With university fees set to skyrocket in the coming year, many parents are worried about how they will be able to put away enough money to keep their children debt-free.

One important step towards saving for university, however, is to be realistic. According to the National Union of Students, a three-year degree course outside of London costs around £43,000, including tuition of £3,000 a year and living costs.

For students starting in the fall of 2012, the NUS predicts a total of up to £65,000 for one child’s education. Especially if you have not started saving from day one, this figure can seem almost impossible.

For some parents the solution is to not contribute to the impossible figure or keep their child at home during studies to cut costs. But all parents should save what they can, as often as they can. While this may not cover the full, intimidating cost of an education, it will keep your child from graduating with debt the size of a small mortgage.

Develop a savings habit

It’s important for parents to develop a habit for saving, especially in the face of daunting education costs. The key is to start while your children are young – preferably from the time they are born – and to keep it up with regular deposits.

If you can manage to save £100 monthly, your child could head to university with a full £36,000 after 18 years. For those who can afford £280 per month, The Children’s Mutual says that 18 years at a 7% return rate can give your child a healthy sum of £100,000.

If you encourage your child to save the bulk of their birthday and allowance money as well, you will not only be helping towards a debt-free education, but helping create a responsible money manager.

Tax-free savings

Another great way to save towards university costs is to make the most of tax-free savings accounts. These accounts, such as the Child Trust Fund and its replacement, the Junior ISA, make sure you get the most of your money by allowing you to save up to £3,600 each year tax free.

In addition, you can open an adult ISA (individual savings account) to help save towards the cost of your child’s education, as adults also receive a tax-free allowance yearly. Each adult in your family can save up to £10,200 in an ISA.

Niki from www.comparejuniorisa.com writes about topics such as the Junior ISA