Happy Father’s Day to all the families out there.
I’m about to complete one year as a father. What’s changed for me since my daughter’s arrival last June?
These days, I get up 30 minutes early to have breakfast with my daughter instead of having a quick rushed grab-and-go breakfast. Later, I have a nice, long dinner with my wife and daughter. The little one is 11 months old, and prefers to play with her food than eat it.
I realise the immense value in a full night’s sleep. I’ve learnt to tune out the frequency of the high pitch crying of the baby when I am sleeping.
I’ve also learnt that having a child is a much bigger adjustment than getting married. My wife and I have the same tastes, but toddlers have a lifestyle entirely their own. Ours is awake every night, needing to be continuously fed, changed, and put to bed.
On the financial front, what have I changed?
Firstly, I doubled my term life insurance cover such that my family gets 10x my my income if I die. Any person with dependent family members must purchase a term plan – for their own peace of mind as well as for the financial support it will offer their family.
There’s no time to waste when it comes to starting a financial plan for your child. I have increased my monthly mutual fund SIP investment by 30% to save for my daughter’s education expenses. It would help me beat education inflation and financially support my daughter’s higher education.
For the moment, I’m grappling with a more basic problem: planning for my daughter’s play school fees which is surprisingly high in a Montessori school in Mumbai.
That’s where I am. How about you?
The writer is CEO, BankBazaar.com.