When Mumbai-based Sneha Sawant announced her decision to study in the UK, her father was caught off guard. Sending kids abroad is a dream for many Indian parents due to the promise of a fancy job, global exposure and top-tier education. According to the HSBC Quality of Life Report 2024, which surveyed 1,456 affluent Indians, 78% of parents either plan to send their children abroad for education or

However, without meticulous financial planning, this dream can spiral into a costly nightmare—as Sawant’s father discovered. The staggering cost of international education left Sawant’s father rushing to arrange a large education loan as there were no prior savings.

Funding a child’s education abroad demands foresight and strategy. Sawant is due to fly abroad in August 2025 to London Metropolitan University to do her MSc in Pharmaceutical Science. “Studying overseas requires a disciplined financial approach. Parents must account for tuition fees, living expenses, travel costs, and currency fluctuations,” says Piyush Kumar, Regional Director for South Asia, Canada, and Latin America at IDP Education.

Start early

The key to avoiding financial strain lies in starting early. Consider Amal Biju’s parents, who began saving for his education when he was just 10 years old. Their foresight paid off when Biju secured admission to a university in Ireland in 2024. Biju will be done with his master’s this year and will be able to repay the loan quickly because only a small amount of money was borrowed. Of the Rs.35 lakh required, his parents had accumulated enough to borrow only Rs.10 lakh. “We  ..

This is a very smart move for parents who save for their child’s education. After calculating the correct amount needed, starting early is the first step towards reaching the target corpus as it helps you enjoy the benefit of compounding and beat inflation. This is more important considering that education inflation is higher than normal inflation. Rohit Shah, Founder & CEO, GYR Financial Planning, agrees, “Instead of assuming a standard 7% inflation rate, we recommend budgeting for a 10% an ..