Aditya Agarwala, Co-founder of invest4Edu, spoke with Vivek Law on the<\/em> Simple Hai!* show about education inflation, financial planning, career choices and how technology can help parents prepare for their children\u2019s future.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Law asked about his career transition, Agarwala revealed that although he had worked in equity markets since 2007, it was not his true calling. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he and his co-founders reflected on their purpose and realised their financial expertise could help parents plan both education expenses and career choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agarwala pointed out the frequent mismatch between what people study and the careers they eventually pursue. He stressed that early counselling and structured planning can help prevent such misalignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Law noted the surge of young investors during the pandemic, many of whom were drawn towards speculative trading in derivatives. Agarwala cautioned against such speculation and urged young investors to focus on fundamentals and disciplined investing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Derivatives, he said, should primarily be used for hedging rather than speculation. For those without the time or expertise to study markets, he recommended mutual funds as a more suitable investment route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A key part of the discussion centred on what Agarwala described as \u201ceducation inflation.\u201d While general inflation may remain around 3\u20135%, education costs can rise by 8\u201312% annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat means your child\u2019s education cost can double in just 6\u20137 years,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Agarwala said financial planning should not focus only on the cost of education. Parents must also consider their children\u2019s aptitude, interests and aspirations. He noted that more families are choosing international boards such as IB (International Baccalaureate), particularly when planning for overseas education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While postgraduate education abroad continues to dominate, Agarwala said undergraduate education overseas is also gaining momentum, particularly among students from Tier 1 cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He attributed this shift partly to aspirations around international employment and citizenship. Parents are increasingly planning for overseas education immediately after Class 12 rather than waiting until postgraduate studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agarwala explained that the IB board is popular among some families because of its practical orientation and early specialisation, and because it is recognised by universities globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he clarified that Indian boards remain strong options and do not disadvantage students applying to universities abroad. They also remain well suited to students planning higher education in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Law asked about changing career preferences, Agarwala explained that invest4Edu uses psychometric testing and counselling to help children identify careers that align with their abilities and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He highlighted emerging opportunities in areas such as digital marketing, sports, music and content creation. These careers now have greater social acceptance and can offer meaningful earning opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agarwala acknowledged that some parents struggle to move away from conventional career expectations. His team therefore conducts workshops that encourage parents to have open conversations with their children and understand their interests rather than imposing their own aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agarwala emphasised the importance of starting early and allowing compounding to work. Parents, he suggested, should consider a mix of equity, debt, mutual funds, EPF and gold depending on their financial circumstances and goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The objective, he said, is to avoid discovering too late that the amount saved is insufficient to fund a child\u2019s education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On education loans, Agarwala advised parents to avoid excessive borrowing. He suggested keeping loans at around 30% of the total education cost and not exceeding 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He warned that students taking loans covering 80\u2013100% of education expenses can face significant financial stress. Parents therefore need to assess their finances realistically before committing to a particular destination or institution, even if that means reconsidering the destination or adjusting investment plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agarwala explained that technology is allowing invest4Edu to extend its services beyond major cities into Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its tools include an AI-powered education journey planner and \u201cEdu AI\u201d, a multilingual chatbot designed to answer parents\u2019 and students\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI can also enable greater personalisation by helping identify career options, study destinations, test preparation requirements and application pathways. \u201cWe can now provide parents with a granular, end-to-end plan from schooling to postgraduate studies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conversation between Law and Agarwala highlighted a growing financial challenge for Indian families: education costs are rising faster than general inflation, while career choices are becoming increasingly diverse.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The episode reinforced the importance of starting financial planning early, understanding a child\u2019s interests and abilities, avoiding excessive education debt and using technology to make informed decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For parents and students, the central message was simple: planning for education should begin long before the admission form does.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Education Inflation Is Rising: Why Parents Need to Start Planning Early Aditya Agarwala, Co-founder of invest4Edu, spoke with Vivek Law on the Simple Hai!* show about education inflation, financial planning, career choices and how technology can help parents prepare for their children\u2019s future.* Why Did Aditya Agarwala Move From Stock Markets to Education Planning? When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions\/326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesimplehaishow.com\/thesimplehaishow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Did Aditya Agarwala Move From Stock Markets to Education Planning?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Advice Does Agarwala Have for Young Investors?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Quickly Is Education Becoming More Expensive?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why Are More Indian Students Choosing Undergraduate Education Abroad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Which Education Board Is Better for Students Planning to Study Abroad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Can Career Counselling Help Children Choose the Right Path?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Should Parents Financially Prepare for Rising Education Costs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Much Should Parents Borrow Through Education Loans?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Is AI Changing Education and Career Planning?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why Should Parents Start Planning for Education Early?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n