Browse Tag: finances

Biggest mistake people make with their Money

Biggest mistake people make with their Money

common money mistakes

“I am too young to start investments”
“I usually have a lot of month remaining after my salary gets over”
“I am barely floating”
“I will invest when I am approaching retirement age”

These are some common statements that you hear when you talk about money matters.

It doesn’t matter whether you are from middle income or higher income group. The problem with money is same across all the income groups. Even affluent and high income category also have ‘these’ issues.

Most of the working professionals have these issues because of their ‘attitude’ towards money.

Not paying attention towards the cash flow

cash flow

“We don’t earn much. By the month end we do not have any leftover money”

If you are earning and if you have to say that you don’t have money left by month end then there can be 2 possible scenario

  1. Either your income is too low OR
  2. Your expenses are too high

If your income is low and you are barely making enough to sail through the month then its a different story. But hey, we are not talking about this category. Here we are talking about the other category – people who are unable to save money because their expenses are way high for them to save and invest.

Here we are talking about those who have decent monthly income but due to their spending habits, they are unable to save and invest anything. This is purely because of their ‘ATTITUDE’ towards money. These people are making a lot of money month on month, but they don’t have any idea where their money is going? Simply because they don’t care and don’t pay attention to it. It is their attitude towards money which we are talking about.

Not paying attention towards Debt

burden of debt


With the advent of modern day banking, credit is cheap and is available easily. Home loan, Auto loan, personal loan, credit card cash advance, home improvement, holiday spending – name any damn thing and you have a credit line available for it. Banks happily distribute credit cards and other loans which makes it easier for individuals to buy anything and everything on credit.

In our grand parent’s / parent’s days, they used to save money to buy anything. These days it’s merely a tap of credit card or a swipe.  Instead of saving for things we want, we borrow money and buy them right away.

This attitude towards debt does not allow individuals to come out of monthly payment cycles and they keep buying unnecessary items throughout their life.

Not paying attention towards Savings & Investments

savings and investments


Most of the working people, earning good income can not cope with emergencies. A car break down, a medical emergency, kids education, marriage, sudden job loss and so on. If anything happens, they don’t have emergency funds to tackle the sudden financial crisis. They rush towards credit line from banks or bank on credit cards.

The attitude towards cash flow and the attitude towards debt discussed above has direct effect on attitude towards savings and investments by an individual. If people know where their money is going, and they do not keep accumulating debt, they will have free money which can be used to save and invest thus strengthening their financial standing.

Taking a closer look towards your cash flow and debt will help you to plan and save money for emergencies and kid’s education. Once you start saving and investing with goals in mind, you can tackle emergency situations too through proper planning and an emergency fund.

Bottom-line is we need to be proactive with money instead of being reactive. Take charge, take control of your money and plan where your money should go. If you do not change your attitude towards money, you will never come to know where your money went.

 

Happy investing !!!

Perfect recipe for your Financial Disaster

Perfect recipe for your Financial Disaster

Wealth creation is not a “Rocket Science”. But it’s neither a “cake walk”.

In spite of being well educated, well traveled across – still we are prone to making mistakes in life. Some mistakes can be corrected easily but some could have long term impact on your life. In financial journey too, there are some mistakes which can have long term negative impact and after certain point it’s impossible to rollback the ill effects of the mistakes you make.

money mistakes

Some of worst money mistakes one can make in financial life

The journey to wealth requires a series of correct steps at right times with regards to your finances. However there are a set of mistakes that exist which can ruin the hard work & self control of years.

  1. Spending more than you earn: Overspending means spending way more than you earn. This will keep increasing gap between your income and expenditure and you will never be able to create the desired corpus for your retirement years. And ultimately the black hole will suck all your resources sooner or later.
    A simple budget for your rescue      
  2. Not working to maximize your career: Basic education is required and it is a must to embark on journey to wealth creation too. Education helps you in understanding things better, take rational approach, take timely decisions, plan strategies etc. Aim should be to maximize your career through education so that you have steady income for expenses and investments.Education is not an essential recipe to become wealthy but a good education can surely land you up in a career which can pay you enough to create wealth wisely

    graduation - higher education

  3. Waiting to invest till the right time comes: There is a Chinese proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” The same goes for investing. Albert Einstein was amazed by the power of compounding and called it the eighth wonder of the world. The key is to start as soon as possible and to stay in the race as long as possible. You cannot time the markets hence the right time is now to start investing. Start with whatever little you can. If you plan to accumulate money and then invest, trust me it will never happen.
    Delaying investments can cost you dearly     
  4. Not saving enough: Unfortunately there is no magic figure or magic formula that if you save X% of your income you will become wealthy after Y years. The perspective of X% differs for a fresh graduate starting job and someone who has spent 30 years in corporate world. Most of the people make mistake in assuming “Things will work out eventually” They absolutely ignore inflation and rising costs of housing, costs of healthcare, education. These costs have a good potential to make a big dent in your savings.invest now7 Simple ways to start saving now
  5. Choosing the wrong life partner: Creating wealth is not a solo journey. It is a team effort involving family members. Once you start working, gradually you tend to settle in life by marrying, planning for home, kids etc. It is very important to choose your life partner carefully. A careful selection can make or break your plan of becoming wealthy. Both the spouses should be on the same page as far as road to financial freedom is concerned and should remain focused throughout the financial journey. 
  6. Not having enough life and health insurance : People usually tend to ignore insurance part in their life. Most of them take vehicle insurance since it is mandatory. When it comes to insurance they they usually take insurance to save tax and generally tend to mix insurance with the investments. This leaves them neither here nor there.

