How are CAGR’s lawyer clients successfully managing to stay on top of their finances?

sip vs lumpsum

Lawyers are known to have extremely busy lives. With multiple cases lined up across various locations, most of their time is spent either travelling or reading tons and tons of case laws. This leaves them with very little or no time to manage their wealth. As a result, a large sum of money is almost always lying in the bank or traditional investment products such as Fixed Deposits.

How do these lawyers then stay on top of their finances?

At CAGR, we spoke to several lawyers to get their view on this subject. We received some interesting insights about professionals who are extremely busy with their work and have little time to spend on growing their wealth.

  • Nature of work is such that it demands substantial amount of time to be spent on professional requirements
  • Have some knowledge about financial assets such as mutual funds, but have little time to spend researching on the same
  • Automated digital platforms to start investing are convenient, especially if transaction time is reduced to a few seconds
  • Have an extremely high need for developing a trust based relationship with their financial planner who can cater to their queries and requests real time

With several lawyers as our clients, we have experienced the enough elements time and again. And delivering on requirements such as above has been the DNA of CAGR’s offering. In our view, lawyers need a good mix of hand holding and quick processing. Neither do they have the time to research on various investment instruments, nor do they want to spend time in transaction formalities. A trustworthy and seamless investment experience is a core requirement. In addition, every now and then we have received a Whatsapp message with a quick query about a lesser known investment instrument and a quick take on whether the concerned client should invest in the same. In our experience with lawyers, a seamless digital platform is only a hygiene factor. The reason our clients have loved us so far is because of the customized and hybrid model that we offer. Anytime Anywhere – Let us Grow Together!

Call / Whatsapp us on +91 97693 56440 for a FREE financial consultation!

The CAGR team has ensured that my money is always invested in the best funds

I have been earning, since I was quite young. Since, I was living at home at that time, I started investing in mutual funds. My mother then told me the basic mechanics of it, which I understood. But I never had the bandwidth to get into the real details. At that time the mutual fund market was beginning to sky rocket. I entrusted the money to be invested at a major International bank, the same bank my mother banked at.

After a period of interest that I had at the beginning, I really stopped tracking my investments. My relationship managers changed often. Periodically they would let me know that my wealth was x amount, or that the recession was hitting and would affect investments. But I just went with what they were recommending. In any case, my attention was diverted to my MBA, my first job. Any surplus monies was going to be used to pay back my education loan.

One day after my education loan was over, I went back to the bank and asked them what I should do with my surplus money. They recommended some investments, and I continued investing with them. I had some trepidation this time around, because many many relationship managers had changed hands over the years. And the advice they gave me didn’t quite fit in with how I understood the financial market worked.

It just so happened that around that time a colleague of mine introduced to CAGRfunds. I met the two of the founders, and told them about my past investments. They were a small team, and I felt no harm in sending my portfolio and getting it audited for free.

When I received the details from them, I realized that the annual return of my investments at the bank was something near 6-7%, not at all what I expected (I was receiving more than that in fixed deposits!). CAGR also pointed out that I was invested in a lot of thematic funds which were doing well when I invested in them, but had been languishing in the years post that.

I took this information back to the bank and they told me something that shook my confidence in them. To my shock I realized that none of them were tracking it. Later, I understood that banks are interested in getting you to invest, but not in managing your portfolio after the investment was made.

I quickly realized that I needed someone who looked into the portfolio regularly. I asked the team at CAGR to figure out a new investment plan for my surplus cash.

They came back quite quickly with a clear plan of action. I started small, but over a period of time have invested regularly with them. They keep in touch with me quite often, poking and nudging me when I’m ignoring my investments. They give me sound and sensible advice, and reviewing my portfolio periodically. I especially like the fact that they take care to explain the logic to me point by point, even when I’m asking ridiculous questions. I’ve been a CAGR client for 18 months now, and the portfolio with them has far exceeded my expectation from the market, and has left my investments at the multinational bank in the dust.

Since that time, I’ve also recommended CAGR to several people. One of them a close friend of mine was given the financial advice not to invest, and pursue her dreams to study abroad. They created a robust financial plan for her, despite the fact that their advice meant that they earned nothing in the process. I was convinced the people at this company were not after short term financial gain, but rather genuinely had their clients’ best interests at heart.

I would whole heartedly recommend CAGR to any investor. Whether you’re savvy and have everything figured out, or are just a beginner, these guys are the guys to work with for your investment needs. If you believe that the foundation for a company taking care of your investments is trust and empathetic understanding, and CAGR is the place to take your worries too.

