Father's Day: Girl's education, retirement planning are now top priorities for fathers

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 17 Father's Day is the perfect opportunity to recognise and thank dads for being the foundation of their families. The date June 18, 2023, has been chosen as Father's Day for this year. Fathers frequently become their children's closest friends and provide them with care, security, and company. With the changing time there is a huge responsibility on fathers in terms of managing finances and looking after the needs and requirements of their families.
To understand how fathers are achieving their financial targets, research has been conducted. This extensive study offers helpful insights into how dads in India are now addressing their financial goals. It is based on data collected from 17,000 individuals across 1,600 locations with 29,021 financial objectives.
In honour of Father's Day, FinEdge undertook research to learn more about fathers' financial aspirations and investment habits throughout the nation and at all stages of life.
According to the survey, there are some important facts that have come to light.
Planning for children's higher education
A home purchase is the top priority goal for fathers under the age of 30, with only 6 percent of them actively planning for their children's futures. One in five young fathers prioritise "wealth creation" as their top goal, indicating a more speculative mindset and a lack of purpose-based investing before the age of 30. Planning for children's higher education becomes more important after the age of 40.
Another important aspect of this study is giving more importance to the daughter's education.
Only 3 percent of dads in the 40-50 age range and 1 percent of fathers in the 30-40 age range prioritise their children getting married.
However, among dads over 50, this rate considerably increases to 21 percent. According to the report, fewer dads in India are prioritising early marriage above their daughters' education and empowerment.
Retirement planning is becoming more important, with younger fathers setting the example.
Fathers of all ages and stages of life are increasingly placing retirement planning at the top of their priority lists.
Contrary to expectations, more dads under the age of 30 (26 percent) prioritise their retirement over other aspirations than those between the ages of 30 and 40 (22 percent)!
Minimal regional bias in prioritising a child's future. The location does not appear to have a substantial impact on this objective.
24 percent of respondents from the south zone prioritised their retirement over their child's education compared to 21 percent from other regions, indicating a slightly higher awareness of the importance of retirement planning in this demographic. 60 percent of fathers from the north and east regions named planning for their child's education as their top priority goal, compared to 57 percent from the west and south.
Commenting on the entire survey, Harsh Gahlaut, CEO and co-founder, said "The results of the study provide in-depth insights about financial goals and investing patterns of fathers across the country at different life stages. It is very encouraging to witness paradigm shifts on how new fathers are now prioritizing their children's education - or their own retirement - instead of their children's marriages. Also, it reflects that deep-rooted societal changes are now underway, with more young people exercising their freedom of choice with respect to previously 'automatic' life choices such as getting married at a certain age or having kids"
"Needless to say, fathers play a critical role in setting up a robust financial future for their families. At FinEdge, we strongly believe that investing with clear financial goals in mind makes all the difference when it comes to managing behavioural traps and creating long-term wealth. We encourage all fathers to start investing with purpose instead of making ad hoc investments, in order to secure a fantastic financial future for their families, "he concluded.