For the sake of the child

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After a point, many live for the sake of their children. As a result, the child remains at the focus of most of our financial decisions whether mentioned explicitly or not. Three of the most important goals that one saves for are education of the child, her or his wedding and last but not the least, financial well-being. By any yardstick, education is the most important investment that one can make in a child. While one needs to spend liberally – obviously according to one’s means – on education, one also needs to invest for future education. Higher education is increasingly becoming expensive in this country and one needs to save for it.

While professional courses such as engineering, medicine, law and management can easily consume the salary of a few years of a middle class citizen, all courses would become expensive with the exception of a few meritorious students who can make it to the state-run institutes in engineering and medicine. Though education loans have made higher education affordable to many, one has to remember that it is best avoided since the repayment would hobble the child from the beginning of his or her career.

Wedding, too, has always demanded a huge sum. It’s an event which serves as an index of family prestige. Media and social media have constantly raised the aspiration levels of the new generation and parents have to live up to it.

All these call for sustained and disciplined approach to investments from the tender age of the child. Investing has become a challenge with the continuous decline of interest rates to a level when inflation has begun eroding capital instead of adding to it. Therefore, saving is not sufficient. Unless the hard-earned money is not invested properly its value will evaporate quickly. Therefore, settling for the appropriate investment strategy according to the one’s goal has become significant. Parents needs to recognise the long-term need, formulate a goal and, if necessary, take the help of experts decide on the investment strategy.

To reach the destination quickly, one has to start early. Don’t put off investment decisions and start as quickly as possible. Moreover, revisit your strategy from time to time in the light of market realities and emerging possibilities. From insurance to market-linked products to debt instruments to gold and even real estate, there is a wide array of instruments to invest in to secure the apple of your eye.