[School Decision] A Shocking 1 Million Yen in Initial Costs! Preparing for Education Expenses with a "Couple's Conference®" | The Reality of an Accompanying Spouse
Hello! We are COCO & TATA, "Couple's Conference Ambassadors®".
Last time, we wrote about [Final Episode] A "Couple's Conference®" Before Coming to Singapore.
▼In the final episode, we held a "Couple's Conference®" about housing.
This time, our first "Couple's Conference®" after arriving in Singapore was about "choosing a school"!
We are sharing the record of that "Couple's Conference®".
▼ First of all, what is a "Couple's Conference®"??
First, a little about us
Once again, we are a family of four: my husband, and our two children, aged 7 and 4. Since last summer, we moved to Singapore as a family due to my husband's job transfer. I quit my job to accompany him. Living abroad, where information and people you can rely on are limited, I realize every day that the thing you can rely on most is, after all, "dialogue between husband and wife."
is it this famous thing??
School selection is in full swing!
To make the final decision on the elementary school and kindergarten our children will attend, we actually went for a visit.
Both schools/kindergartens were attractive, and we checked their educational policies, atmosphere, and school bus routes in detail.
Ultimately, we decided to choose the ones that fit our children's personalities and our family's lifestyle.
However, after deciding on the schools, we hit an unexpected wall...
It's nice to have things that are just for you ☺️
The unexpected "initial costs"
Admission fees, tuition, the first lump-sum payment for school bus fees, costs for purchasing gym clothes, stationery, hats, etc...
The initial costs for school were a staggering 1 million yen per person!
For two children, it was a significant amount, and my husband and I froze for a moment...
more than you'd think
Lately, I've been using ezlink a lot for volunteering,
so I'm topping it up frequently
Our family money conference, erupted
"How... are we going to pay for this?"
We urgently held a "Couple's Conference®"!
We checked the breakdown of our savings, and converted the funds we had kept in Japanese yen into Singapore dollars to manage it somehow.
I realized firsthand that education expenses hit you with a big lump sum at the beginning more than I had expected.
"Education expenses aren't just the monthly tuition"
"We should have planned earlier, anticipating these preparation costs"
Including those reflections, it was also a moment where I felt glad that we are a couple who can talk about money.
▼ We used the "Couple's Conference Notebook"!
Things that were good about having a "Couple's Conference®"
• We were able to talk about realistic money matters without getting emotional • We were able to check and divide tasks like document preparation and payment schedules together • We were able to "make a convinced choice" for something that was by no means cheap
Education is a long-term battle.
That is why we were able to reaffirm that we will continue to move forward while talking as a couple.
A message to those who will be posted abroad
Raising children abroad, especially choosing a school and education expenses are really big themes.
With little information and a lot of anxiety, the fact that we talked about it many times as a couple has become a source of peace of mind.
When it comes to realistic topics that are hard to talk about, like money and procedures, that's when the "Couple's Conference®" comes in!
Next time, I hope to write about our real life after enrollment and the troubles we faced.
Thank you for reading until the end this time as well!
This was COCO & TATA, "Couple's Conference Ambassadors®"!
*Systems and such may change. When using this as a reference, please also check against the latest information.
▼ You can find the experiences of other wonderful ambassadors summarized here.
▼ Our history of 'Couple Meetings®' so far is💁
▼ If you want to see everything about accompanying at once💁
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#SchoolSelection
#ExpatPreparation
#LifeAbroad
#CoupleDialogue
#FamilyDecisionMaking
#OverseasAssignment
#LearnFromThisExperience