mistress' to add some variety to the decisions. I am wondering if it was meant to be a joke by whoever who ticked it, or he could be my friend who tried to be funny! But then again, it might well be someone's wish to look after his own interests rather than his child.
For those who ticked 'none of the above', they must have ideas other than what were specified.
I wish to thank those who took the trouble to take part in my mini survey.
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