Last Updated on June 5, 2020
“Why should I invest for my child’s future needs like education or marriage?”, asked a reader. “Why can’t I simply get them an education loan?”, “why can’t they foot their own marriage bill?”.
Well, we need to invest what we can for the simple reason that life does not pan out the way we plan. Especially when their school graduation is years away. While retirement is the number one financial goal, anyone who says they will not be spending a dime for their children’s college education/marriage are either not yet parents or just not being practical.
The key point is, without planning, that “dime” will be redeemed from our retirement corpus! So we should be investing for this and other goals just to protect our future retirement corpus from getting depleted!
I will not (need not) elaborate any further because this is not a post about why one should invest for the above-mentioned goals. This is a post about why one should start investing early – real early. If possible from the moment we decide to start a family. Now that might seem extreme at first, especially if you are not yet a parent, but it will make all the difference as explained below.
Before we proceed, I would like to point that this also not a post about the cost of delay or postponement. Anyone who has used the goal planning calculators can tell you about that. Put off investing for a goal like retirement by just 12 months and from the 13th month, you may need to invest as much as 15-18% more! For every month of postponement, the amount that needs to be invested will grow at the rate of 1-2%! So it is common sense that one needs to start early to reduce the investment burden.
There is yet another reason to start early. Let us stop and think about the expenses associated the growth of a child. Ignoring food, clothing and toys which are mandatory spends, the other big-ticket spends are
Pre-school; school; summer camps, tuition classes, coaching classes (eg. cricket, painting, skating, salsa etc.), hobbies (eg. photography) plus more?
If you notice, all these expenses are (or can be) incurred before they go to college and many of them after they cross age 10 or so.
If we start investing with just college education as the goal, we may be able to provide of many of the above expenses (which are impossible to predict early) from the same corpus.
As an example, I started investing for my son’s education when my wife was in her third trimester. So have been doing it for nearly 7 years. When I ask, ‘what is the current worth of the corpus?’ it is comfortably higher than a typical UG degree. Therefore, I can afford to withdraw from it for my son’s other needs.
This might sound obvious, I know people who have ignored such expenses. For example, only when the child came to the 8th standard, they realised the need to ready money for IIT JEE coaching classes. The money involved is not small, and it is not practical to plan for such goals. Therefore, the simplest way to handle these is to start early as mentioned above.
The early bird can feed all its chicks more than once!
This way, we protect the corpus for two goals – their education (+ marriage) and our retirement.
Start Planning and Investing Today!
Here are some resources to plan for the future needs of your children.
How to plan for your child’s education and marriage. (include a comprehensive child planner).
The trouble with fixing the current cost of a child’s education
Should I invest for my child’s marriage?
Why I will not invest in my child’s name
Smart ways to accumulate gold for a marriage
What do you think? Do share your experiences below.
Use our Robo-advisory Excel Template for a start-to-finish financial plan! Now with a new demo video! ⇐ More than 640 investors and advisors use this!
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 2525 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive Facebook Group! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos in an exclusive Facebook Group! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 585 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive Facebook Group! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos in an exclusive Facebook Group!
My new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (will work with any index!), or you buy the new Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish mutual fund screeners and momentum, low volatility stock screeners .every month.
About the Author
M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. since Aug 2006. Connect with him via Twitter or Linkedin Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books, You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18), Gamechanger, Chinchu Gets a Superpower! and seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation to promote unbiased, commission-free investment advice. He conducts free money management sessions for corporates and associations based on money management. Previous engagements include World Bank, RBI, BHEL, Asian Paints, Cognizant, Madras Atomic Power Station, Honeywell, Tamil Nadu Investors Association, IIST Alumni Association. For speaking engagements, write to pattu [at] freefincal [dot] comAbout freefincal & its content policy Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on developments in mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified from credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish any paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions presented will only be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our Youtube Videos
- Posts feed via Feedburner.
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions, seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now. It is also available in Kindle format.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 199 (instant download)Free android apps
- All calculators from our book, “You can be Rich Too” are now available on Google Play!
- Install the Financial Freedom App! (Google Play Store)
- Install Freefincal Retirement Planner App! (Google Play Store)
- Find out if you have enough to say "goodbye" to your employer (Google Play Store)