Story has been contributed by Ronaan Roy who has been a CAGR client since January 2016. Ronaan is an MBA graduate from IIM – Indore. 

Call / whatsapp us on +91 9769356440 for a free financial consultation!

I started my mutual fund SIP in just 2 clicks.

Investing in mutual funds has never been new to me. I have always liked to think about creating wealth over the long term. Hence it has never been difficult for me to understand this space.

I have been investing in mutual funds through small SIPs ever since I started working. But after I got married, I wanted some second opinion on creating a well – diversified portfolio for some lump sum amount that I had in hand. That is when one of my friends who also happens to be a CAGR client introduced me to the CAGR team.

They came to my place and we had a very casual yet candid conversation. I told them about my current investments and further requirements that I had. Instead of right away jumping to recommending what funds I should be investing in, they insisted that we talk about goals in general. Since I was just married we did not have much beyond wanting to buy a property a few years down the line. I liked how they don’t talk like typical financial planners or mutual fund agents.

They first explained the basics of financial planning, why ULIPs are not a recommended product (relevant since my husband was invested in a few ULIPs) and then gave a brief of what they do. They showed me their online platform and detailed the advantages of investing online.

Now, I was already investing online. But I still had to resort to different websites and different documents to analyse my portfolio on a whole. Whenever I wanted to check how my portfolio was doing, it seemed like an exercise to me. This is where I got sold to CAGR. They have an amazingly convenient platform where most things happen in just a few clicks. Just as an example, I literally started a portfolio of monthly SIPs in just 2 clicks. While the transaction experience is smooth, it is also quite easy to track the portfolio. Everything is at one place. All I need to do is login to see how much money I have made and what the return is like. I never have to search for multiple statements and spend time on consolidating the data.

For me, the convenience they offer is what appeals to me the most. Also, they are very approachable and available whenever needed. So whenever I have a clarification about anything to do with money, I know which number to dial. While I am all in for digitization of services, I feel that having a face to talk to always helps.

Story has been contributed by Aditi Bajpai who has been a CAGR client since January 2017. Aditi is an MBA graduate from IIM – Raipur and is married to Karan Jenaw (also a CAGR client).

Call / whatsapp us on +91 9769356440 for a free financial consultation!

4 Ways To Kickstart Your Retirement Savings in Your 20s

If you are fresh out of college with a job, you are one of the lucky ones who has finally “made” it. You have a salary that is expected to pay for all your dreams. But somewhere, there is a risk of losing sight of one favor that you ought to do to yourself – your retirement planning. Kickstarting retirement savings in your 20s is probably the best decision you would take in your life. But even though it is such an important step, most of us graduate quite unprepared for this. We, at CashGyan and CAGRfunds, have always advocated Personal Finance as a mandatory subject that should be taught in colleges but it is not. Fear not! We have listed out three ways you can kickstart your retirement savings in your 20s.

Save 10% of your salary

When you are just starting out, you start out pretty much with a clean slate. Except maybe an educational loan. You are at a stage where you have the luxury of planning for your life’s oncoming big expenses like higher education and wedding. This means you can better plan now for how much you want to save for retirement. It is recommended that you save 10% of your salary exclusively for retirement. Set up auto-transfers to ensure that you don’t forget moving the money every month. This could be a monthly SIP that could earn you higher interest rates or just plain transfer to another account.

Save For Emergency

Apart from retirement, ensure that you are saving separately for an emergency. If you are not saving for an emergency, you are bound to dig into your other savings. Oftentimes, we don’t have exclusive savings for an emergency. It is important that you separate it out to avoid dipping into it for expenses. It is recommended that emergency savings should be three to six months of your salary. Goal-based investing is a smart way to get this started and if you go for short-term plans, the money is accessible immediately when needed.

Invest Now

As it goes in life, the 20s is the best time for taking bigger financial risks as well. So, go ahead and get yourself educated in the fundamentals of investing in the right way. There is also a steadier, lesser risk option of investing in Mutual Funds. Instead of your money lying around in bank accounts earning minimal interest rates, make it work for you. Investing in mutual fund is now convenient, seamless and technology friendly with companies like CAGRfunds. More importantly, it guarantees returns, in the long run, making consistent investment an attractive form of retirement savings.

