Financial habits to build in term two to avoid school fees headache
Term Two is in full swing, and for most Kenyan parents, the relief of clearing Term One fees has barely settled before the next round looms.
Term Three, which typically opens in September, rarely announces itself gently. It arrives with a full invoice and very little patience.
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The good news is that Term Two is exactly long enough to do something about it. Here are the financial habits worth starting today.
Build a school-fees sinking fund
A sinking fund is a simple idea: you set aside a fixed amount every month for a specific future expense, rather than scrambling to find the full sum when the bill arrives.
For school fees, this means deciding today roughly what Term Three will cost (including tuition, activity fees, any new uniform items, and transport) then dividing that figure by the number of months you have left.
If Term Three fees are Ksh25,000 and you have three months to save, that is just over Ksh8,000 a month.
It sounds large until you compare it to finding Ksh25,000 in a single week. Most Kenyan mobile banks and SACCOs now offer goal-based savings options that lock funds away from impulse spending, making this approach far easier to stick to than it used to be.
A 2026 study published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues found that financial stress related to education costs tends to be higher among parents who feel unprepared, and that “financial stress may motivate parents to engage in their children’s education” when they feel their actions can make a real difference. Starting a sinking fund is precisely that kind of purposeful action.
Audit the costs that quietly drain Term Two
Term Two carries its own financial weight: mid-term travel, school trips, sports day contributions, replacement uniforms, and the quiet accumulation of small payments that add up by end of term.
Left unchecked, these eat into money that could have gone towards Term Three.
Spend the first week of this term listing every likely outgoing that is not a fixed monthly bill. Group them, estimate the totals, and decide which are genuinely necessary.
This kind of intentional review is what financial planners call a budget audit, and it costs nothing except about 30 minutes of honest attention.
This habit has a bonus that goes beyond the immediate savings.
Research published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024) found that parents who involve their children in financial decisions help build strong money habits early.
Showing your child why a school trip is being deferred or how you are saving for their fees is not a burden on them; it is one of the most useful lessons they will get this term.
Term Three will come whether you prepare for it or not. The only difference is whether it finds you ready. Two months of consistent saving and mindful spending during Term Two is often all it takes to transform a stressful September into a manageable one.
