Most people avoid this calculation because they suspect the answer will be uncomfortable. It usually is. It is still far less uncomfortable than discovering the gap in the year the admission letter arrives, when the only remaining options are a loan or a compromise.
Three numbers, in order
1. What the course costs today
Use today's fee for the kind of course you have in mind, all-in: tuition, living costs, materials. If you are unsure, take the fee of a comparable programme now. Precision matters less than not leaving out the living costs, which people routinely do.
2. What it will cost when you need it
Education costs in India have generally risen faster than the headline inflation rate. Using an assumed 9% a year, a course costing ₹15 lakh today would be around ₹42.2 lakh in twelve years' time. That is not a prediction — it is what 9% compounding does, and the point is the shape of it: the number roughly doubles every eight years at that rate.
3. The monthly amount that gets you there
Working backwards from ₹42.2 lakh in twelve years, at an assumed 10% a year, comes to roughly ₹15,600 a month.
| Cost today | Years away | At 9% inflation | Monthly SIP at 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹15 lakh | 12 | ₹42.2 lakh | ₹15,600 |
Illustration only, at an assumed constant return — not a projection of any scheme. Actual returns vary and are not guaranteed.
Our goal calculator does this for your own numbers, including the inflation step most calculators leave out.
If the monthly figure is out of reach
It often is at first. The useful responses, roughly in order:
- Start with what you can and step it up. Beginning at ₹6,000 and raising it 10% a year gets you a long way toward ₹15,600 without ever requiring a jump you cannot absorb.
- Count what already exists. Money already invested for this purpose reduces the monthly requirement, sometimes substantially.
- Revisit the assumption, honestly. A different course or a different country is a legitimate answer. Pretending the number is smaller than it is, is not.
- Accept that a loan may be part of it. An education loan covering the last slice is a normal outcome, and a far better one than having no plan at all.
The part people forget: take the risk off near the end
A goal with a fixed date is different from open-ended investing. If the fees are due in eighteen months, that money should not be exposed to a market that can fall 30% and stay there — there is no time to recover before you must pay. A common approach is to begin shifting the goal's money into something steadier a few years out, so that what you need next year is not riding on what markets do next year. When to start that shift, and into what, depends on your circumstances and is worth discussing rather than guessing.
Assumptions are assumptions
The 9% education inflation and 10% return above are illustrative figures, not forecasts. Real costs may rise faster; real returns may be lower, and equity returns over any particular twelve-year window are not guaranteed. Recalculate every year or two with what has actually happened, rather than trusting a projection made once.
Before you act on any of this
This note is general education, not investment, tax or legal advice, and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. It does not take account of your income, obligations or goals. Figures shown are illustrations at an assumed rate — markets do not deliver a constant return, and no return is assured or guaranteed. Tax rules and interest rates change; anything dated here was correct to the best of our knowledge in September 2026 and is worth re-checking before you rely on it. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
Happy to talk it through — get in touch, or read how we are paid.