Start an NPS account

According to pfrda.org, an NPS is an easily accessible, low cost, tax-efficient, flexible and portable retirement savings account. Starting with a minimum annual contribution of INR 6000, the funds contributed by you are safely invested as per the PFRDA investment guidelines by the PFRDA registered Pension Fund Managers (PFM’s). Utmost care is taken to ensure that contributions are not affected by the market fluctuations and the amount is protected. These contributions are locked up until the age of 60 years. Even better, NPS under Section 80CCD (1b) provides a further deduction of INR 50,000 for tax saving purposes.

Achieving financial independence is a remarkable milestone that is worth celebrating. But true financial independence is achieved when you do not have to worry about times when you may not have a steady income. Retirement comes at a delicate age where you would have more than one financial obligations and medical expenses don’t make it any easier. Also, life expectancy has been increasing along with the desire to retire early. This means one is expected to live for 20-30 years without a source of income. So, think out of the box and kickstart your retirement savings in your 20s. Your older self would thank you!

How Smart Undergrads With New Jobs Are Saving Money To Study Abroad

While a lot of friends around you are satisfied with their new first job, you have your eyes set on something greater. You want to go for post-graduate studies in the best of colleges world wide. You are studying hard for your GRE or GMAT and you know that a score or an interview is not your biggest hurdle to land a seat in the esteemed international university. It is a big, fat wad of cash that would pay for your education. While an education loan is a pretty common option to go for, there are numerous ways to cushion your study abroad by planning in advance.

 1. Budget and stick to it

Budgeting is a sign of a healthy financial lifestyle and should be done irrespective of higher education plans. But if you do have a goal of saving money to study abroad, it is essential that you get on with budgeting. Plan your monthly expense, and then plan your budget around it. You can start planning with a spreadsheet or the numerous apps that are available now. The key of course, is to actually stick with it.

2. Grow your Money through SIPs in Mutual Funds

While we are on the topic of budget, one of the best ways to save some money without worrying about forgetting is setting it up to an auto-save mode. SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) allows you to invest small monthly payments in mutual funds and these could be set up to deduct from your account directly. The rate of return on mutual funds is much higher than say, recurring deposits and if invested in tax-saving mutual funds (ELSS), then you can even save some on tax filing! Do we have to mention how satisfying it feels to see the money grow? Talk to your trusted financial adviser today.

3. Cook more at home

You probably are thinking when did we switch from saving to kitchen tips but have you ever tracked how much money you spend on eating out? It doesn’t matter whether you eat at a decent restaurant, or at the dhaba wala, the prices have soared significantly thanks to inflation. You can save considerable amount by cooking at home. A side benefit to cooking at home is good practice for your dorm life later when you actually move abroad for your studies. And really how bad could it be?

4. Invest with a goal in mind

Now that you are making some real savings with a good plan, how about investing them in mutual funds? Goal-based investing with mutual funds is a safe way to dip your toes in the world of investing. Plus, you are at a perfect age to get riskier with your money than anyone else older than you! Companies like CAGRfunds regularly help achieve financial goals through expert advice. Technology has made investing an almost hands-free experience.

5. Keep no credit cards

Or maybe just one for emergencies. Credit Cards are notorious for making us feel rich when we are not. The best among us have succumbed to the lure of the shiny new thing at the mall because credit card hai na. It is important to not let the plastic card ruin our lives with unplanned spending. While spending with the credit card doesn’t feel a pinch, the bills would definitely pack a punch!

How To Plan Finances After Marriage (And Still Love Each Other)

Marriage is a game changer on many levels. New dreams, new goals and new relatives – all shiny and with a bucket load of expectations. Amidst this, you and your spouse will continue to build a new life together, the one filled with love and tenderness. While for some enlightened couples, managing their combined finances is a piece of cake, for a lot of us it is the biggest thorn to be carefully pruned. Financial discussions have often led to higher decibels in the household in newly-wed couples and they continue to be so until sorted out. So, how to plan finances after marriage and still love each other? Here’s how:

 1)Be Honest and Share Your Current Financial Situation

Marriage is a fresh start, or at least could be treated as one. The best way is to share your financials with your spouse with honesty and respect. If you could do this before marriage, it’s better. Often times with arranged marriage, it may not be possible but every effort should be made to get this important discussion started as early as you can. Start talking about your income, debts, and other savings and expense habits.

