Suppose you invested in a stock market index only when it was “high” and compared the return obtained with that from an investment made only when the index was “low”, how much do you think the returns would vary? How would these returns compare with an investment made regardless of index levels? Let us find out. In…
Continue reading →“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed”, said British poet Alexander Pope. This applies to investing as well. Low return expectation is the key to minimising effort associated with money management. I have published a series of post on ‘what’ and ‘how’ to expect when you are expecting .. er returns….
Continue reading →Reinvesting stock dividends can make a huge impact on your wealth over the long term. To illustrate this, we first consider how a total returns index is calculated by assuming dividends are reinvested. Thanks to Prof. Robert Schiller for making monthly S & P 500 data available from 1871 for calculating the Schiller PE with the trailing…
Continue reading →I am not a mutual fund salesmen. Therefore I have no problem in pointing out that a mutual fund SIP, in particular in an equity mutual fund does not reduce the risk associated with the equity market in any way. All a SIP does is buy units at different market levels. Some high, some low. No…
Continue reading →“How can I fund my goal if the market crashes a few years before I need the money?” is a question that I have often encountered. In this post (and the next), I address this issue with some specific examples. An exit strategy is more important than an entry strategy Suppose I can invest Rs. 1,000…
Continue reading →Are you considering the purchase of an endowment policy? Perhaps a cash back policy? Perhaps your friendly agent told you about a policy or a “magic plan” that would offer constant pension guaranteed by the government? Please read the following before buying an LIC policy or any insurance policy that has an investment component associated…
Continue reading →Here is a comparison of charges, limits and key features of mobile wallets in India. This is a guest post byPranav Date – the guy singularly responsible for making the monthly returns calculation such as this possible: November 2016: Equity Mutual Fund SIP, Lump sum returns & capture ratios. The yapping below is mine. Pranav supplied…
Continue reading →As you know, You Can be Rich with Goal Based Investing is my new book with Subra(money.com). In this post, I would like to list some resoucres associated with the book. These can be accessed by everyone: those who have purchased the book, those who are about to 🙂 and those who do not wish 🙁…
Continue reading →Dear friend, can we please take a moment to recognise that the art of doing nothing is dead? We are no longer capable of sitting still for a short while without reaching for our mobile phones, computer, or the television. The art of idling has breathed its last and perhaps the end began as much as…
Continue reading →Tax savings season is here! No, not for those who integrate tax-planning with goal-based investing and invest throughout the year. This is the season when millions of investors who are not interested in holistic money management, buy random products based on random advice at the last minute. Much of this random advice stems from the media,…
Continue reading →‘Can I invest in such a way that my capital is protected?’ is a question that many ask. Especially those who are retired, or about to retire. The answer is contextual. The term capital protection can take two meanings depending on how we use it. In this post, I discuss the disadvantages of capital protection,…
Continue reading →Use this home loan transfer calculator to determine if it is worth refinancing your mortgage, that is, transfer your home loan to a new bank or new loan scheme. When a new home loan offer at a lower interest rate appears, it is tempting to want to shift an existing home loan, because the EMI…
Continue reading →The notion of risk and reward is key to any investment plan. However, our understanding and expectation of risk and reward are often clouded by an inability to distinguish between probability and possibility. Here are a couple of examples that hopefully might bring out the difference. First some book news: Our new book, You can…
Continue reading →A look at different ways in which couples – live-in or married, single income, or double income – manage money. Often, the need to list out financial goals, the need to systematically invest for them and the need to invest enough is highlighted here. What I never bother to state explicitly is, money management or…
Continue reading →Albert Einstein is supposed to have said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”. Aristotle is also credited with a similar quote. Applied to what I do at freefincal, that quote would read as, “The more I stare at Excel sheets, the more I realize their limitations”. Here is a…
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