Skip to main content

A Financial Plan for Education

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 

Interest cost variation can also be a burden when planning for higher studies

With the cost of education in India and abroad having increased significantly over the past few years, providing finances for higher education for one's children, has become as important a financial goal as buying a house or planning for retirement. Hence, it requires proper and systematic financial planning. Lets look at the steps involved in financial planning for higher education.

Determine one's current financial situation: Gathering details about finances - that is, your current income, expenses, savings, debts and investments.

Estimate funds required:

Researching the course your child wants to pursue and keeping note of the funds required in future for meeting such higher education plans.

Identify alternative course of action: Life is uncertain, so you must always be ready with alternative courses of action. For example, choosing alternative educational institutions (in case your child fails to secure admission in the institution that is his or her first choice), curbing unnecessary expenses and so on will help. While deciding on an alternative course of action you need to assess the risk and time value of money. You also need to consider personal values and economic factors.

Create and implement your financial plan: You should create a financial plan that takes into account the future costs of education and not just the current costs -this will mean budgeting for inflation, interest cost variations, and so on. For example, if your child is three years old now and you are planning for his or her education after the age of 20 years, the cost of education could look something like this: ( See the table)

You should consider the investments already made, such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), mutual funds, and so on for this purpose, and deduct it from the total corpus required.

For example, if there is already an investment worth ~20 lakh in various instruments, then the total funds required (assuming foreign study in our example above) would be ~47 lakh, which can now be amassed over 17 years.

Now let us consider the various investment options:

1) You could be invested in a PPF as it gives you tax free fixed interest rate, principal security and income tax deduction.

2) Investing in a Systematic Investment Plan of a mutual fund, will give better returns than most instruments - but at higher risk of capital loss.

3) One can save by creating a trust for children. One needs to make an irrevocable transfer to the trust, where money cannot be claimed back by the donor. All investments are made through the trust and the income generated can only be used in accordance with the purpose of the trust. The income from the investments is not clubbed with the donor's income, but the trust needs to pay the tax.

4) It is not wise to invest directly in equities with the money set aside for your child's education, as there is a lot of uncertainty in the stock markets and you could end up losing the invested money. Debt instruments would be a wiser option.

5) In case of any shortage, your child could opt for an education loan, which he/she could repay after her graduation. However, consider the monthly repayments, collaterals and interest rates before taking up such loans.

Interest paid on these loans are also fully deductible from taxable income under Section 80E up to eight continuous years, starting from the year in which the interest is first paid.

Tax benefits

Another area to keep in mind while planning for child's education is the tax benefits one is eligible for.

A parent can claim a deduction of payment made for tuition fee to any university, college, school or any other educational institution. The deduction on payments made towards tuition fee can be claimed up to ~1 lakh together with deduction in respect of insurance, provident fund and pension. It can only be claimed in respect of two dependent children and for fees to an educational institution within India and for tuition fee only.

Review and revise financial plan:

A financial plan is personalised and unique. This plan should be monitored and revised regularly keeping personal goals in consideration to ensure proper outcomes.

Course Current Future pursued price (~) price (~)*

M.B.A. in India 8 lakh 21 lakh Medical in India 15 lakh 41 lakh Foreign study 25 lakh 67 lakh

*After 17 years; assuming inflation at 6%

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan Invest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaver Invest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Invest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993 Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax Saver Invest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFunds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Rs 14,000 Crore worth of tax free bonds coming soon from NHAI , PFC

  NHAI, PFC file prospectuses, coupon rate not yet decided MORE debt investment options have opened up for investors with AAA rated tax-free bonds worth over Rs 14,000 crore lined up. The National Highway Authority of India ( NHAI ) and Power Finance Corporation ( PFC ) are offering Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 4,033.13 crore worth of tax-free bonds, respectively, as per prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Of a Rs 5,000 crore issue by PFC, Rs 966.87 crore has already been raised through private placement on September 28 and November 1. Tax-free bonds give investors tax-free return on any amount invested. In another kind of bonds, the long-term infrastructure bonds, investments up to Rs 20,000 are tax exempt, that is this cap amount can be deducted from the taxable income. Accordingly, the NHAI prospectus has clarified that only the amount of interest from -and not the actual investment on -its new bonds will be tax-free. "NHAI's publ...
Read more

Change in Fund Manager for some of HSBC Mutual Fund Schemes

Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India) However, this facility is only available to Unit holders who have been assigned a folio number by the AMC.   HSBC Mutual Fund has announced that the below mentioned schemes shall be managed by the new fund managers as stated in the table. The effective date will be July 02, 2012.   Amaresh Mishra 's will be Vice President and Assistant Fund Manager. Having done a Post graduate diploma in Business Management and Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, he has over seven years of experience in Equities and Sales.   Mr. Piyush Harlalka's designation shall be Vice President- Fixed Income. Qualified as a C.A., C.S. and holding M.B.A.( Finance degree), he has over six years of experience in Fund management and ...
Read more

How EEE and EET Tax affect Retirement Investments

  An important factor while choosing a financial product is its taxation , and for retirement savings, this is even more important as the sums involved are usually life-long savings. Here's a look at the current tax treatment of three major long-term retirement planning products, which are - Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Pension System (NPS). EPF The tax treatment is EEE, which means your money is exempt from taxes at the time of investment, accumulation and withdrawal. At the time of investment, the tax deduction is under the limit of section 80C of the Income-tax Act , which is currently Rs 1.5 lakh. Partial withdrawals are also tax-free if made after 5 years of continuous service. If withdrawals are made before 5 years of service, 10% tax will be deducted at source. Exceptions have also been provided for transfer of amount and conditions wherein the subscriber is unemployed for more than 2 months or the loss of job was beyond th...
Read more

Personal Finance: You can insure your wedding

But luck may not always be on your side. With the frequency of such attacks, as also other risks and unforeseen accidents growing, a wedding insurance is something you may want to look at if a marriage is being planned in the family. Event insurance plans like this is still in its nascent stages due to low awareness. And given the sacred nature of the ritual, nobody wants to discuss or think negative. But as wedding spends and risks grow, it makes sense to cover the potential monetary loss. The policy in those countries even covers the loss of the wedding ring, the wedding gown not reaching on time and even the expenses/loss due to late or non-appearance of the photographer which may mean staging the event once again for the photograph. In India, most insurance companies — including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Oriental Insurance, Bajaj Allianz and National Insurance — offer wedding insurance. The policy is tailor made to individual requirements and needs. The sum insur...
Read more

DSP BlackRock MidCap Fund

Best SIP Funds Online   HOW HAS DSP BlackRock Small & Mid Cap Fund PERFORMED? With a 10-year return of 14.61%, the fund has outperformed both the category average (12.34%) and the benchmark (10%) by a good margin. Should you invest in DSP BlackRock Small & Mid Cap Fund? This fund invests predominantly in mid-cap stocks but takes a sizeable exposure in small-caps as well. The focus is on nascent companies with high growth potential. The fund manager places emphasis on quality and avoids inferior businesses even if these look tempting from a valuation perspective. Over the past year, the fund portfolio has grown, having added to some of the underperforming sectors like chemicals and healthcare. Its portfolio churn has come down significantly. The heavily diversified portfolio is run completely agnostic of its benchmark index— most bets are from outside the index—which can at times lead to bouts of underperformance as seen in the recent years....
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now