Latest Posts

• Case study: how this double income recently married family can perform DIY goal-based investment planning

  This article shows how a young just-married couple can invest for future goals using the Arthgyaan goal-based investing tool.

• Low stress retirement planning calculations: worked out example

  This article shows a simple retirement and review plan that anyone can follow in a step-by-step manner.

• What is a Personal Accident Insurance policy: who needs it and why?

  This article explains the pros and cons of a Personal Accident Insurance policy and makes a case for getting one to safeguard your financial goals.

• Pay lower capital gains taxes for equity: understand how grandfathering works

  This article explains the concept of equity LTCG grandfathering in detail with multiple case studies and examples.

• Case Study: How should couples in their 40s with a new baby plan their financial future?

  Did you welcome a bundle of joy in your 40s? This article will discuss ways of planning the child’s (and your’s financial future)

• Is NPS the right option for your retirement planning?

  This article talks about if investors should go with NPS for retirement planning or look at other options which give them more control.

• Case study: how this double income single kid family can perform DIY goal-based investment planning

  This article shows how a very typical salaried couple with one child can invest for future goals using the Arthgyaan goal-based investing tool.

• Health insurance: what, why, how much to get and from where?

  This article explains why health insurance is important, how to choose one that suits your needs, the tax benefits and where to buy it from.

• Sec 54F: a hack that can save lakhs in taxes when you buy a house

  This article shows how to save capital gains taxes under income tax Section 54F when you sell other assets to raise money to buy your first or second house.

• Repo rates are rising - what should investors do?

  This article explains how the RBI repo rate drives the values of all your loans and investments and shows what investors should do to best take advantage of the situation.

• Markets are down but don't panic: what you should do instead

  This article helps investors to choose the right course of action in falling markets.

• How to use the Cost Inflation index (CII): latest value and historical rates

  This article shows the latest as well CII value and shows you how to use it for calculating capital gains tax.

• Asset allocation for NPS: equity or debt / active or auto?

  This article provides guidance on choosing the right combination of equity and debt along with allocation plan for NPS subscribers.

• Does the 4% SWR rule work in India?

  The article investigates if you can retire in India with only 25x your expenses saved as retirement corpus.

• Frequently asked questions on Public Provident fund (PPF): the complete guide

  This article compiles an exhaustive list of FAQs for Public Provident fund (PPF).

• PPF vs. mutual funds: which is better?

  The article presents a historical analysis of investing in stocks vs. PPF since 1979.

• What will create a higher corpus for children's marriage: buying physical gold vs SIP in stocks

  The article shows you if you there is a better alternative to buying gold over time for your child’s marriage goals.

• A health insurance premium fund: who needs it and why

  This article shows you a better alternative to paying premiums every month or quarter as well as manage when premiums increase over time.

• Don't stop investing when the markets are down

  A common advice given by many people is to stop investing when stocks markets are down. This article explores if this advice makes sense.

• First time home buyers: should you choose fixed, floating or overdraft type home loan?

  This article helps you choose a home loan that is suitable for your personal situation.

• How does an overdraft loan like SBI Maxgain work?

  This articles describes overdraft home loans like SBI Maxgain and BOB Home Loan Advantage.

• Frequently asked questions on Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB): the complete guide

  This article compiles an exhaustive list of FAQs for Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB).

• Do you need multiple mutual funds to keep your money safe?

  Given that mutual fund scams and issues are happening regularly, should you invest via many AMCs to ensure that you always have access to your money?

• What should you do when both stocks and bonds fall?

  This article talks about the steps to take in the current market scenario when stocks and bonds are falling simultaneously.

• My experience with the LIC Tech Term life insurance policy

  This post chronicles my recent experience of applying for a LIC Tech Term life policy and why it will change your belief that LIC plans are more expensive than private insurers.

• The agency problem in personal finance. What should you do?

  This post discusses how various agents pitch financial products to investors and how many of these products may not suit the investors’ goals.

• What should you do when your home loan interest rates go up?

  This post discusses managing when interest rates go up, increasing your home loan EMI.

• Should you invest in the name of your children?

  A common dilemma of investors is whether they should invest in the name of their children for goals like college education.

• Why you should chase your target goal corpus instead of returns

  Many investors are obsessed with returns. This post shows a different target to chase to ensure the purpose of investments is met.

• A low-stress step-by-step guide to creating a retirement portfolio

  This article shows you an easy step-by-step way to start retirement planning.

• How much equity should you have in your retirement portfolio?

  This article shows you an easy way to calculate the equity allocation for your retirement corpus.

• How can NRIs easily manage their parents’ finances in India?

