When My Child Is Ready to Fly

Preparing Their Future, One Step at a Time

There comes a moment in every mother’s life when you suddenly realise…

My child is no longer a child.

The little one I once sent to kindergarten with a tiny backpack is now talking about universities, career choices and perhaps even studying in another country.

And suddenly, the question is no longer:

“What should I pack in their luggage?”

It becomes:

“Have I prepared them — and myself — for this next chapter?”

Sending a child abroad for further studies is a big decision.

🩷 It is exciting.

🩷 It is scary.

🩷 It is expensive.

And for a mother, it can be deeply emotional.

The Process Starts Long Before the Flight

Studying abroad doesn’t begin at the airport.

It starts years earlier.

As parents, we need to think about:

• Which country and university?

• What course is suitable for our child?

• What are the entry requirements?

• How much are the tuition fees?

• What about accommodation and living expenses?

• Visa and insurance?

• Airfare and transportation?

• Emergency funds?

• Currency fluctuations?

• And most importantly… can we afford it without putting the family into unnecessary debt?

The earlier we start planning, the more choices we have.

Because when the university offer finally arrives, we don’t want our first thought to be:

“Where are we going to find the money?”

We want to be able to say:

“We’ve been preparing for this.”

As a Mom, I’m Happy… But I’m Also Emotional

I think every mother understands this feeling.

You spend years teaching your children to become independent.

You teach them how to study.

❓How to manage money.

❓How to make decisions.

❓How to take responsibility.

And then one day, you have to let them go and actually live the life you’ve been preparing them for.

Part of me would be incredibly proud.

Another part would probably be thinking:

“Are you eating properly?”

“Are you safe?”

“Do you know how to manage your money?”

“Who will take care of you when you’re sick?”

And yes…

“Did you remember to call your mother?” 😂

But that’s motherhood.

We don’t raise children so they will always stay beside us.

We raise them so one day they are confident enough to stand on their own.

Financial Preparation Is Also an Act of Love

When we talk about preparing children for their future, we often focus on education.

✅Good schools.

✅Good grades.

✅Good universities.

✅Good careers.

But there is another important part that parents sometimes overlook:

Financial preparation.

The cost of education can be planned.

But it cannot be planned overnight.

Imagine a child who is 5 years old today.

You may still have more than a decade before university.

That decade is valuable.

Instead of waiting until the child is 17 or 18 and then scrambling to find a large amount of money, parents can start building the education fund gradually.

It could be through:

• Regular savings

• Education funds

• Investments

• EPF or other suitable financial instruments

• And physical gold or gold accumulation as part of a diversified long-term financial strategy

The objective isn’t to predict exactly what gold will be worth in the future.

The objective is to build assets gradually while we still have time.

Why I Like the Idea of Starting Small

One of the biggest mistakes parents make is thinking:

“I need a lot of money before I can start.”

Actually, the more important question is:

“What can I consistently put aside today?”

❓RM100.

❓RM200.

❓RM500.

Whatever is realistic for your family.

The amount may look small today.

But consistency creates something powerful:

time + discipline + accumulation.

For example, a parent could allocate a fixed amount every month towards a child’s long-term financial goal.

Some parents may choose cash savings.

Some may invest.

Some may accumulate gold.

The strategy can be different.

But the principle is the same:

Start before you need the money.

Because once you actually need the money, it’s already too late to start preparing.

Gold Can Be Part of the Preparation

For parents who are comfortable with gold, gold accumulation can be one component of a long-term wealth strategy.

I personally see gold differently from simply keeping money in a spending account.

When money sits in an easily accessible account, it can be tempting to use it for today’s expenses.

But when we deliberately convert part of our savings into an asset, we create another layer of discipline.

For example, parents could gradually accumulate gold for a future milestone:

💡Child’s education.

💡University expenses.

💡Emergency reserve.

💡Future marriage.

💡Starting their first business.

It doesn’t mean every ringgit of the education fund should be converted into gold.

A proper financial plan should still consider liquidity, cash reserves, investments and other assets.

But gold can have a place in the bigger picture.

Imagine Your Child 10 Years From Now

This is one exercise I often encourage parents to think about.

Close your eyes and imagine your child 10 years from today.

Maybe they are standing at an airport with a suitcase.

Maybe they’re holding a university offer letter.

Maybe they’re about to board a flight to German, London, Melbourne, Tokyo, Korea, Sydney or somewhere you’ve never imagined.

They turn around and say:

“Thank you, Mom and Dad.”

Not because you gave them everything.

But because you prepared them.

You taught them.

You supported them.

And you started building their future when they were still too young to understand why.

That is the beauty of long-term planning.

The sacrifice is made today.

The benefit may only be visible many years later.

Preparing Their Future Doesn’t Mean Controlling Their Future

As parents, we naturally have dreams for our children.

We want them to succeed.

But their journey may not look exactly like the one we imagined.

Maybe they choose a different university.

A different country.

A different career.

A different path altogether.

Our responsibility isn’t to design every detail of their life.

Our responsibility is to give them a strong foundation.

✴️Education.

✴️Values.

✴️Financial literacy.

✴️Emotional strength.

And, where possible, financial resources that give them choices.

Because sometimes the greatest gift we can give our children isn’t money.

It’s options.

Start Preparing While They’re Still Growing

If your child is still young, don’t wait until university is just around the corner.

Start asking yourself:

What will my child need 5, 10 or 15 years from now?

Then work backwards.

If studying abroad is one possibility, research the potential costs.

Create a financial target.

Break it into smaller monthly amounts.

Review the plan every year.

Increase your savings when your income increases.

And teach your child about money along the way.

Because financial planning shouldn’t only be about saving money for our children. It should also be about teaching our children how to manage money when they eventually have it.

One Day, We Have to Let Them Fly

Perhaps the hardest part of motherhood is this:

We spend years holding their hands.

Then slowly…

we have to let go.

Sending a child abroad can feel like letting go.

But preparation makes letting go a little easier.

⚡️When we know we have prepared their education.

⚡️When we know we have built a financial foundation.

⚡️When we know we’ve taught them how to manage themselves.

We can watch them walk through that airport with a little more confidence.

And perhaps with a few tears in our eyes, we say:

“Go. Explore the world. Build your life. Make us proud.”

Because our children don’t belong to us forever.

They are entrusted to us for a reason.

Our job is to prepare them well enough that when their time comes to fly…

they are ready.

And while they are growing, perhaps the best time for us to prepare financially for their future…

is today.

Ida Maslina

Gold Advisor, Public Gold

Mompreneur to 4 gorgeous kids

Start small.

Start early.

Stay consistent.

Give your future self — and your children — more choices.