Vivaan should be worried about how he will finance his education, how to generate income and manage his expenses. An education loan would be the best way for Vivaan to fund his studies instead of dipping into his savings. This will free up his investments to generate income for him in times when he is not working. He should look for a loan that will also cover his living expenses, at least partially. Vivaan will need the income to pay off the home loan and take care of the expenses that the education loan will not cover. His accumulated corpus must be taken out of the equities where it is currently invested and in investments that will provide him with a stable, defined level of income such as fixed deposits and monthly income schemes. He should also look into renting and using the house Pennies To some extent towards meeting the EMI obligations. While it may be okay for Vivaan to withdraw from this fund to meet his expenses, he should avoid drawing from his retirement savings as far as possible.

Vivaan must pay off any outstanding credit card or personal loans, so that they do not act as a drain on his limited income. He should condition himself to live on a low income and consider part-time employment to increase if his study program allows. A little planning and financial discipline should see him through this phase of life comfortably.

(Content on this page is courtesy of Center for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Aarti Bhargava and Labh Mehta.)