    Result is they are neither covered adequately nor their investment cum insurance policy sold to them by their trusted adviser or some over friendly relative is yielding any positive returns post inflation deduction. By doing this not only they are leaving their wealth creation plan in limbo but also keeping their near and dear ones in danger of financial bankruptcy in case if something happens to them.Why you need insurance
    Why you need Insurance?
  7. Investing heavily into real estate: Real estate is always a big ticket purchase. This is the most expensive thing a person buys during his or her lifetime. Real estate investments are usually advisable once you are done with all other investments with proper asset allocation. House/flat for self consumption is not counted here. Reason why because real estate investments are big ticket purchase. Also the returns are usually good in long term.

    The process of buying and selling could take up to 6-12 months. This makes them illiquid to certain extent. If you tilt your asset allocation towards real estate, you may run a risk. What if real estate pricing falls? One should take holistic approach towards real estate. Also since ticket size is big and you cannot sell part of the asset if you need money unlike stocks/mutual funds/bank deposits. 
  8. Not having a will: No matter what’s your age, you must have a will. Creating a will is not a grandpa / grandmas job. Whatever you have earned, whatever wealth you have accumulated so far should be passed on to your successors in case of something goes wrong with you. A will also prevents strife in families at a later date. Even you should have nomination forms duly filled with the banks and financial institutions where you have accounts. This makes life easy for family members in case of something goes wrong with you.Preparing a will
    10 Money goals to accomplish before you turn 40
  9. Buried deep in debt: Easy consumer loans always lure you to fall into temptations of buying what your neighbors buy. Blaring advertisements in print/electronic/social media do not leave any stone unturned in convincing you that your life is incomplete if you do not buy a certain product.
    Keeping with Joneses syndrome can be a big debt trap. Buy 80 inches 3D LED TV when you deserve, not on EMIs. Buy when you are ready financially. If EMIs are taking a huge chunk out of your monthly income, you are not going to succeed in wealth creation. Have a practice of buying all your stuff with cash – this way usually one tends to buy only needs not wants.

Avoiding above mistakes takes a balanced well planned approach. So gear up and embrace the systematic approach towards your finances.  

Happy Investing !!!

 

Plan your wealth & retirement with Mutual Funds – WealthSamurai

Plan your wealth & retirement with Mutual Funds

 

 

mutual fund investments

A young techie sent me a message “I am 24 years old and I need help with my retirement planning . Can you help me out?”.

Amazing, isn’t it? Hardly around a decade ago it was impossible for people like us – early into the professional life to talk about retirement planning and personal finance. The scenario has changed completely. Now a days I see a lot of young professionals lined up seeking early retirement advice and discuss on the ways how they can accumulate wealth. Till a few years ago, these kind of questions were the subject of discussion for people in their late 40s and 50s

The reason behind this is the younger generation is much more aware about the surroundings. Youngsters are more worried about the retirement and investments. They indeed should be as

  • There is no provision of company funded pension schemes in private organizations and even in most of the Government organizations now.
  • It’s unlikely that the kids / family will help the current generation during their retirement times.  Hence they can not even think of relying on them during their golden years.
  • Due to advancement in medical facilities, people are living longer now. This means they have to provide for themselves for few more years.
  • The cost of living, including the healthcare costs are on the rise and one needs money to fund the living.

So how to get around and plan for a decent retirement for yourself? Rather I should frame this question as “How best mutual funds can be used to fund your retirement plan effectively?”

 

investment in mutual fund

A lot of historical data which is available at hand at many online portals / financial magazines indicates that the returns from a small amount invested religiously over many years in equity mutual funds have always beaten the inflation by a huge margin.

What does this mean? When you are investing for retirement you have to make sure that your earnings are not affected by inflation. Say for example, money in savings bank account as of today earns around 3% as interest per year. Retail inflation usually hovers at around 4%-6%. This effectively means that your money is eroding its value when you keep it in savings account.

When you are investing for a long term or a goal like retirement, you must ensure that you go full throttle to increase the gap between inflation and the returns you generate from your investments.

As per the historical data, over last 10 years

  • Large Cap mutual funds category has generated an average of around 14% returns per year
  • Diversified mutual funds category has generated  an average of  around 17% returns per year
  • Midcap / small cap mutual funds category has generated  an average of around 20% returns per year

So we do have some learning from the statistics above. To keep our earnings well above the inflation – we must tap the potential of Equity Mutual Funds. Right? It is extremely important to to earn well above inflation to save our money from eroding its value.

