- What today's education cost will actually become after years of inflation
- How much a monthly SIP investment could grow to over the same period
- What Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana adds if you have a daughter under 10
- How much a one-time lump sum contribution could add on top
What you'll figure out
Step preview
1
What will your child's education actually cost?
Start by adjusting today's cost for inflation over the years ahead
2
How much would a monthly SIP grow to?
Model a market-linked investment over the same time horizon
3
What about a safer, tax-free option for your daughter?
See what Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana adds on top
4
What if you also invest a lump sum today?
Model a one-time contribution from savings, a bonus, or a gift
Start Journey →
Takes about 10 min · Save anytime
Most education planning starts and stops at "how much should I invest per month?" without ever pricing in inflation or comparing multiple ways to reach the number. This journey starts with what the education will actually cost by the time your child needs it, then walks through three different ways to build toward that number — market-linked, government-guaranteed, and a one-time contribution.
Who this is for
- Parents starting to plan for a child's future education costs
- Anyone with a daughter under 10 evaluating whether to open a Sukanya Samriddhi account
- Families deciding how to split savings between SIP, SSY, and a lump sum contribution
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this journey take?
About 10 minutes. You can pause and resume anytime within the same browser session, and every step you've completed stays saved.
Do I need to use all three investment options — SIP, Sukanya Samriddhi, and lump sum?
No. Most families use a mix, and this journey shows what each contributes on its own so you can decide the combination that fits your situation. The Sukanya Samriddhi step only applies if you have a daughter under 10.
Why does the SIP step use the same time period as the inflation step?
Keeping the investment horizon and the inflation projection horizon the same is what makes the comparison meaningful — you're checking whether your SIP corpus at year 15 actually covers the education cost at year 15, not some other year.
What if my SIP corpus doesn't cover the future cost from step one?
That gap is exactly what the Sukanya Samriddhi and lump sum steps are for. Try increasing your monthly SIP amount first, then check how much a realistic lump sum or SSY contribution closes the remaining difference.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. Everything stays in your browser's session storage and clears when you close the tab. Nothing is sent to thecalcu.com's servers.
Can I change my inputs after completing a later step?
Yes. Go back to any step, change a value, and any step that pulled data from it gets flagged as needing a recalculation, both on that step and on the summary page.
How accurate is the education inflation rate?
It's only as accurate as the rate you enter, which is an assumption based on your child's likely field of study, not a guarantee. Education costs, especially for professional courses, have historically run above general consumer inflation — try a higher rate than you'd use for everyday expenses.
Why use Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana instead of just investing more in the SIP?
SSY offers a government-fixed, tax-free return that doesn't carry market risk, which makes it a useful counterweight to an equity-heavy SIP rather than a replacement for it — the two work best together, not as alternatives.
What if I don't have a specific amount to invest as a lump sum?
You can skip that step or run it with a smaller, realistic figure — even a modest one-time contribution shows up meaningfully in the final maturity amount because it has the maximum possible time to grow.
What should I do after completing the journey?
Check the summary page for all four results side by side, then add the SIP corpus, the SSY maturity amount, and the lump sum maturity amount together and compare that total against the future cost from step one.
Free calculators used in this journey