  This article shows the steps NRIs can take to easily manage their family’s finances in India.

• What is the net-worth needed to FIRE in India?

  A Step-by-step guide for finding out how much money you need to FIRE in India.

• How should you plan your investments and taxes in April?

  This article shows what steps investors should take in April at the beginning of the financial year.

• How does the SEBI ban on pool accounts affect your mutual fund investments?

  Explained: how a recent SEBI rule change affects how you will be investing in mutual funds post 1st-Jul-2022.

• What does the 1983 World Cup win teach us about investing?

  A guide to both new and seasoned investors for choosing suitable investments for their portfolio in the same way selectors choose a World Cup winning team.

• How your term insurance coverage changes with time

  Term insurance coverage needs to be reviewed as per life stages. This post shows how to do that.

• Portfolio construction basics: sources of risk

  Risk and return go hand in hand, and a portfolio requires a balanced representation from various sources of risk to generate returns.

• Should you renew your PPF account or invest in mutual funds?

  A Step-by-step guide for PPF account holders approaching maturity in April. This post shows how to decide between extension vs. withdrawal.

• March is the time for...

  At the end of the financial year, you need to complete some essential tasks and opportunities related to personal finance. Here’s a small list.

• A tactical trading opportunity in gold vs. equity

  A case study on tactical asset allocation: a divergence in the prices of gold and equty offers a trade. What can you do and when?

• How to invest your NPS corpus to get most returns in retirement?

  60% of the NPS corpus needs to be invested at maturity with other retirement funds as a lump sum. This post shows how.

• NSE IFSC: trade in US stocks from your Indian broker account

  A recent innovation by the NSE now allows resident Indians to buy US stocks directly from broker accounts. Should you invest?

• How conservative investors risk falling short of their goals

  A reader query prompted this post on the risks of not investing in volatile assets for long term goals.

• Life stage investing: how should couples manage finances

  Having a common understanding of the role of money is one of the pillars of a successful life as a couple.

• The unknown risk in NPS that few people talk about

  What should you do if there is a fall in your NPS corpus just before retirement at 60? This post details the problems and shows how to remediate the risk.

• What is the quickest way to reach FIRE?

  If you are interested in FIRE, you need to know about the best way to reach that goal. This post shows how.

• How does your risk profile change with a home loan?

  A home loan is a multi-year commitment to your cash flows and changes your risk profile. So how should you change your income and investing?

• Should you match debt portfolio duration with goal duration?

  The standard advice given to investors is to match their goal duration with the portfolio duration in the case of the debt component. But, is that the right thing to do?

• Life stage investing: how to manage finances when you are joining your first job

  This post from our life stage series shows how your finances need to be managed when you transition from being a student to joining your first job.

• You do not need term insurance if...

  This article focuses on clarifications sourced from reader queries on who needs term insurance, who doesn’t and how to calculate if you do.

• Your human capital, not investment returns, is your biggest wealth creator

  Do not chase returns. Invest more instead. To do that, focus on increasing your income by focusing on human capital.

• Should you sell your mutual funds to buy a house?

  This article talks about the best funding mix for buying your dream home from investments and home loans.

• How should an NRI handle investments and accounts in India before shifting?

  This article shows you the steps to follow to once you become an NRI regarding your accounts in India.

• SEBI stops new international MF lumsum investments. What should investors do now?

  Post Motilal Oswal stopping lump sums in its international funds, other AMCs will stop taking international fund investments from 2-Feb-2022.

• How to calculate taxes from capital gains and combine them with your other income

  This article talks about understanding capital gains tax calculations and computing offsets vs other income.

• Markets are falling. Should you buy the dip?

  This article talks about short term changes to your investment strategy to take advantage of downward market movements. Does it work?

• Is there a correction in the stock markets?

  A stock market correction happens frequently. Here is how you anticipate and deal with one.

• Do you want to create wealth? This is how you should proceed step by step

  This article discusses a no-shortcuts, step-by-step guide for investors who want to create wealth.

• Who should invest in target maturity debt funds?

  There are multiple target maturity debt funds in the market with gilt, SDL, PSU and CPSE bond exposures. Who should invest?

• How to plan tax deductions for salaried income?

  This post targets explicitly new investors who are getting started with investing. We cover the most common, i.e. 80C, 80D, HRA, home loan and educational loan interest deductions.

• Motilal Oswal stops fresh lump sum investments into international funds. What now?

  What should investors do now that Motilal Oswal has restricted investing in its international funds? The SEBI rule and alternatives explained.

• Should you invest in the DSP Global Innovation Fund NFO?

  A new Fund of Fund wants to capture the alpha from innovative technology companies globally. Should you invest?

