Many a times parents overlook other goals as they are too busy focusing on just one goal, that is on their child’s education. They are too emotionally involved in achieving this particular goal that they forget planning for their retirement and saving for other emergencies.

Saving for your childs education is one of the top priority goals. As parents, each one wants to give his/her child the best schooling and education available. This is one such goal wherein you have sufficient time to save enough to achieve your target. Again, this goal is one such goal that cannot be postponed and so has to be achieved in a particular time.

It is crucial to have education expenses budgeted into your monthly cash flow, along with your other expenses. Below are some steps to keep in mind while saving for your childs education.

Invest carefully

In order to successfully attain your goal, it is important to choose investments carefully. It is prudent to invest in instruments which would give you better returns. Investing in liquid assets, with proper asset allocation and tracking them regularly, can help you reach your goal. As this is a time bound goal, one should regularly invest in instruments like PPF and fixed deposits too for timely returns instead of opting for illiquid assets like real estate.

Buy adequate insurance

Future is always uncertain. Hence, it is important for you as parents to have adequate life insurance, health cover and an accidental cover, in case of any emergency. Experts say it does not make sense to have too many policies if you do not have enough insurance cover.

Keep track of overall expenses

Today, education is an expensive affair. Once you have decided on the school/college where you want your child to study in, you should start estimating the overall costs of education. It is not just the fees, but other expenses like food, mobile bills, hostel fees, pocket money and transportation costs that will set in. Hence, keeping the current inflation number in mind and your overall expense, it is always better to increase the overall college costs by a good 15%. Inflation must be accounted for. Your overall costs will be determined after you take inflation into account.

Do not avoid other goals

Childrens education is one of the most important goals for any parent. However, one must not neglect other goals like planning for retirement and saving for contingencies. All your goals must go hand in hand. Many a times parents overlook other goals as they are too busy focusing on just one goal, that is on their childs education. They are too emotionally involved in achieving this particular goal that they forget planning for their retirement and saving for other emergencies. Hence, for a better balanced financial life, it is imperative to work simultaneously on all goals together, instead of just focusing on one.

It is not just important to educate your child in a reputed school or college, but it is equally important to inculcate the right values and morals in him. Yes, good schooling is extremely important, but what is more important is that every parent must spend adequate time with the child to nurture him, handhold him, be part of his school/college activities and thus give him adequate time out of your busy schedule.