A reader says, “I am 36 and have a 4-year-old daughter, trying to save some money for her education, marriage and my retirement. In one of your podcasts, you mentioned that 50-50 allocation is enough to create a good corpus. I can invest 1 lakh per month based on my current financial situation. Do I…

Since Budget 2024 announced a higher LTCG tax on equity mutual funds and removed indexation benefits for old debt fund units, many readers have asked us if they could use the tier II account of NPS for tax-free rebalancing. Although this response is expected and unsurprising, it is still frustrating and disappointing. Investors are ready…

A subscriber to our YouTube channel asks, “I am 20 years old. I want to start investing. Which can I choose, Nifty Next 50 or Nifty Midcap 150 index fund?” For older people like me, it is lovely that you want to start investing so early (I appreciate that it is now quite common for…

Here are 16 immediate steps a person who has just started earning should consider to manage their money better. Money is there to be spent. There is no point in saving or investing money without enjoying the present. At the same time, we should also invest some of our money to continue enjoying the present in…

In a consultation paper dated July 16th 2024, SEBI has proposed the introduction of a “New Asset Class” (for now, that would be its name) with a “risk-return profile between MFs and PMS.” Public comments can be sent via this link until Aug 6th 2024. The paper says, “The proposed New Asset Class seeks to…

I have been investing for my son’s future (college and other expenses) since Dec 2009 – a month before he was born (He is 14 now). Here are some lessons from this journey. Many years ago, I asked in the Jagoinvestor forum, “If anyone has achieved their financial goals using mutual funds, please share your…

“How does it feel after reaching financial independence?” is a common question for readers. Recently, a reader asked if I had thought of any outreach activities like social service after achieving financial independence. I enjoyed the journey towards financial independence a lot more. The planning. The discipline to invest. The tracking of monthly investments and…

When we discussed the lifestyle of Santhosh, a middle-class crorepati, we received questions from young earners that can be paraphrased as “I cannot be like Santhosh. I like to live a good life with a car and expensive smartphones. However, I feel guilty that continuing my lifestyle will impact my investments and the wealth I…

The cost inflation index for the financial year 2024-2025 is 363 – an increase of 4.31%. We compile 44 years of cost inflation index data to understand the devastating consequences of inflation and why our singular focus should be on beating inflation for our long term goals. The cost inflation index (CII) is not a…

A reader says,  “Where do you get the data for your analysis discussed in this video? Index Investing In India TNIA Talk Part 2. I also want to make a similar analysis. Where can I get it? Can you please share the website?” This list of free data sources can be used for DIY investing and…

A frequent criticism by those who encounter freefincal articles or videos is, “This guy is very pessimistic about equity investing”. I also often get asked why that is the case. Please allow me to explain. There is a difference between lack of faith and pessimism. If I lack belief in equity, I will not go…

We discuss how pretty much all of investing (lump sum or SIP) and borrowing (debt., EMI) can be described by a single equation! In finance workshops, people are often taught to use spreadsheet commands like PV, FV, PMT, NPER, etc., without a deeper understanding. Consider a lump sum investment we shall label as pv (for…

Are you worried about market volatility due to the elections and beyond? You can easily reduce portfolio risk with these simple steps we refer to as goal-based risk management – a combination of passive, systematic investing and active risk reduction. If implemented sequentially, these steps would result in greater focus and success. You can automate…

It is quite common to see one partner (either the husband or the wife)  utterly uninterested in money management and investing. They take for granted that the other partner will handle everything. Perhaps this contrast is higher in households if one takes an additional interest in personal finance. Although my wife is super-smart and capable…

A reader asks, “Our daughter is one month old. How should we start investing for her future?” Starting on a clean slate is always the best way to start. Let’s dive straight into the goal-planning steps. The goal-planning steps We need a target corpus after 17/18 years, depending on when she was born. That is…