Financial planning simplified

#Personal finance is a very wide subject. Here I just want to simplify the basics, why we need to take care of our money, why the inflow and outflow of funds need to me managed.  
Every person has their own perspective about life, income and expenses. However, we can start with the 5 constants of personal finance apart from the regular aspirations of education for your children, marriage and buying a home.
1. You are going to grow old
2. Prices will go up
3. Value of money will decrease
4. Financial markets will remain volatile
5. There will be unplanned emergencies
Now, what do we do? Start stacking up cash/ gold? Putting in Fixed Deposit? Buy stocks? Mutual funds? Insurance? What?
We need to simply the relation between the goals and financial needs. We need to come in terms with the purpose of the investment so that we allocate funds and plan in a right manner.  

How to go about it?
Start as soon as you feel it is important; don’t wait for emergencies to teach you harsh lessons.
Chalk out your financial goals based on the event and the expected timeline. For eg
Own marriage/ buying property/ vacations/ children’s education and marrage/ second home/ retirement planning etc.


Keep in mind


1. Keep goals clear
2. Time in hand
3. Risk taking ability
4. Avoid mixing asset classes
Based on your age, current financial situation, priority and timeline you can plan your finance. 
First, prepare an Emergency fund, ideally the most liquid investment like savings account/ Fixed deposit/liquid fund.
Your financial liabilities and dependants should determine the life insurance cover. Chose term plan, stay away from endowment and ulips. See Post to know more.
Health insurance is also a significant part of financial planning. A medical emergency can erode a significant portion of your wealth if not planned for emergencies.
Few goals which are 5 – 10 years away and more, a significant kitty can be built with a monthly investing a small amount into equity mutual fund. See post on wealth creation

Younger the age, risk taking capacity is more. Equity based mutual fund investment can yield maximum return in long term.  Thumb rule of equity investment is (100-age)% of total savings can be kept in equity. With increasing age/ nearing the goal gradually shift the investment into debts or fixed instruments like Fixed deposits.
Retirement planning is one more aspect one need to start early. As, the value of money decreases with passing time, maintaining the same lifestyle as today will cost you much higher 20 years later. Hence, investing for retire is important. See post
In other posts will go into details

Emergency Fund – Plan B at work when your Financial Plan A is at Risk!

Emergency Fund Plan B at work when your Plan A is at Risk!

 It was middle of the month; Prakash was done with his loan EMIs, Car Insurance, son’s tuition fee, grocery shopping, and, like every month he could also save Rs. 7000/- in #taxsaving mutual fund and #PPF. As he was just a few clicks away from making the investments, his son came running and
informed him about the school trip, this had skipped his mind while planning. This time they have planned to go to Shimla for camping and the contribution was Rs. 25,000. He almost collapsed to even imagine how his investment plan will go haywire; he may need to borrow from a colleague or somebody to meet the extra expense which will also have negative impact on the budget for next few months. As he was thinking the best possible way to manage things, his wife came to his rescue and handed over Rs. 25,000 to Prakash and smiled. Prakash was in awe an shock as he only gave her money for grocery and some routine expenses each month. The intelligent lady explained as she was given the money, she removed a certain amount and kept in her piggy bank each month for emergency needs and she has been doing this since their marriage. And, today the fund is big enough to take care of family expenses for three months in an emergency situation.

We need an emergency fund

This event is an eye—opener. Many a times we bump into unplanned expenses on account of sudden medical emergencies, education, job loss, accidents etc. An emergency fund doesn’t only helps financially, it also offers a much needed mental peace to handle the situation better. The size of the fund could however vary depending on various factors.

Corpus size

Safer the better, so bigger the better. However, everyone has a risk profile of his/her own. While deciding the amount, keep few things in consideration –
1. Do you have funds to take care of 3-6 month of family expenses handy if you fall sick?
2. Are you confident to take the risk your current job for your dream profession?
3. Will you be at ease financially if your ailing parent need a sudden medical attention?
4. Do you have a child with special care needs? Consider the unavoidable monthly expenses – Loan EMIs, Insurance premiums, investment obligations and other family maintenance expenses

How and when to build that large liquid corpus

Good old days are gone when grandmother had hidden boxes with gold coins. Now, you have better options as your money can also earn. The best moment to start it is the moment you conceive the idea. The fund should only grow bigger as you age. Remember, it should be liquid (easy to withdraw). One can start with a simple savings account or a recurring deposit in any bank. A savvy investor with higher tax bracket (20-30% )can also opt for a liquid mutual fund. {I don’t suggest an equity mutual fund/ stocks here as every investment has its own purpose. Liquidity and safety of the corpus is the priority here}

How do you manage the fundOnce, the corpus achieves the desired level, it can be kept in form of a fixed deposit with a reputed bank or a liquid fund. It also should be reviewed periodically and increased as and when required. Whenever the fund is used, one should take effort to rebuild the corpus again in a planned manner with priority.

What to remember 
Emergency Fund is a substitute for #health insurance, #life insurance, #retirement planning, #mutual funds.
 Emergency Fund is not a substitute for #health insurance, #life insurance, #retirement planning, #mutual funds. Emergency fund is a Plan B to take care when the Financial plan A is in danger!

error

Found the information useful? Please spread the word :)

Latest post alert
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
LinkedIn
Share