Now coming back to Mutual Funds, all one has to do is to select a mutual fund which fits in one’s risk taking appetite and set aside a sum every month to invest in it. Do it religiously for eternity – you will certainly hit the jackpot. If you are young, starting your career and love to take risks, pick a more aggressive small cap / mid cap combination. Choose the best funds in the category and you are done. Only catch is you have to invest in it month on month for many years. If you keep on investing and do not withdraw your earnings, you are set for your retirement corpus. One more things, invest a sizable amount. My suggestion is you must aim to invest 20%-30% of your take home income every month.

If you are conservative by nature, pick any top rated large cap equity mutual fund and hang on with it till you reach your retirement age.

 

benefits of mutual funds

Believe me, there are no shortcuts of becoming rich. One has to invest diligently over a long period of time and once you give exposure of time to your equity mutual funds investments none can stop you from acquiring a decent retirement corpus. You will be amazed to see the power of compounding.

One word of caution – do not get disturbed or distracted with short term fluctuation in markets. Every few years there will be sharp down turns which can be used to park more funds and earn better during the upcycles.

If you are young, ready to start – I am reachable at wealthsamurai at gmail.com to help you out.

More Reads:
Want to enter equity markets? Index based ETF funds are the safest bet
6 Sins people commit when computing retirement corpus

Happy Investing !!!

 

How to achieve Financial Independence? Explained in simple language

How to achieve Financial Independence? Explained in simple language

Almost everyone in today’s era wish to have financial independence. At least most of the people I have met wish so. Isn’t it?

However most of them have no idea how to become financially independent?

financial independence

 

Oh yes, I have heard this term many times in TV talk shows and have also read about it in the newspapers. It sounds too complicated to me. Can you explain to me what is Financial Independence in a simple language?


Financial Independence is a state which is achieved when you have earned and saved enough money so that you do not have to work anymore to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life. In short, you do not have to work to earn money. Don’t get confused. You still can work even after achieving financial independence. You can do whatever work you like, you can work just for pleasure. Financial Independence means you no longer have to slog that 9-10 hour shift everyday in order to pay your monthly payments, credit cards etc.

 

Wow, this sounds great. Can you throw some light on how can I be Financially Independent?

There is a simple time trusted formula with few set of rules for achieving Financial Independence.

  1. Your spending should always be less than your earnings
  2. Increase the GAP between your income and savings – Earn more
  3. You must invest what you save judiciously

If you follow the above 3 step formula, none can stop you from achieving financial independence.

high-income-1

 

Hmm… looks simple per say but how to implement this into practical life?

Ok, let’s take each step one by one

 

  • You must always spend less than what you earn:
      1. It’s quite possible to spend less than what you earn. If you are able to control your spending habits, you will be able to achieve this equation. First tool to achieve this is Budget. A simple budget can save you from many things. It will tell you where your money is going without you making a note.
      2. Don’t splurge in buying that big house just because you can afford it. Buy the right size house. Home ownership can be a quite expensive affair.
      3. Don’t buy big automobiles. Remember, your car is not your asset. Monthly payments on big cars will never let you move towards financial independence.
      4. Be little frugal in your living. Cook at home, eat out less frequently. This will not only save you money but also save your health in the long run. Stay fit and be WEALTHY.

 

  • You must strive to Increase your earnings:

 

      1. Importance of education can never be denied. If you are well qualified academically, you have a better chance to land a high paying job. Keep working towards increasing your income by augmenting your qualifications, certifications. This will boost your ability to save and invest more towards your main objective, which is financial independence.
      2. If you are good at something, try to earn some income from it. For example if you are good at graphics designing, use your spare time to take up some freelance projects which can earn some side income for you.

 

  • You must invest wisely:

 

    1. Savings are important but savings alone will not make you financially independent. Invest wisely so that your money grows at a healthy rate
    2. Use a mix of equity, debt and use diversification so that your investments remain recession proof.
    3. Invest from day 1 of deciding that you want to achieve financial independence. Do not wait for the right time to invest.
    4. Avail tax exemptions to minimise the loss of money to taxes.
    5. Structure your investments properly and practice goal based investing

 

If you are able to achieve a healthy saving and investment rate month on month and manage your investments properly, you can be financially independent sooner than you expect.


We at WealthSamurai always believe in a healthy savings rate and proper investments as the best tool to take control of your financial life.

That’s really a helpful. But how do I know the details like where to invest, which stock, which fund to buy?

 

Once you start tackling the three points mentioned above you will get more insight into the micro equations like where to invest, what amount to invest, what percentage of diversification is required etc. But important is to take the first step towards financial independence and keep going.

 

Happy Investing !!!

 

Why you must Start investing in Equity markets through mutual funds

Why you must Start investing in Equity markets through mutual funds

Most of us are scared of the equity markets. We have some or the other excuse NOT to start investments in equity. For some, it’s risky, for some it’s too technical. Some feel that it’s too complex to understand and they are not qualified enough to understand the nitty gritties of the market ups and downs.

 

mutual fund investments

 

If you have never invested in mutual funds, you are at the right place. This post briefs you on how and why you should invest in mutual funds for various financial goals and milestones in your life.

Search for higher returns on investments make people to look out for investments in equity markets. Investment in equity markets bring “high risk” to the table. Everyone can not be an equity expert to understand the technicalities of the market swings, when to enter the market or when to exit the market. The loss of the principal amount is the biggest threat which keeps most of the investors away from the equity markets.

