New Delhi, June 16 -- A parent spends fifteen to twenty years investing through SIPs for a child's higher education. The contributions are made diligently, the portfolio compounds steadily and, by the time the admission letter arrives, the target corpus has been achieved.

On paper, the goal appears fully funded.

But just when the first-year fees are due, equity markets correct sharply and the corpus comes under pressure because the money remained invested for growth even though the goal was only weeks away.

The parent did everything right while building the corpus, but overlooked one critical part of the journey: preparing the money to be used.

This is a challenge that extends far beyond education planning. It applies equally to retir...