Happy new financial year!
We are a week into the new financial year. For the small section of people who are not aware, a financial year runs from 1st April every year to 31st March of the next calendar year. The beginning of the financial year could be the perfect time to plan for the year ahead and for the long term. Here is a checklist of important things to start with.
Don’t let mutual fund SIP schemes with “free” insurance lure you
Like most other ethical financial planners do, I too always advise my clients not to mix their insurance needs with their investments, avoid getting into high cost unit linked insurance plans and opt for a pure term insurance and invest the remaining in good investment products.
Build your retirement nest egg with VPF
If you are in your 20s or 30s and try to use some of the “calculate how much you need on retirement” tools available online, the result is an unbelievably large sum; with the effect of inflation and time factored in. And any financial planner would tell you that the only way to save this kind of money would be to save wisely and regularly, take calculated risks and invest in a proportion of equity and debt according to your age, profile, line of business etc.
The voluntary provident fund or VPF is one of the best options which should form the fixed income / low risk category of your retirement planning portfolio.
How do tax saving FDs have such high effective yields of 16.64 % pa?
A client of mine called me up recently to tell me that her bank was offering an interest rate of more than 16 % pa on tax saving fixed deposits, and for senior citizens, it was even higher! This was informed to her by the customer service staff when she had been to her bank for some routine transactions. She was also given a printed paper/ad which asserted this fact.
Product Review – Long term tax free bonds
Currently, the market is flooded with a host of tax free bonds of 10 year and 15 year duration. There are as many as nine such IPOs which are on. All from government companies with a high safety rating and low credit risk –
Budget 2013- Taxing the super rich – Is it justified?
Burdened with a high current account and fiscal deficit, the government took the easiest way out- and did what other developed countries like the U.S have done to revive the economy and raise resources for the development of the country- targeting the super rich. The budget 2013 has imposed a surcharge of 10 % on those earning taxable income of Rs. 1 crore and above.
Are women better money managers?
The title may seem a bit feminist, especially with the international women’s day being celebrated today. Actually that is what spurred my thinking today on these lines :).
Sriraksha Financial Planning Services 