Most retirement planning focuses on the “Magic Number”—the total corpus. But the day you stop working, the game changes. You stop getting credited on the 1st of the month, which helps you meet all your expenses. Instead, you need to plan to get that money into your account from the corpus you have accumulated. To…

There is a scene in the classic Bollywood movie Baghban that haunts an entire generation of Indian parents. Amitabh Bachchan’s character, having retired and spent his entire provident fund on his children’s settlements, sits at home. He asks his son for a small amount of money for glasses. The son sighs, rolls his eyes, and…

Mr Sharma (a pseudonym for perhaps your father, uncle, or neighbour) is a success story of the great Indian middle-class dream. He grew up in an India of scarcity—ration cards, waiting years for a telephone connection, and job security being the ultimate prize. For 40 years, he worked tirelessly in a PSU or a corporate…

Many NRIs living in the Middle East may be making a simple but expensive mistake with their Indian mutual fund investments. They continue holding their mutual funds for years without periodically realising their long-term capital gains, assuming they can redeem whenever they want. On the surface, this may not seem like an issue. But if…

The setting is familiar. It’s a cousin’s wedding, a Diwali card party, or a quiet Sunday lunch. You are enjoying your paneer tikka when Sharma Uncle—a distant relative, a retired neighbour, or perhaps your own Chacha ji—corners you. After five minutes of polite small talk about your job and marriage prospects, the pivot happens. Beta,…

In the world of personal finance, there is a silent disease that kills more wealth than market crashes or recessions. It isn’t ignorance. It isn’t inflation. It is Hyper-Optimisation. It is the irresistible urge to shift your money from an instrument giving 12% to one that might give 14%. We call this the 2% Itch….

Building wealth is not a static event; it’s an evolution. As your income grows and your experience deepens, the “one-size-fits-all” advice of your early 20s starts to feel restrictive. To help you navigate this journey, we’ve developed the Wealth Evolution Framework. By identifying which quadrant you currently inhabit, you can move away from guesswork and…

Building an equity mutual fund portfolio is one of the most important aspects of creating a financial plan. After all, it is equity which, in the long term, is most likely to beat inflation and create long-term wealth for the investor. However, creating an equity portfolio for a DIY investor is a very difficult task,…

Imagine you or a family member gets hospitalised. The disease for which you have been diagnosed is covered under your policy; you should also get this double-checked with the insurer. Your room rent limit is INR 10,000, and you take an INR 8,000 bed. Your overall policy coverage is INR 20 lakhs, and your final…

I lived in the UAE as an NRI for 26 years. Returning to India was not a sudden decision—it took years of planning. However, many NRIs don’t always get that luxury. A job change, visa issues, or family circumstances can force a quick return. That’s why preparation is critical. About the author: K Varghese is…

Fee Only India (FOI) is an informal association of like-minded, client-centric SEBI-registered investment advisors (RIAs) in India who share one common philosophy — the client’s interest always comes first. In this article, Melvin Joseph, one of the oldest SEBI RIAs and a founding member of FOI, explains what sets FOI apart. Over to Melvin. To…

A prospective client once told me, “I had a financial plan made three years ago. It showed my net worth growing, my SIPs hitting my goals, and a clear path to retirement. But today, the numbers are completely different. My portfolio is lower, expenses are higher, and my asset allocation is a mess. What’s the…

Imagine you have persistent chest pain. You have two options: Option A: You visit a cardiologist. You pay a consultation fee of ₹1,500. He runs tests, asks uncomfortable questions about your diet and exercise, and gives you a boring, difficult lifestyle plan to follow for the next 20 years. Option B: Your friendly neighbourhood Uncle…

My friend thought I had just told him to commit financial suicide. “You want me to… cancel it?” he asked, clutching his premium receipt like a holy relic. I nodded. For the last 15 years, this guy has been dutifully paying for a massive life insurance policy, convinced that stopping would be a betrayal of…

Many friends have expressed interest in becoming SEBI-registered investment advisors (RIAs), offering unbiased advice to clients and earning a decent income. 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 country. He…