Investing
Atal Pension Yojana: who should consider it, the contribution chart, and the ₹5,000 pension cap
24 Jun 2026·6 min read
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एक करोड़ रुपया · रुपया एक करोड़
रुपया एक करोड़ · एक करोड़ रुपया
एक करोड़ रुपया · रुपया एक करोड़
रुपया एक करोड़ · एक करोड़ रुपया
एक करोड़ रुपया · रुपया एक करोड़
रुपया एक करोड़ · एक करोड़ रुपया
एक करोड़ रुपया · रुपया एक करोड़
रुपया एक करोड़ · एक करोड़ रुपया
एक करोड़ रुपया · रुपया एक करोड़
Investing
Investing
27 articles
Investing
RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds: 8.05% guaranteed, sovereign-backed — and the two trade-offs
The RBI Floating Rate Savings Bond pays 8.05% (Jan–Jun 2026) with sovereign safety and no upper limit. But there are two catches: a 7-year lock-in and fully taxable interest. For a 30% bracket taxpayer, the post-tax return is ~5.6% — lower than tax-free PPF or VPF. Here's when it makes sense and when it doesn't.
24 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
Nominee vs legal heir: who actually inherits your money, and why you need both nomination and a will
A nominee receives your assets on death; a legal heir is entitled to own them — they are not the same. For most assets, the nominee is just a custodian who must distribute to legal heirs per succession law. Without a will, the law decides ownership. The fix: nominate on every asset AND write a will, aligning the two.
22 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
How to check if a financial advisor or finfluencer is SEBI-registered
Only SEBI-registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) can legally give personalised investment advice for a fee. Verify any advisor's registration number (format 'INA...') on sebi.gov.in before paying or acting. Red flags: guaranteed returns, paid tip groups, urgency pressure, no registration number. Here's how to protect yourself.
22 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
What is goal-based investing and how to assign a timeline to every rupee you save
Most people invest without a destination. Goal-based investing assigns every rupee to a specific goal, timeline, and target — then matches the instrument to the horizon: liquid funds for short-term goals, equity for long-term. It surfaces shortfalls early and tells you exactly when to de-risk before each goal. Here's the four-step framework.
20 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
Is a fixed deposit's post-tax return positive after inflation in India?
A 7% FD sounds safe, but for a 30% bracket taxpayer, after tax (4.9%) and 5% inflation, the real return is about −0.1% — your purchasing power slightly shrinks despite the 'guaranteed' return. FDs preserve nominal capital but rarely build real wealth. Here's the full maths and when FDs still make sense.
20 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
How lifestyle inflation quietly stops your salary growth from building wealth
Lifestyle inflation is when spending rises to match every raise, keeping your savings rate flat. Two employees with identical salaries and raises can end up ₹95 lakh+ apart over 15 years — purely from how they handled increments. The fix is structural: automate a step-up SIP and save 50% of every raise before lifestyle adjusts.
19 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: 8.2% tax-free interest, rules, and how to open an account for your daughter
SSY offers 8.2% (Q1 FY 2026-27) — among the highest guaranteed rates in India — fully tax-free (EEE). Open for a girl child below 10, deposit ₹250 to ₹1.5L per year for 15 years, and ₹1.5L/year builds approximately ₹70 lakh by maturity. Here's how it works, the withdrawal rules, and how it compares to PPF.
19 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
How is NPS taxed at retirement: the 60% lump sum and 40% annuity rule explained
NPS gives great deductions while you contribute — but at 60, you can only withdraw 60% as a tax-free lump sum. The other 40% must buy an annuity, and that monthly pension is taxable. On a ₹1 crore corpus, ₹40 lakh is locked into a taxable pension. Here's the full 60/40 rule and how it compares to EPF.
18 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
NPS Tier 1 vs Tier 2: what is the difference and which should you use?
NPS has two accounts using the same funds but completely different rules. Tier 1 is the retirement account — tax benefits, locked until 60, 40% mandatory annuity. Tier 2 is flexible with no lock-in but no tax deduction for most. Here's which to use for tax savings vs flexible investing.
18 Jun 2026·6 min read
Investing
What is the cost of starting your SIP 5 years late — in exact rupees
A 5-year delay in starting ₹10,000/month at 12% CAGR costs ₹2.10 crore by age 60 — illustration only. To make up that delay starting at 30, you'd need to invest ₹17,900/month instead of ₹10,000 — 79% more, every month, for 30 years. The early years cannot be recovered by investing more later.
14 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
How much should a 25-year-old invest monthly to reach ₹1 crore — and what it actually means after inflation
At 12% CAGR, a 25-year-old needs ₹2,100/month to reach ₹1 crore by 60 — investing just ₹8.82 lakh total, the rest is compounding. But ₹1 crore in 35 years is only ₹13 lakh in today's purchasing power. The inflation-adjusted target of ₹1 crore in today's money requires ₹16,000/month. All figures are illustrations.
14 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
Should I buy a house or keep renting and invest the difference? The P/R ratio framework
Mumbai's P/R ratio is 30–45, Bengaluru's is 24–35 — meaning you pay 30–45 years of rent to own the property. Arjun's comparison: renting at ₹30K and investing ₹61,300/month builds ~₹5.8 crore in 20 years vs buying a ₹1.2 crore property appreciating at 6% → ~₹3.85 crore. The math favours renting — if you actually invest the difference.
