I am 32. My husband and I together earn Rs 1.2 lakh a month. Our monthly expenses are Rs 35,000. We are jointly servicing a home loan (equated monthly instalment = Rs 30,000). We have been investing on an ad hoc basis. However, we want to start investing in a disciplined manner. We don’t have any dependant. Our financial goals: To take an annual international holiday (for which we usually spend heavily, around Rs 2-3 lakh) and build an emergency fund and a retirement corpus. How do we plan? Since we are spendthrifts, maintaining a high bank balance does not work for us. Is there any other liquid option to park our funds? How much retirement corpus would we need?
First, ensure every investment you make is linked to a financial goal such as an annual holiday, retirement, etc, and accordingly, invest in a disciplined manner. The best option is to start a recurring deposit or a systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual funds. Ensure your bank account is debited every month towards these investments. Since yours is a double income family, with steady inflow of funds, your emergency fund should be thrice your monthly expense. In your case, this amount works out to Rs 1.95 lakh. Every quarter, anything in excess of this amount should be invested in funds dedicated towards these financial goals. It is difficult to gauge your exact retirement corpus needs at such a young age. However, prudence suggests that since you are in a higher income slab with no dependants, save at least 40 per cent of your income in your good times.
I have a three-year-old daughter and a new-born son. I wish to start investing for their future with a horizon of 15-20 years. I bought a unit-linked child plan for my daughter a year before (annual premium = Rs 25,000). Should I buy a similar plan for my son? Alternatively, I am considering starting equity investments for them. Is a mutual fund SIP preferred, or the one offered by brokerages for direct equity investments? Many mutual fund houses are offering pre-packaged child plans. How are these products? I am 30.
Since your fund requirement is after two decades, equity is the best option. To invest in equity, there are several vehicles available. You can either purchase stocks directly with the help of a stock broker or choose either mutual funds or unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips). Usually, Ulips charge hefty expenses, and hence, currently they are not advisable. If you have the requisite skills as well as time, direct equity is a good option. However, if you are not going to regularly spend time monitoring your portfolio for 15-20 years, opt for mutual funds instead.
If you have a lump sum to invest, park your funds in debt funds and systematically transfer the same to an equity fund. If your inflows are monthly in the form of salary, start an SIP. There is no need to opt for pre-packaged child products, as they are high on costs.
The writer is a certified financial planner. The views expressed are his own.
Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in