Have You Do(ne) Your Homework Yet?

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I was amongst the first few people to have a kid in my family and friend circle, so while life transformed around me, very few understood. While I gained the responsibility of a new being, I lost quality time spent with the world. While initially I missed being around adult company a lot slowly, everything and nothing was as important as my child. My identity changed from being an individual to being a parent.

This holds true not only for me but for every parent in this world. Once a parent, physically, mentally and biologically, you cannot separate the anxiety, worries and love that comes along with status. You just have to make sure that your kids are healthy, happy, safe and secure all their lives and their future is settled.

What is the utmost important thing that comes to your mind when you think of your child’s future?

EDUCATION!!!!

With myriad avenues opening up, career options available to your child are in galore and whatever path your child may choose, I feel as a parent, you should be there to support him/her.

But to do so, how prepared are you?

Between 2008 and 2014, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) reported , the average annual private expenditure for general education (primary level to post graduation and above) has shot up by a staggering 175% to Rs6,788 per student. During the same period, the annual cost of professional and technical education has increased by 96% to Rs62,841 per student.

With increasing privatisation of education in India the inflation in education is going to keep shooting up and if you want to send your child abroad for higher studies, then these costs are already sky rocketing. You don’t want to disappoint your child for not being able to fund his/her dream ever, do you?

Stop Contemplating!! It’s high time you do your homework !

I did mine !

I recently read in a survey that parent’s and kids don’t think alike when it comes to the child’s future. So I decided to first figure out where Eeshan saw himself in his career choice. I gave him a sheet of paper and a blue chit from the Axis bank folder. We both started drawing our aspirations for him, hiding it from each other’s views. At the end when we turned our sheets we realised that while I had seen him as a car designer (I thought he loved cars), he saw himself as a scientist.

That was an eye opener for me. The survey was actually true and I was one of those parents mentioned!

Next was to figure out how to fund his dream? Using the Homework App by Axis Mutual Fund, I figured that cost of education of a scientist is around 30 lakhs plus there is stay, food, travel overheads etc is around 18,0000 ie appx 48 lakhs totally per annum. Wow! This is the cost in today’s value, with inflation at an estimate of 6% it amounts to 82 lakhs approx in ten years from now. This number toppled me over quite a few times. Where am I going to get that kind money?Homework App by Axis Mutual Fund, I figured that cost of education of a scientist is around 30 lakhs plus there is stay, food, travel overheads etc is around 18,0000 ie appx 48 lakhs totally per annum. Wow! This is the cost in today’s value, with inflation at an estimate of 6% it amounts to 82 lakhs approx in ten years from now. This number toppled me over quite a few times. Where am I going to get that kind money?

Backward Calculation!

So I started back calculating, for 82 lakhs I used this calculator which advised me that if I saved INR 41,443 every month for next 10 years at 12 % interest or I would manage to reach my desired no. Now we have made some investments for our kids, but it dawned on me that we are still very short of the required amount.

This whole exercise has been an eye opener for me, I hope you do your homework as well so unlike me you are not in the dark about your kid’s future plans and it’s funding. Investment in the right education policy is the need of the hour and whichever instrument you finally chose to be with, the tools mentioned here are most relevant.

Signing Off,

Yours Truly,