• My EMIs take up all my salary. How do I start investing?

  This article shows a few ways to avoid and escape from EMI traps to be able to invest via goal-based investing.

• How compounding works: the journey to a 10 crore portfolio

  This article shows how the power of compounding works to create phenomenal wealth.

• Should Indian investors invest in the permanent portfolio?

  This article analyses if a permanent portfolio (equal proportion of stocks, bonds, gold and cash) works for Indian investors.

• How long does it take to earn what we spend on?

  This article introduces a simple budgeting tool that shows how much time it takes to earn something using our hourly wage.

• How to best use 80C deductions to plan your taxes?

  This article talks about one of the most basic ways of saving tax and how to plan the deductions smartly.

• What is the lifecycle of a goal?

  This article talks about what you need to do once you start investing for a goal throughout the time horizon.

• What are the best tax-saving ELSS Mutual Funds in 2022?

  This post sifts through 38 options to find the best ELSS funds for investing in 2022.

• The 2021 Arthgyaan Year in Review

  This blog completes its first year with 100+ posts in 10 months. Here’s looking back.

• How to choose a gold mutual fund?

  This article will help investors know what to look for when choosing a gold mutual fund to take exposure to gold as a part of their portfolio.

• Can you get higher than FD returns with low risk?

  This article will answer a common question from conservative investors with a low risk appetite and a desire to get better returns than FD.

• What is the best home loan tenure?

  This article will help you choose the home loan duration best suited for your financial situation.

• Where to invest additional money every month?

  If you can increase the amount of monthly investments, where should you invest next?

• What is the best way to invest in US stocks?

  The recent bull market rally in US markets is generating a lot of interest in US stocks. How should you invest?

• How to switch from regular to direct funds?

  Investors who have investments in Regular mutual funds should switch to Direct. This post explains how.

• Are index funds less risky than active funds?

  Understanding the risk of every asset class in our portfolio is essential. This article talks about the risk in index funds.

• Can debt funds beat inflation?

  Many investors have a need where they want the safety of returns and wish to beat inflation simultaneously. Can debt funds do that?

• Should you invest in the Motilal Nasdaq Q50 ETF NFO?

  A new ETF promises to catch nascent technology companies before they become big. Should you invest?

• Should you stretch to buy your dream home?

  What do you do if your dream house is above your budget? How to know if you can stretch?

• Should you invest in Navi World Index FOF?

  This is the first fund in India offering a single ETF exposure to the MSCI World Index. Should you invest?

• How to set S.M.A.R.T goals for investing?

  Goal-based investing starts with setting goals in the right way. This post shows how.

• Where to save for the downpayment of a home?

  If you have decided how much you need to save for your downpayment, this post will show you where to invest.

• What are the axioms of personal finance?

  There are some fundamental rules that you can use to navigate any personal finance scenario. This post discusses how to use them.

• How to climb the wealth ladder in India?

  1 lakh, 1 crore or 10 crores: how much do we need to be wealthy and what we should do at every step of the wealth ladder.

• What returns should we expect from equity investing?

  Equity markets do not guarantee any returns, but we can estimate how much return we will get from SIP or lumpsum investing.

• Should you invest in PGIM Real Estate fund NFO?

  This post discusses new Real Estate feeder funds being launched in India and whether investors should invest in such funds.

• Should you invest in a Blockchain feeder fund?

  This post discusses new Blockchain feeder funds being launched in India and whether investors should invest in such funds.

• How to use the RBI Retail Direct Scheme to get guaranteed income?

  This post describes RBI’s new Retail Direct Scheme and how you can use it to build a guaranteed income stream.

• What is the best way to invest in gold?

  This post answers the question of how and whether investors should include gold in their portfolios.

• Should you invest in international stocks?

  This post answers the question of whether investors should invest outside their home country.

• Mutual Fund vs Fixed Deposit - where should you invest?

  This post shows investors in which situations they should invest in FD vs other products like mutual funds.

• Asset allocation by age: How much equity should you have at various ages?

  This post will answer the frequently asked question for many investors regarding the proportion of equity they need to hold as per age.

• Should you invest in stocks, mutual funds, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi for children?

  This post will help parents to cut through multiple confusing product choices to get started with investing for their children.

• Goal-based investing: should you use a unified portfolio?

  This post shows how to simplify portfolio construction and management via a unified portfolio along with its associated risks.

• Goal-based investing: how to purchase your dream home

  This post shows how goal-based investing can help you afford your dream home down-payment and EMI.

• Should you use your stock market profits to prepay a home loan?

  This post shows how goal-based investing can answer whether you should or should not prepay your home loan.

