If you open YouTube or Instagram today, the financial verdict is unanimous: Don’t buy a house. Rent it. The logic is seductive. Why pay an EMI of ₹60,000 for an apartment that rents for ₹25,000? The math says you should rent, invest the difference (the ₹35,000 surplus) in a mutual fund, and retire rich. Mathematically,…

SEBI RIA Ajay Pruthi continues his discussion on the education loan. This is part 1: Education Loan for Higher Studies – Who Pays for the Borrowed Dream? The convocation ceremony is the peak of the mountain. The black gown is worn. The degree is held high. But as the applause fades, the real story begins. The…

Many friends have shown interest in becoming SEBI-registered investment advisors (RIAs), offering unbiased advice to clients and earning a decent income from it. Several DIY investors are keen on helping others manage their finances. For them, it can be a second career. About the author: Melvin Joseph is one of the first RIAs in the…

In the great Indian middle-class living room, a high-stakes poker game is being played. The chips on the table aren’t plastic; they are retirement savings, ancestral homes, and the future happiness of the next generation. The central question is always the same: Who pays for the dream? About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI-registered…

In many affluent families today, a quiet dilemma is emerging — one that has less to do with money and more to do with timing. Parents, after years of discipline and hard work, have built comfortable lives and substantial wealth. Their children, meanwhile, have grown up surrounded by stability and the assurance that “jo kuch…

Is it always good to switch from regular to direct plans? The answer is No. Before you move to calculate the switch cost, the first step is to stop existing SIPs in regular plans and start investing in new SIPs in direct plans. The most important factor to consider is the expense ratio difference between…

You planned for everything. You have the PPF corpus, the health insurance, the paid-off home, and the monthly pension. You thought the hardest part of retirement would be managing inflation or medical bills. But six months after your farewell party, you realize you missed a hidden cost. A cost that doesn’t appear in any financial…

You check your bank account. The number is healthy. You have a steady job. You have savings. By all logical metrics, you are safe. So why does spending ₹500 on a dinner feel like a crime? Why does receiving an unexpected bill send your heart racing? Why do you feel an impending sense of doom…

Before you try to teach your spouse about money, pause and ask yourself a critical question: Why do I want them to learn? About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI-registered investment advisor. He can be contacted via his website plnr.in. Ajay is part of the freefincal list of fee-only advisors and fee-only India. Understanding your own motivation is…

In India, buying a traditional life insurance policy is almost a family tradition. It is often the first thing people buy when they start a job. But recently, you might have heard a lot of noise from financial experts or friends. They keep saying, “Why are you keeping that old policy? Surrender (close) it immediately…

It may seem like an odd name for an Excel file, but sometimes you need to create attention. On Saturday, October 4, 2025, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that financial assets worth ₹1.84 lakh crore were lying unclaimed with banks and regulators, and officials need to ensure these reach the rightful owners. About the…

In this article, Dhilip Krishna discusses why he became a fixed-fee-only SEBI-registered investment Advisor. He is a member of Fee-only India*. Dhilip can be contacted via his website: Apta Investment Advisors. * Fee-only India is an informal association of SEBI RIA that charges a fixed fee or a flat fee (independent of AUM). Recently, BSE…

In this article, SEBI-registered Investment Adviser IRIA) Ajay Pruthi provides his take on how a client should select an RIA. Ajay is a member of fee-only India, an informal association of SEBI RIAs who charge a flat fee. He is also on freefincal’s list of SEBI-registered advisors. You can contact Ajay via his website, plnr.in. Please…

Remember buying a phone, bike, or car. How much time did you spend analysing the product—checking features, prices, taking feedback from friends, or reading online reviews? And how much time do you spend reviewing a financial product? You would probably say this is not an apple-to-apple comparison, or it’s an apple-to-orange comparison. No, I am…

Financial Independence, Retire Early has revolutionised the way a generation approaches work and finances. But as more parents achieve financial freedom in their 30s and 40s, a troubling question emerges: What happens to our children when they grow up watching us live without traditional financial stress? This isn’t about leaving kids financially unprepared. It’s about…