“We recently received this question: My father (retired and getting a pension) would like to invest some amount in my son’s name yearly. He expects 1) to invest for his grandson’s future and 2) to get income tax benefits. Could you share some views on where & how we could proceed?” “Based on research, I…
Continue reading →This is an update on my mutual fund investing journey, which began on 19th June 2008. In the last three decades, I have gone from being a spendthrift to being in debt to financial independence. New community members can refer to these articles for an account. The Financial Arrow of Time and My Journey: Driven by the…
Continue reading →Compare MFs, Indices, Stocks, Gold, etc., with this simple plotting tool. It can be used to compare two data sets with dates and values. The tool is now part of our freefincal investor circle. Rolling return (lump sum and SIP) calculators and multiple mutual fund analysis tools are already part of the investor circle (full…
Continue reading →We all know that if we sell a residential property and purchase another one, no capital gain tax is required to be paid, provided certain conditions are fulfilled (Section 54 of the Income Tax Act, 1961). We are also aware that such an exemption is also available on profit from long-term assets other than residential…
Continue reading →A viewer on YouTube asks, “I am 45 years old. After watching many videos regarding MFund, I thought of asking you about my investment plan. 50k is my monthly salary. I am in a rented house only. Can you suggest an investment plan for my retirement in my own home?” At 45, retirement should be…
Continue reading →This is a debt mutual fund screener for portfolio selection, tracking, and learning. It also includes hybrid funds that invest in bonds. It will satisfy investors who wish to invest in money market funds, banking PSU funds, etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile can be tracked….
Continue reading →In response to our article – How do I combine base and super top-up health insurance policies? – Two readers sent us identical stories on what our base policy and super top-up policy should have the same renewal date. Case 1: Shared by Mr. Srinivasan Sundarajan. The person had a base (10L) and a super…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “I am Tamil Selvan (name changed), 38 years old, working in the Gulf region for the last 16 years. I come from a simple farming family in Tamil Nadu. My father had taken on significant debt due to farming, and when I started earning in 2009 with a…
Continue reading →This index fund screener is based on tracking error and returns difference wrt benchmarks (also known as tracking difference). It will help users evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help them understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100 or 500 differs from tracking the…
Continue reading →With each passing day, Indians consume more and more than previous generations. Their aspirations, dreams and wants are often higher than their salaries. Whenever I am invited to speak to a group of employees on the basics of investing, I hear stories of excessive debt. There is a growing mismatch between income and aspirations. People…
Continue reading →We will soon be inundated with offers to invest in Gift City (Gujarat International Financial-Tec City) for affluent Indian residents and NRIs. I have been spending a little time reading up on the feature, and these are my initial impressions. I will share my other learnings over time. Caveat lector: I am not an expert…
Continue reading →Including one or more passive income sources in our retirement plan is crucial. It enhances our income, minimizes the risk of investments in the capital market, and helps us stay active and nimble. Passive income refers to any income source that requires minimal maintenance of the actual product or service. The costs of keeping the…
Continue reading →About a year ago, I was asked in a panel discussion, “How much should a couple spend on their wedding?” This caught me by surprise as I had never thought about this before (even when I often looked down upon wedding extravagance). I had a couple of seconds to decide between saying a bland, “It…
Continue reading →The common perception is that the index funds have minimal portfolio churn and a lower turnover ratio. But what if the index that they are mimicking itself churns its components by more than 65% every time? By their construction, the index funds tracking such an index also need to do the same, leading to high…
Continue reading →An overdraft account is a credit service a bank provides that allows the account holder to withdraw more funds than they have, such as writing an Rs. One lakh cheque from an account with no balance. This article will explore when it’s appropriate to use an overdraft account. They can be established with fixed deposits…
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