Societally, we often speak of education as a "cost", a large, daunting expense on the horizon. This framing can make saving for it feel like a burdensome obligation, a financial mountain to be climbed with dread. A powerful mindset shift is to reframe this completely: the money allocated for education is not an expense; it is one of the highest-return investments you will ever make.

This investment isn't measured in annual percentage yields, but in lifelong returns: your child's earning potential, their intellectual development, their network, their capacity to contribute to society, and their personal fulfilment. Unlike a car that depreciates or a vacation that becomes a memory, this investment appreciates over a lifetime and compounds across generations. An educated individual creates more opportunities, makes better financial decisions, and provides a more stable environment for their own future family.

Adopting this investor mindset changes everything. It justifies starting early and being consistent, just as you would with a retirement fund. It encourages you to seek "growth" in your portfolio to maximise the final "investment" in your child's launch. It makes the periodic SIP deduction feel not like money leaving, but like capital being deployed into a project of immense future value. When viewed through this lens, the discipline required becomes a source of pride and purpose. You are not just saving up to pay a bill; you are systematically building the capital that will fund the single most important venture of your family's future.