An equity Mutual Fund is the best tool for common investors to enter into equity markets. It helps them to reduce the risk, earn higher returns and since they are professionally managed, they play fair game.

By definition, “A mutual fund collects money from individual investors and invests the money on their behalf in the stock market, bonds, government securities etc. and it charges a small fees to manage the investment.”

 

investment in mutual fund

 

I am listing down 5 compelling reasons on why one should invest in mutual funds.

 

  1. Equity Mutual funds give higher returns :
    Ultimately every investor aims for a higher return on his/her investments. Equity mutual funds have given much higher returns in the past if you compare it with the fixed income instruments like fixed deposits / recurring deposits / bonds etc. Mutual funds have controlled exposure to the equity markets which in turn gives higher returns to the investors. If you see the returns from equity mutual funds over the last 15 years, most of the funds have given returns around 14%-15% compounded annually. This is much higher than the inflation figures

  2. Mutual funds are professionally managed:
    Mutual funds are professionally managed by qualified and trained fund managers usually picked up from top schools.  Fund manager’s daily job is to study, track the stock markets and tweak the fund’s composition accordingly. Also all the mutual funds in India are governed by SEBI which is a government agency which is governed by the government.

  3. Mutual funds can make you a disciplined investor:
    Mutual funds have amazing concepts of Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) and Systematic Withdrawal plan (SWP). Armed with these plans, you need not have to bother about logging into your account every month and buy fuds, or switch funds. You can set up SIP, STP or SWP and sit peacefully while mutual funds work with your investments

  4. Mutual funds have greater liquidity:
    Unlike some investments like PPF, Government Bonds, mutual funds have an excellent liquidity. Except ELSS – Equity Linked Saving Scheme mutual funds (which have a lock in for 3 years), equity linked mutual funds can be sold and redeemed within 3 working days. Liquid mutual funds can be sold and redeemed in 1 working day. Thus one does not have to worry about liquidity related concerned when he is investing in mutual funds.

  5. Equity mutual funds are highly customizable:
    Equity mutual funds comes in various shapes and sizes. There are diversified funds, thematic funds, sector funds, large cap funds, small cap funds, mid cap funds, index funds, tax saving funds, arbitrage funds and so on. You can chose funds as per your choice and investment horizon. Mutual funds are not rigid like Government bonds or PPF scheme where you do not have right to alter the composition. Also the switch facility from one mutual fund to other givers it more flexibility.

  6. Mutual funds provide you ease of investment:
    Mutual funds are so convenient. No need to stand in long queues to invest your money or no need to do loads of paperwork to park your money. A simple online account can work for you. Usually one can approach their bank to open an online trading account through which mutual funds can be bought and sold by merely clicking mouse.

 

benefits of mutual funds

 

Looking at the historical data, there is no denial that equity mutual funds gives you much better bang for your money. The returns are much higher than the traditional investment avenues. If you want to get rid of earn-save-spend cycle, you have to look for professionally managed schemes which gives you higher returns.

Look no further, make a good portfolio of mutual funds to get better returns and invest money for your future retirement and goal based investment needs.

 

Happy Investing !!!

A simple budget can save you from 5 big troubles

A simple budget can save you from 5 big troubles

Most of us are scared of the word “Budget”. We think that the word is too technical for our comfort and should be best avoided. Also, most of us don’t like to budget or keep track of our spending. We are least concerned about the reason for this behavior as we think that the life goes on without budgeting also.

Simple Budget

In spite of living in a Hi-Tech era, we avoid using technology to track and plan our finances.

If we start creating a simple budget and start tracking our expenses, we can cure 5 of our life’s major financial troubles. I am sure these financial woes are common to most of us reading this stuff.

Trouble #1
You have absolutely no idea about your money.

  • Only thing you know that salary credit in the beginning of the month.
  • You are clueless where your money has evaporated halfway down every month.
  • You rely on credit cards for month end expenses – not by choice but more because of compulsion.

 

How making and sticking to a budget can change this?
When you start creating a budget and record expenses

  • You know exactly how much money goes where
  • You can cut down on certain unwanted expenses so that your money lasts till month end
  • You are not clueless about your money- you have a proper track of income and expenses

 

Trouble #2
You are not saving any money

  • You do not have any emergency fund
  • You have trouble with money when it comes to fulfil your needs and goals quite often – e.g. you wish to upgrade your kitchen, but you don’t have savings to do so or you want to go for a holiday abroad, but you can not do so as you don’t have sufficient funds.

How making and sticking to a budget can change this?

  • When you start budgeting, you start saving and investing money
  • A systematic goal based savings and investments can ensure that you have money for your future needs and goals
  • You become more systematic with your money when you start budgeting
  • You can plan annual vacations well and as a family you can have a good time

 

How to make a household budget

 

Trouble #3
Your mindless spending habits

  • You don’t realize but your entertainment expenses are very high
  • You are spending way more than you should on eating out
  • Your clothing expenses are all time high
  • You are paying over the roof for your internet and phone bills

 

How making and sticking to a budget can change this?

