There is a scene in the classic Bollywood movie Baghban that haunts an entire generation of Indian parents. Amitabh Bachchan’s character, having retired and spent his entire provident fund on his children’s settlements, sits at home. He asks his son for a small amount of money for glasses. The son sighs, rolls his eyes, and…
Continue reading →I recently tested several risk profilers available online to Indian DIY investors. Most of them, I realised, are built to sell rather than to help. I didn’t set out to write this. I was just trying to find a decent risk-profiling tool for myself as part of my research for NISM Retirement Advisor preparation. The…
Continue reading →We publish a list of stocks with low volatility and momentum each month. We provide data for BSE 500 and BSE 100 stocks. Update: Starting March 2026, the screening metrics have been significantly updated (details below). There are now three different screener files available. (1) Stocks with low volatility and momentum from the BSE 100…
Continue reading →Almost everyone dreams of making more money, but almost everyone has the same two problems: (1) What should I do to make more money? And (2) how do I find the time to do it? By more money, we shall refer to a long-term, scalable combination of active and passive income focusing on automation and…
Continue reading →Unlike life insurance, the policy number changes each time a health insurance is renewed. So, over a 25-30-year period, many changes in policy number formats can be expected as health insurers modify their product features, change their TPAs, etc. On top of this, if you have ported your policy once or twice (often from the…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “Hi, I’m Pretorius, a 30-year-old Software Engineer, sharing my 2026 financial audit. My upbringing has been very middle-class, so investing, saving and spending money prudently is almost second nature to my family. I review my personal finances and retirement portfolio annually, and I would like to thank Pattu sir…
Continue reading →Establishing an emergency fund is the initial step in achieving financial stability. The amount of funds needed for emergencies cannot be calculated accurately as it varies based on personal outlook. It depends on the individual’s experiences with unfortunate events and their frequency, whether positive or negative. It’s important to note that experts recommend having an…
Continue reading →Forget about early retirement; Most people will not become financially independent at normal retirement (55-60). Unlike early retirement, this is a mandatory retirement. Otherwise, our quality of life will significantly decrease, and we will depend on our children. Also, why have we not seen a retirement crisis in India? (1) For this, we need to…
Continue reading →It is quite easy to appreciate the benefits of diversification. The proverb, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” (earliest use: Miguel de Cervantes’ 1605 novel Don Quixote) appeals to us immediately as a caution against taking on too much risk. However, there are issues with its practical application to an investment portfolio. First,…
Continue reading →Here are nine steps beginners can follow to start planning for retirement. We will assume that retirement is 25 years away. The first step involves defining your target. The purpose for the funds and the timeline for when they are needed are already established, accounting for 25% of the planning. Investors often ask, “What return can…
Continue reading →This article compares my stock portfolio with an equivalent investment in a Nifty index fund and the Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 TR index. We post this comparison each month. Before we begin, new readers need to understand the context of these investments. Update: We recently added a new tool to the freefincal investor circle…
Continue reading →Many investors often ask, “I have some surplus cash. Where should I park it?”; “Can I park my surplus cash in my SBI Max Gain account?”; “Is this market dip a good time to deploy my surplus cash?”. Almost always, digging deeper reveals it to be a case of bad planning. The first question to…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “The path to financial independence is rarely a straight line. For me, it has been a story of shifting mindsets, career pivots, and learning how to manage risk without losing my mind”. I am 32 years old, married for four years, and a father to two daughters aged three…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “Should I choose an outperformer or underperformer for rebalancing my portfolio?” The primary objective of portfolio rebalancing is risk reduction. We remove some funds from an asset class that is performing well and shift it to another asset class. Typically, this is done through equity to fixed income or vice versa. So…
Continue reading →“Can we use the freefincal robo advisory tool to track the progress of our financial goals?” is a question we often get from users and potential users. The robo tool, as many readers would know, is a financial planning tool. It automates the process of systematic risk management and suggests a variable asset allocation schedule…
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