General

It was on Jan 1, 2019, that the party began and ended just as quickly. The New Year’s Day celebration left us a little lighter in the wallet, but with no visible gains. Three months later, with Gudi Padwa, we have another New Year to welcome. We already know from tradition that it is the more responsible one.

What is the use of money if it cannot stand with you through the test of time?

Did you know that there was a whopping Rs 109.6 crores in losses due to cyber fraud in 2017-18 in India? Did you know that every minute of every day, there is an online fraud happening? The bad guys never rest. And awareness is your only defense.

Investments grow your money, whereas savings just sit there doing nothing. Even though saving and investing follow the same rule of collecting small amounts of money, investing in a medium that offers back compounding interest is the smarter, universally acknowledged way to save.

What if we tell you there is a way to turn all your tax worries into regular pay-outs after retirement? What if we told you that you could get Rs 30,000 pension/month and up to Rs 52 lakhs for your family by saving just Rs 3,000/month?

The mature urban Indian householder knows that to meet the rising expenses of bringing up a child needs disciplined savings. Just having an FD or RD is never going to be enough. According to a study by ET Wealth in 2011, it costs about ₹54.75 lakhs to raise a child from birth until s/he is 21 years of age. Factoring in inflation, if your child is born in 2015, this figure will easily touch ₹75 lakhs. If s/he is born in 2020, we are looking at 1+ crore. And this is for a single child, mind you.

Feb 14 is close, and even though you are mature and beyond boxes of chocolates and that red rose, the vibe of the day is such that you feel like doing something for your better half. You might see yourself as a romantic or you might see yourself as a pragmatist, but the fact remains that a nice, thoughtful gift on Valentine’s Day would be much appreciated by your better half.

There is no doubt that with all the talk and heavy marketing around mutual funds, it is easy to get carried away and begin investing in mutual fund products like Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS), which is well-known as a tax-saving product.