  • You will come to know about your money leaks when you make budget.
  • You can free up loads of money vanishing through money leaks
  • You can cut down all unnecessary and expensive money spending when you start writing expenses

 

Trouble #4
You struggle to get what you want

  • You are unable to save for your retirement
  • You want to buy a house but you are unable to arrange for the downpayment
  • You are unable to save and accumulate money for your kids education
  • You badly want to travel abroad for holidays but you can not afford to do so


How making and sticking to a budget can change this?

  • When you budget, you have track of expenses and leftover money
  • Leftover money can be invested wisely
  • With goal based investing, you can ensure you have enough money / savings to fulfil your dreams

 

Trouble #5
Cash Flow problem is common with you

  • You do not have a cash buffer
  • You are unable to go even for a casual meal at a good restaurant over the weekend if some guests drop in
  • You do not have enough money for emergency repair of your vehicle

 

How making and sticking to a budget can change this?

  • With budgeting, you can save cash and have an emergency fund which can tackle emergency situation for you
  • Again writing expenses can plug money leaks and free up money which can be utilized towards emergency fund
  • Freeing up money leaks can also help you in building cash buffer which is useful for events like casual dinner out etc.

 

So, take charge of your money. Do not count budgeting and writing expenses as burden. If you start budgeting and writing expenses, you can avoid many common issues and problems related to money which you are facing in your day to day life.

Remember – Budgeting and tracking your spending is the first step towards financial independence and this has been emphasized by every financial planner.

 

Resource:
Here is how to make a simple budget?

 

Happy investing !!!

 

How to save and invest for your Kid’s higher education ?

How to save and invest for your Kid’s higher education?

It’s not a rocket science to calculate how the cost of education has increased in last one decade. Where some of us paid close to nothing for our schooling, we are paying through our nose for our kid’s schooling. I myself studied in a central government school and paid INR5 per month as fees for my entire 12 years of school education. And these days just to buy application form for school admission one has to shell out INR500-INR1500.

 

higher education

 

Now imagine the cost of higher education. The PGP class of the most prestigious B school in India – IIM – Ahmedabad will pay INR19.5 Lacs in 2018 for the two years course. And behold, this amount is 400% higher than what IIM-Ahmedabad charged for the same course in 2007.

 

Almost same is the story with all the undergraduate courses for engineering, sciences and all other subjects. If you extrapolate the fee for the next 10 years, the figures become scary. If you have not planned well for your kid’s education fund, you could get a rude shock. Remember, here we have only talked about the cost of education. I have not even touched the cost of lodging and boarding during the education period.

 

This sharp spike in the tuition fees in last decade or so is a wake up call for parents saving for the higher education of their kids. Through this post I am trying to cover the means by which parents can plan the savings and investments for their kid’’s higher education.

 

The strategy for investment will be different for

  • A new born
  • 5 yrs of age
  • 10 years old kid
  • 15 years old kid

 

Based on which group kid falls, you can choose the strategy for your kid’s higher education.

I am covering very simple means to build corpus fund for higher education. I am not using any complicated investment streams for this.

 

When planning for a newborn

The main benefit of planning at this stage is one get a target investment period as 15-17 years. This target period for investment is sufficient to ride on the equity wave to get high returns and plan for a good corpus without pinching pockets. One can try the below mix

  • Start Mutual fund SIP in 5 equity diversified equity funds (distribute MF investment amounts across 5 different funds). With this you can earn up to 12%-15% gains per annum
  • Don’t fall for ULIP
  • Don’t fall for any child education or insurance plan from insurance companies
  • For a 17 year target, once you reach 15 years, start taking out money from equity mutual funds and start parking in short term debt funds through STP
  • Open a PPF account in your kid’s name and max out the account every year. This gives tax free returns on maturity.
  • Whatever cash gifts your child gets on birthday year after year, use it to fund PPF account. Also there is no harm in asking relatives to give cash on birthdays as opposed to gifts and feed the PPF account.
  • Make sure that you start moving equity investments through equity mutual funds to short term debt funds when target year is about 2 years away. This will safeguard your gains in case stock markets show fluctuations

 

When the kid is 5 years old

In this case, one has an investment horizon of 10-12 years. This is also a good time horizon for using equity as investment tool. The benefit of using equity is generating higher returns. If always gives good returns over a longer duration but returns could be volatile in short term. Below mix can be tried

  • Start mutual fund SIP in 3 diversified equity mutual funds. With this you can earn up to 12%-15% gains per annum
  • Start mutual fund SIP in 2 balanced mutual funds. They have up to 40% exposure in debt instruments so the chances of losing money is little less during turbulent markets
  • Open PPF account and max it out every year. This gives tax free returns on maturity.
  • Whatever cash gifts your child gets on birthday year after year, use it to fund PPF account. Also there is no harm in asking relatives to give cash on birthdays as opposed to gifts and feed the PPF account.
  • Don’t fall for any ULIP
  • Don’t fall for any child education or insurance plan from insurance companies
  • Make sure that you start moving equity investments through equity mutual funds to short term debt funds when target year is about 2 years away. This will safeguard your gains in case stock markets show fluctuations

 

When the kid is 10 years old

In this case, the target investment horizon is 7 years. Equity mutual funds to be used judiciously to generate good returns for close to 5 years and then entire equity investment has to be moved to debt in order to keep the gains safe.