• What should be my mix of MF, Stocks, Gold, NPS, FD, PPF and ELSS if I want to invest 50k per month?

  This post is targeted at investors looking at distributing their investments in the usual products available in the market.

• How Goal-based investing lets you do guilt-free spending

  This post shows you the way to spend money on anything you want without any guilt whatsoever.

• How Goal-based investing helps you to cut through the clutter and lets you get started with investing

  This post is targeted towards investors facing too many choices in funds, stocks, and insurance policies, making it difficult to get started.

• Goal-based investing will show you how much you should have saved at 30,40,50 and retirement

  This post uses goal-based investing principles to keep investors on track for their retirement goals.

• What percentage of my salary should go towards retirement?

  This post answers a common question asked by investors regarding investing for retirement.

• How should you handle your finances if you are planning to shift abroad?

  This post deals with the financial steps needed to prepare for shifting abroad within 1-2 years.

• How to prepare today in case you are forced to retire in the next five years?

  This post deals with a situation where a middle aged salaried employee is forced to retire due to changing workplace situations.

• I am 45 years old and have not invested before. How do I start now?

  This post shows how investors who are new to goal-based investing can get started near the mid-point of their careers.

• I have started a 15k SIP. How much money will I have in 15 years?

  This post shows a way to estimate the final corpus for a SIP

• How is tax calculated on selling shares/MFs and how do to do tax harvesting?

  This post discusses the concept of tax calculations and tax-harvesting in a simple manner

• I have ₹5 lakhs in the bank. What do I do now to get the best returns?

  This post deals with a problem that many investors face: how to invest some “spare” money

• How much will my child's college education cost?

  This post shows a general method to work out the total cost of the degree with some examples.

• I am 25 and want to FIRE by 40. How much should I save per month?

  This post shows a worked-out example for someone starting their career to plan for FIRE.

• How can you figure out your expenses in retirement/FIRE?

  This post shows an easy way to estimate your expenses in retirement/FIRE as the first step in knowing how much you need to target as a retirement corpus.

• Can you retire by keeping money only in FD or pension?

  This post explores the pros and cons of keeping money only in fixed income throughout retirement

• 12 mistakes that interrupt compounding: what to do instead

  This post is about how to avoid common mistakes that interrupt compounding.

• Do you need to pay for children's education or marriage?

  This post describes a guilt-free way to prioritize goals for children (education/marriage) over our own retirement

• How much retirement corpus is enough?

  This post stress-tests the corpus accumulated to support your desired post-retirement expenses

• How much corpus is needed to spend 1 lakh per month in retirement?

  This post estimates the retirement corpus to reach a target spending figure and how to save for it

• How to choose debt instruments for retirement?

  This post describes suitable debt instruments for both pre and post-retirement investing: Provident fund, PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi, FD/RD, NCD, pension plans, RBI bonds, post office and SCSS.

• How should you invest for goals after your retirement or FIRE?

  This post shows how to reach a goal without saving throughout the time horizon of the goal

• How to become a crorepati in 10 years?

  This post shows how to reach a goal like 1 crore in 10 years or any such amount in any time you want

• How much cash should I hold in my portfolio?

  The answer is just enough as per your portfolio goals: here’s how to calculate it

• Should you sell off your equity funds since the market is overvalued?

  The market cannot be predicted but lessons from history and some basic rules can help you to decide what to do.

• How do you measure the performance of an individual mutual fund?

  Learn how to evaluate your active fund against a benchmark by combining return and risk

• Are you running your own mutual fund? Is it doing well?

  When you are investing in stocks directly, are you measuring your performance as a fund manager?

• How to prioritize goals based on available monthly SIP amount?

  What to do when goals do not proceed on track and not enough surplus is available for investing.

• How much of your income should you invest every month?

  The answer is mostly “it depends” but you can easily figure out the number from this post

• What should your financial life look like at different life-stages?

  At various life-stages your finances, assets, income and investments will vary. Here is an overview

• Do you need a pension plan during retirement?

  This is the impact of adding a pension plan to your retirement plan.

• What is an Investment Policy Statement and why it is needed?

  The Investment Policy Statement is an important starting point of goal-based investing: here’s why

• You cannot beat inflation even with equity mutual funds: here's why

  Investing in a mixed portfolio of equity and debt mutual funds cannot beat inflation in most cases

• What is diversification: how and why should you do it?

  Diversification is spreading risk across various investments so that all of them don’t perform equally bad (or good) at the same time

• What is the danger of starting investments late?

  You pay a heavy price by waiting to start investments: this post shows the effects of every year of delay

• How to go for a foreign vacation every 3 years?

