Budgeting For College Without The Worry
The Big Investment
As a parent, one of the biggest investments you will make in your life is for your child’s education. Here is how you can send your kids to their dream college, without worrying.
Plan Ahead
Once your kids are in middle/high school and old enough to start picking out colleges and courses, understand how much it is going to cost you and work backwards to achieve that goal.
Break Down The Costs
Professional courses like an MBBS will cost more than a liberal arts course. You also need to understand one-time payments, term-wise payments, living expenses and travel expenses.
Start Saving
Once you know how much it will cost, find out how much you would need to invest each month to meet your goals.
Maintain A Separate Fund
For easier fund management, create a separate portfolio for child needs, and separate funds for each child, if you have more than one.
Long Term Investment Tools
Since education is a long-term goal (over 5 years away), you should look at long-term investment options like mutual funds, or PPF (Public Provident Fund).
Mutual Funds
Invest in diversified equity MF schemes. Start a SIP in 2-4 equity-oriented MF schemes with a mix of large & mid-cap funds, & top up over time with money and gifts from relatives, etc.
PPF
Public provident fund (PPF) account in your child’s name is also a good option. PPF is a 15-year scheme and would help create a tax-free corpus for your child.
Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.