13 Jun 2026·9 min read
Investing
What is VPF and why it beats PPF for salaried employees: the 8.25% vs 7.1% comparison
VPF lets salaried EPF members contribute extra into their EPF account at the same 8.25% interest — no contribution cap, same EEE treatment. On ₹10,000/month over 20 years, VPF builds ₹62L vs PPF's ₹49L. It's set up through HR as a payroll deduction and automates the entire savings process.
13 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
Step-up SIP: how increasing your monthly SIP by 10% each year changes your final corpus
A flat ₹10,000/month SIP at 12% CAGR for 20 years gives ₹99.9 lakh. The same SIP with a 10% annual step-up gives ₹2.07 crore — a ₹1.07 crore difference. The step-up directs salary increments into investment before lifestyle adjusts. Here's the corpus comparison, how to set it up, and what step-up % to choose.
11 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
LTCG harvesting: how to use the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption before March 31 and reset your cost basis
The ₹1.25L annual LTCG exemption on equity doesn't carry forward — if you don't use it, it lapses. LTCG harvesting means selling equity fund units to book exactly ₹1.25L of gains (tax-free), then buying back immediately to reset your cost basis. Each year of harvesting saves ₹15,625 in future tax.
10 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
Home loan EMI: how it is calculated, how much is interest, and whether to prepay
At ₹50 lakh, 8.5%, 20 years — your EMI is ₹43,391/month and you pay ₹54 lakh in total interest on top of the loan. In Year 1, 84% of your EMI is interest. A ₹5 lakh prepayment in Year 3 saves ₹6–7 lakh in future interest. Here's the full EMI formula, prepayment math, and home loan tax deductions.
8 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
Direct vs regular mutual fund plan: what the 1% expense ratio difference actually costs you over 20 years
Direct and Regular Plans hold identical portfolios. The only difference is 1% per year — which on a ₹10,000/month SIP over 20 years compounds to ₹10 lakh less in your corpus. Here's why most people are in Regular Plans, the tax implications of switching, and where to invest in Direct.
7 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB): interest rate, tax at maturity after Budget 2026, and how to buy
SGBs give you gold price appreciation plus 2.5% annual interest — and original subscribers pay zero capital gains tax at 8-year maturity. But Budget 2026 changed the rules: secondary market buyers no longer get the exemption. No new tranches are available in FY 2026-27. Here's what to do now.
3 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
ELSS mutual funds: how the 3-year lock-in works for SIP investments, and the tax at redemption
ELSS is the only mutual fund that qualifies for 80C. The 3-year lock-in is per unit, not per SIP — a 24-month SIP started in January 2024 won't be fully redeemable until December 2027. All ELSS gains are LTCG (taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25L). Here's the complete guide with worked tax examples.
2 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
Emergency fund: how much to keep and where to park it in India
An emergency fund covers 3–6 months of monthly expenses — not income. For Meera with ₹44,300 in monthly expenses, that is ₹1.33–₹2.66 lakh. Keep 1–2 months in a savings account (instant access) and the rest in a liquid mutual fund (T+1). Here's the full framework and what not to do.
1 Jun 2026·7 min read
Investing
PPF account in India: interest rate, contribution rules, withdrawal, and how to open one
PPF earns 7.1% tax-free, is government-guaranteed, and gives you EEE treatment — contributions deductible under 80C, interest tax-free, maturity tax-free. ₹1.5L/year for 15 years grows to approximately ₹40.7 lakh. This guide covers how to open one, partial withdrawal rules, and what to do at maturity.
1 Jun 2026·8 min read
Investing
How SIP compounding actually works: the real maths, the inflection point, and why the last 5 years matter most
At ₹10,000/month for 25 years, the final 5 years add ₹90 lakh to your corpus — 3x more than all 25 years of contributions combined. This guide shows the actual SIP formula, the lifecycle table at 10%, 12% and 14% CAGR, and the inflection point where compounding overtakes your contributions.
24 May 2026·8 min read
Investing
Capital gains tax on mutual funds in India FY 2025-26: STCG, LTCG, and what changed after Budget 2024
Budget 2024 changed equity fund STCG from 15% to 20% and LTCG from 10% to 12.5%. Debt fund indexation is gone. This guide explains the rules for every fund type with worked examples, the SIP holding period trap most investors miss, and how to report it all in your ITR.
24 May 2026·9 min read
Investing
What is a mutual fund? A plain-English guide for Indian investors, with the structure that keeps your money safe
A mutual fund is a pool of investor money invested by a licensed AMC in a basket of stocks or bonds, while a separate SEBI-registered custodian holds the actual securities. This article explains what that means in plain English, why the four-party structure (sponsor, trustees, AMC, custodian) makes your money safer than most people realise, what NAV actually is (and isn't), the 3 PM cut-off rule, and what ₹500 to ₹10,000 monthly SIPs grow into over realistic horizons.
19 May 2026·10 min read
Investing
Index funds vs actively managed funds in India: which gives better returns over 10 years?
Over 10 years, 60-70% of large-cap active mutual funds in India underperform their benchmark index. The math behind why — and what it means for how you invest.
15 May 2026·7 min read
Investing
How does an SIP work? What ₹10,000/month actually grows to over 10, 15, and 20 years
An SIP invests a fixed amount monthly in a mutual fund. ₹10,000/month at 12% grows to ₹23L in 10 years, ₹50L in 15 years, and nearly ₹1 crore in 20 years.
12 May 2026·8 min read