Below mix can be tried

  • Start mutual fund SIP in 2 equity funds
  • Start mutual fund SIP in 2 balanced funds
  • Open RD account (if you are under 30% tax bracket – better to move to debt funds right away )
  • Open PPF account and max it out every year
  • Don’t fall for any ULIP
  • Don’t fall for any child education or insurance plan from insurance companies

 

graduation - higher education

When the kid is 15 years old

In this case, you have only 2 years as investment horizon. You can not rely on equity so all equity mutual funds are ruled out. Your entire folio has to be debt oriented. You can try below mix

  • Invest heavily in short term debt / liquid mutual funds through SIP
  • Open RD accounts (if you are under 30% tax bracket – better to move to debt funds right away )
  • Don’t fall for any ULIP
  • Don’t fall for any child education or insurance plan from insurance companies
  • Liquidate all your investments in physical gold which are in the form of coins/bars and move the money into short term mutual funds.
  • For those who have invested in PPF when the child was just born, they can move the maturity amount in short term debt fund. For them it’s time to consolidate the investments and try to save the gains through moving all investments for kid’s higher education into debt instruments.

 

As a parent one has to take charge and start investing for kid’s higher education. Cost of education is rising and educational loans are an expensive bet. Though it’s good to encourage your kid to part fund his/her higher education through educational loan but since the cost of education is very high, a parent can also chip in some amount with the help of steps discussed above.

 

One final word:

If you start planning and investing when the child is just born or up to 2-3 years old, you have a good time horizon to ride the equity markets. A small amount per month for about 15 years can give you excellent returns without straining your finances. For example if you are targeting INR25 lacs over 15 years, you need to save only INR5000 per month in equity funds. If you delay investing for 6 years, your monthly investment figure becomes INR9200. If you wait for another 3 years, the monthly investment amount jumps to INR23800 and with this you may not be able to take benefit of equity market. So be active and start planning now.

 

Happy Investing !!!

Financial problems with an average family

Financial problems with an average family 

Most of us falls under an average family category. Average family usually comprise of husband & wife with one or two kids. In some cases husband and wife both are working and in some only husband is working hard to run the family and wife takes care of the kids and home.

 

average family

 

Everyone strive to be rich and wealthy whether it’s poor class or middle class. We all would like to enjoy the luxuries of life and we keep working to achieve the goal of becoming wealthy. But have we ever thought what keeps the poor class and middle class struggling to become rich? If everyone is working hard why an average middle class family remains a middle class family ? Why don’t they become rich say after 5 years of slogging ?

Let’s take a look at the financial problems with an average family which keeps it pulling back from realizing its dream of becoming wealthy.
average family

 

  • No financial planning: The single biggest problem for most people is that they just do not plan their finances. It just keeps coming and going. Even if they are not happy about the results they got so far, they do not change the way things are they do in their life.
  • Overspending: Many people with not very high incomes have very high ambitions. This is likely to get them to grief. In the stores too, gadgets and appliances are priced as EMI to lure people. It looks cool to have latest gadget and appliances hence people tend to stretch themselves and overspend. We have seen earlier how supermarkets are big traps?  
  • Not talking finance at home: Children are kept away from the finance topics at the dining table. Finance is perhaps the second most taboo topic at home! So many children grow up without knowing how much of sacrifice their parents have gone through to educate them. This makes children ignorant about finances and they repeat financial mistakes their parents made in the past.
  • Parents spending on education and marriage: There are just too many kids out there who believe that they need to worry about savings, investment and life insurance only when they cross 40 years. This means your father, father in-law or a bank loan has funded your education and marriage. Kids should take on financial responsibility at a much younger age than what is happening currently. Or rather parents should take lead and make their kids financially responsible.
  • Marriage between financially incompatible people: Most marriages under stress are actually under financial stress. Either the husband or the wife is from a rich background and the other partner cannot understand or cope with the spending pattern. Or the spending habits of partners are different. One is frugal and one is spendthrift causing severe financial imbalance in the family.
  • Delaying saving for retirement: “I am only 27 years old why should I think of retirement “ seems to be a very valid refrain for many working professionals! Every year that you delay in investing the greater the amount that you will have to save later in your life. Till the age of 35 it might be feasible for you to catch up, but after some time the amount that you need to save for retirement just flies away. We have seen earlier that delaying investments can cost you dearly. 
  • Inadequate life and medical insurance: With all the risks of lifestyles, travel, etc. illness and premature death are common. We buy vehicle insurance because it is forced upon us, but we ignore life insurance! Imagine insuring a INR10 lakh car, but not insuring (or under insuring) the person who is using the car — and paying for it, that is, you! We have seen earlier that Why we need insurance?  
  • Not prepared for medical emergencies: Normally big emergencies — financially speaking are medical emergencies. Being unprepared for them — by not having an emergency fund is quite common. Emergency fund has now come to mean the credit card.This is good news for the bank, not for the borrower. We have seen earlier that what is an emergency fund and why we need it?  
  • Lack of asset allocation: Risk is not a new concept. However, it is a difficult concept to understand. For example when the Sensex was 10k there was much less risk in the equity markets than there is today. However at 10k index people were afraid of the market. Now everybody and his aunt wants to be in the equity market — and there are enough advisors who keep saying, “Equity returns are superior to debt returns.” This is true with a rider — in the long run. It is convenient for the relationship manager to forget the rider. So there could be a much larger allocation to equity at higher prices — to make for the time missed out earlier. We have seen earlier that goal based investing is a good approach to have proper asset allocation. 
  • Falling prey to financial pitches: The quality of pitches has improved! Aggressive young kids are recruited by brokerage houses, banks, mutual funds, life insurance companies, etc. and all these kids are selling mutual funds, life insurance, portfolio management schemes, structured products, et al. Selling to their kith and kin helps these kids keep their jobs, and there is happiness all around! These kids, themselves prey to financial pitches, have now made it an art when they are selling to their own natural “circle of friends and relatives.”
  • Buying financial products from obligated persons. This is perhaps one of the worst things you can do in your financial life. A friend, relative, neighbor, colleague who has been doing something else suddenly becomes a financial guru because they have become an agent! Charity begins at home, not financial planning.
  • Financial illiteracy: Most people do not wish to know or learn about financial products. They simply ask, ”Where do I have to sign” — so buying a mutual fund is easier than buying life insurance! Selecting products based on the ease and simplicity of buying is a shocking but true real life experience in the financial behaviour of the rational human being!
  • Ignoring small numbers for too long: What difference will it make if I save INR5,000 a month? Well over a long period it could make you a millionaire! So start early and invest wisely. It will make you rich. That is the power of compounding. We have seen earlier the magical power of compounding. 
  • Urgent vs important: Most expenses, which look urgent, are perhaps not so important — the shirt or shoe at a sale. That luxury item which was being offered at 30 per cent discount is such an example. These small leakages are all reducing the amount of money you will have for the bigger things like education or retirement. We have seen earlier that how to tackle money leaks.

