Whether your child opts for higher education or some other type of vocational training, the university fees and student accommodation costs at this time can be significant.
Having savings of 17,000 euros* can help finance their student accommodation fees for one academic year.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How much to save to rent an apartment for your child?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"When you get your first job, you don’t necessarily have the money to pay for the rental guarantee up front, which is nevertheless essential when you want to rent an apartment. Depending on the case, this deposit amounts to 2- or 3-months’ rent. Want to help your child rent their first apartment? Start a savings plan early on to save for their deposit and also furniture and household appliances.
Savings of 5,000 euros* can help finance the rental deposit costs for an apartment and the purchase of furniture and/or household appliances.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How much to save to buy a house or apartment for your child?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Want to help your child get on the property ladder? You will already be giving them a big boost by saving for their down payment (the initial payment made at the outset when buying a home).
As of 1 April 2024, the average price of a home in Belgium was:
In Brussels: 3,364 euros/m² for an apartment and 3,166 euros/m² for a house;
In Wallonia: 2,307 euros/m² for an apartment and 1,593 euros/m² for a house;
In Flanders: 3,053 euros/m² for an apartment and 2,196 euros/m² for a house.
These prices mean that a typical mortgage would amount to some hundreds of thousands of euros.
Saving 20,000 euros* can help finance a down payment of 10% for a mortgage loan of 200,000 euros, for example.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How much to save to buy a car for your child?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"During higher education or other vocational education, owning a car of your own can be very useful as this will give your child much more independence.
Based on the very likely assumption that your child will be studying in a city, a small used car would be a good choice. Your child will be able to park easily, and this type of car will cost less in insurance than a new car.
For example, in April 2024, you could get a petrol-powered, 10-year-old city car with less than 100,000 km on the clock, with a guarantee and full-service history, from 6,900 euros on an online car sales site. This price is only indicative, because the exact price will depend on the market at the time of purchase and your requirements (kilometre reading, number of owners, equipment, type of fuel, etc.).
Savings of 7,000 euros* can help finance the purchase of a reliable small used car (excluding insurance costs).
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How much to save for your child’s wedding?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"In Belgium, the average cost of a wedding was 18,000 euros in 2022 (source AP Event). Of course, the exact total cost of your child’s wedding will depend on the type of reception and the number of guests.
Saving 10,000 euros* can y help finance your child’s wedding (especially if the costs are shared between the two families involved).
* These estimates are based on average costs published by reliable sources at the time of writing. They are by no means an absolute recommendation. It is rather an order of magnitude to help you plan your savings as accurately as possible depending on your project.
"}}]},"complementaryZone":{"flexComponents":[{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Also consider"},{"componentType":"cards","cards":[{"componentType":"articleCard","cardType":"article","cardSize":"medium","title":"How much does it cost to raise a child?","body":"Birth, nursery, school, higher education... Having a child is expensive. But how much does having a child cost?","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/77b6817b-52e0-4264-9cc4-9cabcf0d0ad0/A-happy-young-girl-holds-a-tray-of-cinnamon-buns-in-the-kitchen","type":"image","width":6457,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/4b4024744c20d2f/original/A-happy-young-girl-holds-a-tray-of-cinnamon-buns-in-the-kitchen.jpg","extension":"jpg"},"date":"2024-06-05","link":{"url":"/en/individuals/saving/how-much-does-a-child-cost"}},{"componentType":"articleCard","cardType":"article","cardSize":"medium","title":"5 saving tips to teach children how to save money","body":"Find out how to teach young people about savings accounts with these saving tips.","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/1f0ac8a8-5d20-4567-94ed-cbabc5ea746c/Your-budget-header-3","type":"image","width":1920,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/b40c07f5f1c893/original/Your-budget-header-3.jpg","extension":"jpg"},"date":"2024-05-27","link":{"url":"/en/individuals/saving/teach-your-child-how-to-save-money"}},{"componentType":"articleCard","cardType":"article","cardSize":"medium","title":"How to start future-proofing your child’s future","body":"How can you, as a parent, give your child the leg-up he will need?","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/e69a7a38-d29d-4448-8c6d-ccf8bd237ad4/saving-or-investing-for-your-child-1920","type":"image","width":1920,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/58e4354c1e1d4413/original/saving-or-investing-for-your-child-1920.jpg","extension":"jpg"},"date":"2024-06-10","link":{"url":"/en/individuals/managing-my-assets/investment-academy/start-up-capital-for-your-child"}},{"componentType":"articleCard","cardType":"article","cardSize":"medium","title":"Child savings accounts: why and how to save for your children","body":"In this article, we'll see how to set up savings, explore the benefits of saving for children, the risks of not saving for them, and the essential financial habits they should be taught.","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/43daa084-668d-4edc-a616-8c625b1ea175/extra-return-for-your-dormant-savings-1920","type":"image","width":1920,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/2be850c33bb25224/original/extra-return-for-your-dormant-savings-1920.jpg","extension":"jpg"},"date":"2023-08-03","link":{"url":"/en/individuals/saving/child-savings-accounts"}}]}]},"legalZone":{"flexComponents":[{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"Disclaimer:","richBody":{"value":"This information is provided for information purposes only and is valid on the date of publication of this article on the ing.be website, i.e. 06/06/2024.
You can read the full disclaimer here.