Should we save for our Child’s post-graduation?

Should we save for our Child’s post-graduation?

I grew up in an environment, where everything was given to me on a platter. Being the only Child of my parents, I could get whatever I wanted. My parents never asked any question or never even shared how difficult it was to earn money. Even when it came to my studies, I just had to study, and all the bills were taken care of. And now, when I’m married, I’m expecting the same thing from my Husband, but somehow he is not as coordinating as my parents. He asks, if this thing is really necessary for the house to run, or is it a value proposition to buy.

I’m sure most of us can relate to the story above even if we keep the gender aside. Everything was so simple in those days. But now the times have changed. If I fend for all the whims and fancies of my children, I won’t be able to fend for my retirement days and I will have to look at them the same way, they used to look at me when they were kids. And God knows, if they will do the same, what I did. And even if they take care of me in my old days, this is not exactly the way I would want it. I want to be independent.

There is one more important point we are missing in the above conversation – Are we teaching our Children the importance of money? I understand that in order to make our Children successful in life, we need to give them best education. This will also make them good citizens in future. But looking at the way the cost of almost everything is increasing, how prudent it is to fund for your Children’s post-graduation also. All I mean to say is that, yes if we are saving for Our Child’s graduation, is it necessary to keep our retirement corpus/goal at bay and save for his/her post-graduation also? Well, the Answer is, No it is not. Your Child’s post-graduation should not come before your retirement in the order of priority. By doing this you are not only safeguarding your own future, but also his future. Because if he goes for an education loan, then only he will understand the value of money, and this will also help him becoming a Confident Individual as he will be funding for his own education. God knows, he might also learn some financial nitty grit ties which are seriously missing from our education system.   

Charu Hastir, CFPCM is founder member of www.theriteplan.com. Rite plan is an online financial planning portal created to achieve a single objective of providing easy and Do It Yourself Financial Planning to netizens. Rite Plan is wholly owned by Tikkun Olam Financial Planning Services LLP. Please visit: https://theriteplan.com/index.php?route=common/home/