We explain why “guaranteed income plans” with “assured returns” are inefficient investment avenues for our money and are best avoided. Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1748 that Time is Money in a note titled “Advice to a Young Tradesman“. Insurers use this idea to their benefit in all traditional insurance policies, including guaranteed income plans. Consider a typical…

In this article, reader Sampath explains why he had to postpone his plans for early retirement. His story is a lesson that we must be ready to adapt to the ups and downs of life. Dear freefincal readers, my name is Sampath. I will be 47 in Jan 2023. I have always been fascinated by…

In this article, we discuss how to audit a financial freedom or retirement portfolio. All long-term financial goals require periodic review to ensure that they are on track and in line with expectations and assumptions made while planning for the goal. Retirement is a unique financial goal because a corpus does not get spent within a…

A reader says, “I have a query about investment for my child’s future. We have been blessed with a baby boy this month, and I would like to start investing for his future and marriage”. “I plan to open a bank account (for the child) with my wife as the parent until my child becomes…

A new weekly podcast on money management, Let’s get rich with Pattu, produced by Ofspin is launching on May 29th 2023. Each episode will cover one aspect of money management – insurance, emergency funds, planning for retirement, financial independence and early retirement, buying vs renting and more. Readers who want their questions featured on the…

A reader says, ” I am a long-time admirer and follower of your blog. I started investing in 2010 after getting a job and am continuing. I am 37 years old, and my portfolio allocation is 72% equity (80% direct equity and 20% MF) and 28% fixed income”. “I wanted to invest for my newborn…