  Walk-through: Get the SIP amount for recurring goals like a dream vacation every few years

• When to Sell a Mutual Fund

  This post explains the situations when you can sell a mutual fund.

• Closet indexing: how to avoid funds that do this

  Closet indexing can a problem for investors in active funds. Here’s how you can detect it.

• How to plan for retirement/FIRE using dividend income?

  How to get inflation-indexed income in retirement using dividends.

• How to plan for FIRE using the bucket approach?

  This post shows how to use the bucket theory of asset allocation to create your FIRE portfolio.

• How to plan for retirement using the bucket approach?

  Use the bucket theory of asset allocation to create a simple and stress-free retirement portfolio.

• Young earner series: DOs and DON'Ts

  Young earners can follow these basic steps to start saving and investing.

• Which debt to pay off when you have more than one loan?

  We discuss the two common debt payment methods exist which can be used to easily pay off multiple loans, the avalanche and snowball methods.

• How to budget, save and invest in a stress-free manner?

  Use the superpower of the pay-yourself-first method to spend, save and invest.

• How to budget, save and invest without regular income from salary?

  If you have irregular income then follow these steps to spend, save and invest in a worry-free fashion.

• Are you checking the performance of your funds regularly?

  Once a SIP is started, setup a regular process of reviewing each of your funds

• Do not make this mistake when investing in mutual funds

  Investors should only invest in Direct Growth mutual funds. Regular and IDCW (Dividend) funds lead to lower returns. Here’s why.

• Should the same funds and folios be chosen for different goals?

  Investors are often in a dilemma as to the best way of structuring their portfolio for different goals.

• What is a core-satellite portfolio and when can you use it?

  A core-satellite portfolio combines two different portfolio styles to give the best of both worlds.

• How does sequence of return risk affect your goals?

  How risk management via glide-path and rebalancing mitigates sequence of return risk

• What should be the Asset Allocation for your goals?

  This post discusses various asset allocation examples for goal-based investing.

• Are your investments on track for your goals?

  Regularly review your portfolio to know if you are on track for your goals

• RRTTLLU: check these when choosing products for investing

  These are characteristics of assets that determine which are suitable for a goal.

• Which funds should I invest in?

  Once goals are set, use this framework to choose funds

• How do you get SIP amount for complete portfolio: Part 5

  Walk-through: Get SIP amount for all goals together

• How do you get SIP amount for early retirement (RE): Part 4

  Walk-through: Get SIP amount for early retirement (RE)

• How do you get SIP amount for retirement: Part 3

  Walk-through: Get SIP amount for retirement goal

• How do you get from goal to SIP amount: Part 2

  Walk-through: Get SIP amount for a goal with multiple payments

• How do you get from goal to SIP amount: Part 1

  Walk-through: Get SIP amount for single payment goal

• Set a goal before looking for what to invest in

  The purpose of investing is to fulfil a life goal: set that first

• Term life insurance: what, why, how much to get and from where?

  Term insurance gives your dependents necessary financial support in your absence.

• Emergency fund: what, why, how much to save and where?

  Saving 6-12x expenses in the emergency fund helps you sleep well at night.

• Your portfolio needs a glide path: what, why and how?

  Don’t just start a SIP. You need a glide path. Here’s how you do it.

• Which index funds to invest in and why?

  What are index funds, why invest in them and how to choose one?

• Portfolio rebalancing during goal-based investing: why, when and how?

  Rebalancing is a simple way to buy low and sell high while managing risk. Here’s how you do it.

• SIP vs. lump sum: what should I choose?

  Lumpsum investments are easy to do if you know what you feel about it, not how markets move.

• Do not invest in mutual funds before doing this

  Risk profiling is a mandatory step that should be completed before investing in goals

• How to choose a debt mutual fund?

  Choose a debt mutual fund without breaking your head over it.

• I am now ready to do goal-based investing. What now?

  Part 3: I am now ready to do goal-based investing. How do I get started?

• I have heard of goal-based investing. What now?

  Part 2: As someone who has heard about goal-based investing, how do I get started?

• I have just started earning and do not know a lot of finance. What now?

  Part 1: As someone who is new to investing and started earning, what should I do with my money?

• Should you prepay your home loan or invest instead?

  Quickly figure out if you should prepay your home loan vs investing in the stock market?

• Goal-based investing: How to save for children's future

  Save for children’s schooling, college education and marriage via goal-based investing.

• Budget 101: How to save for periodic expenses: the sinking fund

  Save money monthly for large known expenses via a sinking fund

• Investor behaviour: control what is possible

  While investing, focus on those important things that you can control.