2)Set Down Goals

Now that you are married, you might have some dreams together – a house, an international vacation, a car, higher education, etc. Each of them needs significant investment that needs to be planned. You also have the inevitable retirement goal as part of your long-term financial planning. Write down all these goals and review them often. Doing this at the beginning of the marriage gives a clear idea of what path to financial management you need to do together for meeting those goals. For example, if you both plan to retire at 40, you have to earn and invest aggressively, save more and spend less now to accomplish that.

 3) Decide on Bank Accounts

You are not required to have a joint account just because you are married. However, one can use a joint account as a common pool, or goal-specific account while maintaining separate accounts for independence. For example, if you plan to buy a house together in five years and decide to save Rs 5000 each every month, then set up a joint account so that both can deposit Rs 5000 in it. It not only acts as a pool both are responsible for but also brings in the team spirit in marriage.

 4) Create a “family” portfolio

`Before marriage, you and your spouse had your own investment portfolio that perfectly met the needs of your goals then. In fact, you might have also invested keeping some long term goals in mind like retirement. Post-wedding is an excellent time to take a look at both of your portfolio and combine them for your money to grow for common goals. An example of a common goal is buying real estate. Combining your portfolios in to a “family” portfolio is important as it will help you plan better and define your appropriate asset allocation. Get in touch with a good financial planner to run an end to end planning exercise and kick start your family investment journey.

 4) Don’t Forget Emergency Fund

No matter what your goals are as a couple, ensure that you set up an emergency fund. An emergency fund is a financial cushion for you and your spouse when something expensive and unexpected strikes like an accident or job loss. Having money to rely on is a great stress relief and will reduce strain on your marriage at particularly bad times. Aim to save at least six months of income in your emergency account.

 5) Plan and Track a Budget

Easier said than done, but planning a budget with your spouse is one of the smartest thing you would do in your marriage. It sets financial behavior expectations from each other while helping you both visualize how it helps you get closer to your goals. Planning a budget is not rocket science. Once a budget is set, track it every day to ensure you are on plan. You can use the numerous apps that are available on your phone to do it seamlessly. Or do the old-fashioned way on paper and pen and spend some quality time away with your spouse from the white screen.

What To Do With Your First Salary?

First salary is special for everyone. It establishes an individual’s earning footprint and we all only hope that it goes uphill from there. The sense of freedom that comes with a first salary is unparalleled. So, it is only right that we make the best of our first salary. Fun fact: We have too many plans with it! So, if you are feeling like a deer in the headlights, you are not alone. That’s why we have put together some ideas that would make you make the most of your first salary.

 1. Save 20% of Your First Salary (and every salary thereafter!)

First things first. Of all the dreams that you have with your first salary, going broke isn’t one. And the smartest people around you would ensure that their savings account is filling up and zipped tight right from their first salary. But how much to save? Make the math easier and save 20% of your salary. Contact the bank that holds your salary account and set up an automated transfer of 20% of your monthly salary to a separate savings account. As long as you do that, you never have to worry about going bankrupt again.  And oh, if you want to grow it further, try investing in Debt Funds that could provide a relatively low growth but steady enough with lower risk. You can even start small.

2. Buy Something For Your Parents (Or Even Better Give Them The Rest Of The Salary)

Remember all that you have put your parents through growing up? It’s payback time honey! Needless to mention, your parents deserve it. Most parents are fine just knowing that their child has a job now that doesn’t involve being chased by police, but you should know better. They have sacrificed enough for you. Perhaps, you can part with some of your salary to buy some thoughtful gifts for them? And while we are on the topic of parents, if you were day dreaming while they dutifully imparted financial lessons to you, here’s your chance at a refresher.

 3. Pay Off Debt (And Make a Habit of Staying Out Of It)

I know it’s not easy to pay off education loan with your first salary but you can make a start right away. Make your parents proud and start paying it off without asking your Dad to do it. And if you have borrowed money from anyone else, paying them off is the best thing you can do with your first salary. You will be proud, stress-free and guess what, all ready for the best part of earning your first salary. Oh, and did we mention about making a habit of NOT taking any more unnecessary debts?

 4. Spend On Yourself (But Don’t Get Credit Card Debt!)

After all the good deeds you did with your salary, now is the time to finally pay yourself. Remember those million odd dreams you had with your first salary? The ridiculously expensive phone, that designer bag, or that Bose speaker that you probably won’t have time to listen to are still at the closest mall around you. They are waiting to come home with you. Free the reigns and treat yourself. You totally deserve it! Just don’t get into Credit card debt, will ya?

