Saving Education Fund or the Retirement Plan Which the First

Life is an endless series of decision-making processes, as well as financial planning. It all depends on our ability to scale priorities from limited resources.
Very rarely can a person get all the material he needs or wants - unless he comes from a wealthy family. With very limited resources and time, we need to make choices and priority scales. For those of you who are married and have a baby, choosing between the education fund and the pension fund is a difficult decision to make.
Both look equally important, so which one should take precedence?
Education Fund or Pension Fund
In this case, you must take care of finances as well as when an emergency event occurs in an airplane. You are encouraged to use a mask for yourself first before helping the child or those around you.
Prioritizing retirement funds from educational funds may seem unfeeling, but in fact this is a good act for both parties.
By ensuring that you do not have to rely on your children in the future when you are unable to work, you are relieving them of future financial burdens."What if I can not meet both?"
Let us calculate the following illustrations. Stephanie is a 31 year old single dad who has a 7 year old child. He earns Rp 15 million per month, and has regular expenses of Rp 12 million per month excluding savings.
Stephanie plans to retire at age 45, and she wants her son to go to medical school at one of Jakarta's top universities. After conducting a number of surveys, education funding including all accommodation while enrolled in university A currently reaches USD 400 million. This means, when the child is 18, the cost will be Rp 975 million due to inflation.
Meanwhile, Stephanie needs Rp 2.8 billion to be able to retire at the age of 45 years.
[Read: Life Planning Tips After Work Period: Reach Rp 3 Billion]
To achieve the ideal education fund, Stephanie had to set aside a saving of Rp 3.4 million per month for her child, in addition to Rp 4.9 million per month for her retirement needs.
With the remaining money of 3 million per month, Stephanie can set aside 80% for pension funds, and another 20% for education funding. This means he has to set aside Rp 2.4 million for his pension fund, and Rp 600,000 for his son's education fund.
This sounded like an unhealthy situation for him and his son, because his son did not get the funds needed to finish his medical school, and Stephanie also could not retire with the lifestyle she wanted.
Then, what should he do?
Stephanie could consider these three solutions:
1. Postpone retirement and work up to 55 years or a few more years - age 45 is quite young for retirement. That way, he could have more time to save pension funds, as well as setting aside educational funds for his son.
2. Choosing a cheaper university for their child's medical education. In addition, he could consider a university that his child could reach without having to live in a dormitory or boarding house.
3. Asking his son to finance part of his education by seeking a scholarship.
4. Looking back at pension expenses. Can he save more on retirement?
5. Stephanie can also earn additional income, for example by doing side jobs on weekends.
6. In addition to all of the above, Stephanie should consider investing to develop the funds she spends for education and pension funds. Due to the long period of time, one can do such as investing in the capital market.
Financing your child's education and your own retirement plan need not be a single option. With smart planning, you can do both!