I evaluate my retirement portfolio’s performance and my son’s future portfolio each year in a personal finance audit. This is the tenth edition. Published from 2013 onwards, these audits provide a sense of accountability and ensure I do not fall prey to fear of missing out, preventing bad investment decisions. They also point out the…

Jan 1st is just another day, but we consider it a time for new beginnings. If you want to manage money better, here are 15 personal financial resolutions and resources to consider for the new year. In his 2013 Ted Talk, former Google search quality chief Matt Cutts talked about the power of trying something…

The Indian stock markets have lost momentum for the past year. One can easily speculate reasons for the fall and wonder if we should stop investments or pull out money (we have started receiving such emails!). However, developing a simple market-independent strategy via systematic risk reduction would be far more productive. Why? We have no…

This article discusses the most crucial steps in defining and planning for a financial goal. Only after the goal is defined should one consider products for investments. Sadly most investors have a product-first, plan-later approach. Some assume they do not have a financial goal and only want to create wealth. They need to find a…

Many parents would like to know if they should include an international equity fund in their portfolio for their child’s education to account for currency depreciation against the US dollar. A discussion. The short answer to “Should I invest in an international fund for my child’s education?” is, that it is unnecessary. There is, however,…

A reader asks, “Sir, I have read several of your articles and noticed that you always recommend 50-60% equity for long term goals. I am 31 and wish to retire by 60. However,  I am extremely uncomfortable with stock market investing. So can you please let me know if I can manage with not more…

A reader asks, “how do we decide the right rate of inflation to be used in financial planning calculations?” Let us first address the easy part: “What inflation rate NOT to use!” Financial planning is a personalized exercise. All inputs and assumptions should reflect our personal circumstances. Therefore the rate of inflation we assume has…

A few weeks ago, in response to our article, “My salary is low, is financial independence an impossible dream for me?”, reader and contributor Anand Vaidya pointed out, “those with low incomes are often more irresponsible with money and expenses. I can share two examples” So we invited him to do so along with lessons…

In this article, we share a risk assessment spreadsheet created by Suresh Murugan and discuss how it naturally works as a family crisis management cheat sheet. Suresh is no stranger to crisis. He met an accident the day he got married and learned key money lessons. Since this personal financial audit was shared with readers,…

A reader asks, “Sir, my boyfriend and I are about to get married. Both of us want to have children. Can you please write an article on how to prepare for parenthood financially?” Although I welcome and admire it, most people may dislike this line of thinking. For them, childbirth is a gift and should…

In this article, we discuss a set of questions sent by a reader about a 25-year investment duration. Among these, he wishes to know how much should be allocated to small cap mutual funds. We address them in the order received. For a 25-year retirement goal, what will be your allocation percentage towards equity, gold…

A reader writes, “We are about to sell our flat. Many of my friends advise me to buy 54EC Capital Gain Tax Exemption Bonds to save tax and then invest the money. However, I wonder if paying the tax and investing the rest in equity is better. Can you please do a comparison study? Thanks…

The freefincal robo advisory tool is now available on Google Sheets. You can use it to plan from start to finish for retirement (early, normal, before and after), non-recurring financial goals (child education) and recurring financial goals (holidays, appliances etc.). The tool would help anyone from ages 18 to 80 plan their retirement with a…