The birth of a child is always a very special and joyful moment in any family. Every parent wants to give the best of everything to the child — be it a great childhood, education, wedding or any other thing. So whenever a child is born, parents usually try to i nve s t some money in the ch i l d’s name in an insurance policy, a fixed deposit or gold. Many a times, they just invest some lump sum amount, thinking it would help meet the child’s future goal and then conveniently forget about it.

W h e n my daughter Aditi was born, I followed a different approach. The first thing I did was to increase my term insurance by Rs 1 crore. Now I was at peace of mind that even if something were to happen to me, my family will get an additional Rs 1 crore which can be effectively used for my daughter’s future and she can enjoy the same benefits that I wish to provide her even if I am not around.

Additionally, I started saving for Aditi’s education and marriage so that I can easily give her a happy and financially secure future.

I started investing Rs 10,000 every month through an SIP in a diversified equityoriented mutual fund. In her naming ceremony, she received Rs 1.2 lakh in cash as gifts from our relatives. I invested the same into an existing fund.

Whenever there is any occasion in the family, she again receives cash gifts ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000. We simply invest these in the same fund.

Normally, people buy gold on Akshay Tritya, but I went and added Rs 20,000 in the SIP as I believe equity is the best asset class to deliver inflation-beating returns. My aim is to continue this investment for the next 25 years. If I continue the same, she would receive around Rs 50 lakh when she is 18 for her g r a d u at i o n and approx Rs 1.32 crore for her post-graduation on her 23rd birthday, a s s u m i n g a c o m p o u n d e d annual return of 15%.

As every Ind i a n p a re n t dreams of organising a big fat wedding for the daughter, so do I. So I started another investm e n t o f R s 10,000 for her marriage wherein she would receive approx Rs 7 crore for her marriage when she tur ns 30. And at that time, I will not have to dip into my retirement savings for her wedding, which unfortunately most parents have to resort to because they don’t plan in advance.