 

financial problems

The list can be long but the points mentioned above can well be attributed as hindrances that are responsible for middle class not becoming rich. So if you want to become wealthy, tackle these issues in your life one by one. I am sure you will be able to cross the fence sooner after tackling the above mentioned issues.

 

Happy investing !!!

 

Seven Baby steps towards financial freedom

Seven Baby steps towards financial freedom

Do you know how marathon runners are trained?

If someone thinks he should run a marathon, and goes for the run very next morning what will happen? It will be a disaster for him. Right?

baby steps to financial freedom

 

A marathon runner must start small initially with 1 kilometer, 2 kilometers run and so on. He has to gradually attain the 42 kilometers mark. He has to gradually build stamina, develop endurance, have many practice sessions before he hits any competitive race.

All this happens over a period of time. This can not happen overnight. Hope you all agree with me on this. A runner has to set small milestones first like a 5 kilometer run, 10 kilometer run, a 25 kilometer run and so on. Once all small milestones are reached, a runner can confidently go for a full length 42 kilometer marathon.

Same is with financial planning. If you are at ZERO level or you have just started journey towards setting finances in order, thinking about financial freedom will look impossible to you. Journey towards financial freedom is a long journey. You have to create numerous milestones which will make the journey also interesting and you will always be motivated throughout the journey. Achieving these small milestones will also give you a sense of accomplishment in the course of the journey. Not to forget, these milestones will also keep you away from backtracking.

Below are some important milestones you can create in order to stay focused and not to lose interest while journeying towards financial freedom. The order is important as you can not run a full marathon without conditioning yourself for a half marathon. Isn’t it?

 

climb to financial success


Step 1
Start making a budget. Write down all expenses month on month. It is important. It will help you in knowing your spending  pattern.This will also give you an idea about your investable surplus – the money which you can utilize for investments moving forward. (How to make a simple budget)

Step 2
Save about 6 months of expenses in cash or liquid funds. This amount should be easily accessible to you. This is your emergency fund. This is meant only for emergencies like some medical attention or in case you lose your job. This will keep you afloat when you do not have any income to take care of expenses and will help you in not falling in debt trap during any personal emergency.

Step 3
Gradually but steadily pay off all your consumer debt. Consumer debt is considered as a bad debt for an individual. Debt for TV, appliances, vehicles, furniture etc falls under consumer debt. One these debts are tackled, you free up a large monthly investable surplus.

Step 4
Start saving for retirement. Most of us will not receive any pension or annuity. Keep somewhere around 25%-30% of your monthly salary as your investment for retirement. Make a good balanced folio and start investing. Your folio can be a combo of Debt, mutual funds, PPF etc.

Step 5
Start investing for your kid’s education. You can dedicate an equity linked mutual fund for this. Also you can open a PPF account when your kid is born and maximize investment into it every year. A combo of PPF and an equity linked mutual funds can do wonders for your kid’s future.

Step 6
Pay off your mortgage/home loan. This will remove a big burden from your head. It is good to feel debt free. But this is little tough as usually the amount is quite high. But I strongly recommend you to do this as paying off mortgage will free up a huge chunk of money for you as an investable surplus.

