Hong Kong's middle-class families pay great attention to their children's education. From the moment their children are born, parents will arrange for them to enroll in reputable kindergartens. Lately, they will be trained to pass selective interviews to get into renowned primary and secondary school. Many wealthy middle-class families even arrange admission for their children to international schools from early age. If it considers the expenses of extracurricular activities and personal tutors, it may cost Hk$ four to five hundred thousand per child annually. 

For wealthy families, they spend millions of dollars on their children’s educational expenses, which is common. However, if a middle-class family has to spend Hk$ four hundred thousand or more on a child's education annually, it will be a significant burden. 

There is a couple of middle-class aged fifty who made arrangement for their two sons to gain admission the junior high school in Canada this year. The total annual cost for the two children's education is HK$ five hundred thousand. For the total cost of completing secondary school courses for both sons, it costs HK$ two million or more. Considering university tuition and related expenses, they must prepare additional HK$ four million for their children’s daily expenses.

This couple has a combined annual family income of HK$ two million which allows them to save half million each year. However, since they decided to send their two children to Canada, their annual savings had been used to cover their children's education expenses. After three to four years, their children gain admission to the university, and their annual expenses will rise to over HK$ eight hundred thousand. To cope with the increased costs, this couple will have to cut down on their monthly expenditure. Therefore, it is hard for them to save any more retirement funds for the next few years. 

When their children graduate from university eight years later, this couple will be approaching their retirement age, making it difficult for them to save more funds for retirement. So, how will they live after retirement? In reality, they have to rely on selling their residential unit to cover their retirement expenses. They currently own a three-bedroom unit, with a market value of Hk$ thirteen million approx. Upon retirement, they have to sell it and purchase a smaller two-bedroom unit for self-use and reserve the remaining funds for their retirement expenses. 

For wealthy middle classes, they may need to give up their prime time to save retirement funds in order to provide better education for their children. In the worst situation, it may increase their chances of falling from middle class to lower-class. Is this worth the effort? As middle-class families, they should reconsider carefully for their decision.