In this article, we discuss what investors should do if they have already achieved their target corpus years before when they actually need the money. Today this may seem like an unlikely scenario for most young investors reading this, but over the years we have encountered so many people who are in this situation. Investing…

The emergency fund or a stash of money that is meant to handle unexpected expenses is one of the building blocks of personal money management. Yet, many aspects of it are not obvious unless we have first-hand experience. A discussion. First the basics: We recommend putting away 20% of your take-home pay until you have…

In this article, we discuss how to set up a guide for our life partner or spouse to help them manage money in our absence. Let us call this the continuity kit. Absence here not only refers to the death of the main money manager but also refers to situations like job transfers, promotions (with less…

Marriage is just a union of two souls. Isn’t it? Why bring money into the picture and spoil the sanctity of the union? Right? While these thoughts are awesome in your late teens and early twenties, they could wreak havoc in both your financial and married life. ‘Money cannot buy happiness, ‘money is the root…

Is money the root of all evil or social media is giving it tough competition? While social media has unlocked a world of possibilities, made information more accessible than ever, and is bread and butter for a lot of us, it has also made impulsive shopping popular. The convenience comes at a premium and the…

In this article, author and content writer Smriti Tuteja discusses some financial aspects that couples should keep in mind while planning a family. About the author: Smriti is an author, artist, freelance content writer and avid reader. She quit her six-year-long IT career to embrace her love for writing. Her article – How much money…

Most of us invest in equity (mutual funds or stocks) only for one reason – to beat inflation over the long term. Unfortunately, just because equity beats inflation does not mean we will be able to beat inflation! Let us start from “Is there evidence that equity investments beat inflation over the long term?”. Yes,…

Here are four qualities needed to become a successful investor. Thankfully we can develop these qualities in time. We neither need to be smart nor intelligent to succeed in money management. 1. Individuality:  We need to be clear about why we are investing. Otherwise, the smallest perturbation – a market up move or down move,…

Apurva asks, “You often talk about the importance of discipline in investing. How do I become more disciplined?” Hard work and discipline are often not recognised as talents anyone can develop (at least in principle). Here are two steps to becoming more disciplined in everything that we do. Organisation Routine 1. Organisation: Now that we…

Jan 1st is just another day, but we tend to think of it as a time for new beginnings. If you are looking to do a better job managing money, here are 17 personal financial resolutions and resources to consider for the new year. In his 2013 Ted Talk, former Google search quality chief Matt…

A young reader asks, “The investment journeys published at freefincal have inspired me to get started with my investments. However, I am confused about where and how to begin. Can you please write about this?” The end of the year is perhaps the perfect time to get started on money management, especially if you have…

A reader writes, “I am a 37-year-old investment professional. I have worked for large global financial institutions throughout my career. Most of my professional network unsurprisingly consists of other investment professionals. This might be counterintuitive to many, but I have known some exceptional professional money managers who are rather average at managing their personal investments….