Step 7
Keep re-adjusting your portfolio once in a couple of years and enjoy life. Keep reading, pursue your hobby, keep traveling but remember that your money has to outlive you.

These are small steps. You can start any time, at any age. Important is you make a START.

Happy investing !!!

Wealth Mantra: Buy assets and avoid liabilities

Wealth Mantra: Buy assets and avoid liabilities

 

Is there any formula which can make me or someone like me wealthy?

Keep on accumulating assets and keep on avoiding liabilities – This is a fool proof mantra to become wealthy.

 

Asset and liability

OK, but can you elaborate as I can not understand this? The terms liabilities and assets are too technical for me.

Don’t go into too much technical details about ASSETS and LIABILITIES. To keep things simple and easy to understand let’s consider asset as something that generates a positive cash flow regularly. This is something that was explained by Robert Kiyoski in his famous book Rich Dad & Poor Dad. Also, we will consider anything that takes money out of your pocket as liability.

The above assumptions are quite simple as you have a very clear demarcation between assets and liabilities. Let’s scan through some of the common items and check if they add up as your ASSET or qualify as LIABILITY to you.

HOUSE:
I am sure like everyone you also must be having a strong belief that your house is your biggest asset.

Yes, I have a big house with a big monthly payment going out against the home loan/ mortgage I took out to purchase it. It is indeed the biggest asset I have till date.

Keep our initial definition of ASSET and LIABILITY in mind. Let’s go through the expenses associated with a house.

  • You take out home loan/mortgage to buy a house. You pay processing fees, lawyers fee and several other charges while purchasing
  • You pay monthly maintenance charges to Association/Society for the upkeep of the common area and housekeeping charges for the common area
  • You pay sinking fund
  • You pay annual property taxes
  • You dole out money to keep the house in proper shape – maintaining cleanliness inside the house, make sure all taps, fittings, fixtures etc are in proper working condition.
  • You pay money for the repainting job every couple of years


The list can be pretty long. If you see, every single head mentioned above results in money going out of your pocket. Now if we go back to our original definition – it says anything that gives you regular return or puts money back into your pocket qualifies as an ASSET.

Now here we have our house which is not fitting in the definition of ASSET.

Sure, you can say that house price will appreciate in due course. But the appreciation can not match the kind of money that goes out of your pocket month on month to maintain the house.

So the house is a kind of liability. To counter the liability factor, one must buy the house which is of right size. The house which fits your need in terms of space and pricing. The moment you buy a bigger house than you need, money starts going into drain. Here I would like to add that if you have a rental property, then it is your ASSET not LIABILITY.

Oh, I was under the impression that I have a big house and it’s a big asset for me. Your arguments seems to be logical.

Let’s take CAR now:

It is said that the moment a car comes out of a showroom, it loses about 15% of its value.

On top of this, your car consumes money in

  • Fuel
  • Regular maintenance, oil changes, servicing etc.
  • Car depreciate with the passage of time
  • Wear and tear of tyres, other parts
  • Annual insurance premiums
  • Road tax

Here again we see that the car is consuming your money regularly. Hence your Car is also your LIABILITY. The takeaway here is unless you are super rich, don’t buy a bigger, expensive car. Remember a car is a mere tool to take you from point A to point B. So here again buy what you need, not what your neighbor drives. More details can be found here – Your car is not your asset

 

Hmmm sounds right. What about the items I owe like my belongings etc?

Now list down all your belongings. They are your LIABILITIES as they lose value over time. Be it your furniture, appliances, gadgets, books, DVDs, gaming devices etc. All depreciate. We have seen it earlier too here 

liability is bad

You have listed down almost all my possessions under LIABILITY column. I am now curious to know what qualifies as ASSET?

  • Your assets include your investments (FD/RD/ULIPs/Mutual funds, shares, ETF, Bonds)
  • Any commodity (Gold/ ornaments)
  • Collectible items
  • Art (paintings etc)
  • Rental properties
  • Cash you are holding

All the line items listed above generate income over a period of time. They put money into your pocket regularly so they all classify as your ASSET

The key here in accumulating assets is to make financial goals, stay focused and never crib about your income but keep investing regularly.

Now, let’s see something interesting based on the classification of ASSET and LIABILITIES. Let’s see what poor, middle class and wealthy people do.

Poor: They mostly own liabilities and keep spending on feeding their liabilities.

Middle class: They have some assets but they keep on buying liabilities and spend their chunk of income in feeding their liabilities. They avoid investments and usually spend money to buy and maintain things they don’t need.

Wealthy:They generate a lot of income from investments and keep reinvesting. They accumulate good amount of wealth which can be passed to their next generation.

Now financially independent class: This particular class has plenty of good assets and income from investments is enough to take care of all their expenses. They constantly look for investment opportunities and never averse of buying good assets.

Bottom-line is one must keep buying good income generating ASSETS and avoid LIABILITIES like plague. If you stick to this, none can stop you from becoming WEALTHY. As you go on accumulating good assets, you get more freedom to take calculated risk in order to go for higher gains.

 

Happy investing !!!

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