11 articles in this category
An emergency fund isn't an investment. It's what stops a job loss or a hospital bill from forcing you to sell investments at the worst time. Here's how to work out your number, where to keep it, and how to build it.
Ram
There are well over a thousand mutual fund schemes in India, but for most goals you only need to choose between a handful of categories, and within them, a few simple checks narrow it to two or three funds.
Ram
For most salaried people, the new regime now wins by a wide margin. The question is whether you're one of the exceptions. Here's the tax at each salary level, and how much in deductions you'd need for the old regime to come out ahead.
RamA 10% step-up roughly doubles a 20-year SIP's final value. Most articles call that the power of compounding. It's mostly the power of investing more money, which is still the right move. Here are the real numbers.
Ram
Before comparing ELSS, PPF and NPS, answer one question: are you even on the old tax regime? If you are, here's how the three compare on returns, lock-in and tax, with current numbers.
Ram₹5,000 a month is where a lot of people start. Here's what it can grow to under realistic assumptions, how to split it (hint: one or two funds is plenty), and the habit that matters more than fund choice.
Ram
A ₹50 lakh home loan over 20 years at 8% costs about ₹50 lakh in interest, so you repay roughly double. Here's how to size the loan, cut that interest with early prepayments, and plan for the costs no one mentions.
RamFor monthly salary, there's no contest: invest it as it arrives. The real question comes up when a bonus, FD maturity or inheritance lands all at once. Here's what the numbers say, and a calm way to invest it.
RamI heard the word SIP for years before I understood it. This is the explanation I wanted: what actually happens each month, how to pick an amount, how it's taxed, and which mistakes cost the most.
Ram
Ratios won't tell you what to buy, but they're very good at telling you what to look at next. Here are 12 worth knowing, worked through on a sample company, plus the red flags that matter more than any of them.
Ram
An SWP pays you a fixed amount every month from a mutual fund, while the rest stays invested. Whether it lasts 15 years or 40 depends less on returns than on two things most guides skip: inflation and bad timing.
Ram