Should you save and invest for your child’s education?

If you did your MBA from IIM Ahmedabad back in 2007, you probably paid somewhere around 4 lacs. Your younger sibling would have paid somewhere around 21 lacs this year. That is 4 times of what you must have paid and a staggering 23% annual increase in the fees.

If the cost of education rises at this pace, after around 18 years, your child will need a whopping Rs. 8.7 crores for the same program at IIM-A. Even at a 10% annual increase in cost, that amount would be close to Rs. 1.2 crores.

Education costs have been increasing at a rate higher than the usual inflation. And the same is true for elementary, primary and secondary education.  Not to mention the additional cost of coaching that you have to incur at different stages of education. The above numbers clearly indicate a need to focus on how you intend to fund your child’s education.

This article seeks to help you formulate a plan for your child’s dream education no matter how old your child is.

For the sake of relevance, let us have 3 categories:

Category 1: If your child is under 10 years of age

Your child in his early years of schooling and has a long way to go in terms of pursuing his education. Planning for children in this age bracket is the easiest simply because you have more time to save and invest. The earlier you start, the more corpus you create. Following are the 3 things you should be doing if you fall in this category:

  1. Start a monthly SIP in a portfolio of mutual funds with predominant exposure towards equity. The time horizon is long term so you may have decent allocation towards mid and small cap funds, if you risk appetite permits that. This will enable you to create a substantial amount of wealth over the long run (Over 7 years).
  2. Every year, try and estimate the corpus you need to fund the education at both graduation and post – graduation stage. Accordingly, increase your monthly SIP every year to ensure that you are able to garner the required corpus. While SIPs in equity mutual funds will help you create wealth, increasing them every year will ensure that you don’t fall short of the amount you require.
  3. Park a small sum of money in a debt fund for any short term requirements. This will ensure that you have surplus funds available for any contingencies.

Category 2: If your child is between 10 – 15 years of age

Your child is probably nearing completion of school and will soon be ready for graduation years. This means that while you do still have time for post – graduation, you might not have enough time for saving to fund his graduation. Following are the 3 things that you should do:

  1. Park your surplus money in a portfolio of debt equity funds. The split between the two categories will be determined by how many years are you still away from completion of school.
  2. Start a monthly SIP in a portfolio of mutual funds and asset allocation is key for such investments. You may keep an allocation of 30-40 percent in debt funds and the remaining exposure should be in a diversified basket of equity funds. The asset allocation should be monitored regularly and should be shifted entirely towards debt as you approach the time when you would need the fund. This will enable you to create a pool of wealth over the long run (Over 5 years).
  3. Increase your monthly SIP every year simply because you have relatively lesser amount of time to save for the post – graduation requirement.

Category 3: If your child is between 15 – 20 years of age

Your child has grown up is perhaps nearing his post – graduation years. As such you have only a few years before she completes graduation and goes for higher education. Here is what you should be doing:

  1. Park your surplus money in a portfolio of debt funds. The split between the two categories will be determined by how many years are you still away from completion of school / graduation.
  2. Start a monthly SIP in a portfolio of mutual funds and asset allocation is key for such investments. You may keep an allocation of 60-70 percent in debt funds remaining exposure should be in a diversified basket of balanced equity funds. The asset allocation should be monitored regularly and should be shifted entirely towards debt as you reach towards the year when the funds are required. However, your exposure should not include the risky category of mid and small cap funds.
  3. Increase your monthly SIP every year simply because you have relatively lesser amount of time to save for the post – graduation requirement.

How do we help?

At CAGRfunds, we help you estimate the amount of money you will require at every stage of education. We also help you define your most suitable portfolio. As you start investing, we ensure that our tools continue to review and re-balance your portfolio whenever the need arises.

Contact Us NOW!

Top 5 Financial Mistakes New Parents Make (And How To Avoid Them)

Being a new parent is a special experience and comes with a learning curve that knocks the sleep off many, quite literally. Surviving on three hours sleep routine is no joke. So is ensuring your finances are as tough as your baby’s grip on your finger. After all, you have an additional life depending on you for survival. Yet, in the midst of the whirlwind a new baby gets into our routines, many give our financial health a slip. Some of these missteps could be costly in the future.

Here are top 5 financial mistakes new parents make and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Failing To Make A “Baby Budget”

Having a baby is an experience that’s hard to be taught. The baby brings surprising changes to our lives. But one predictable change is extra expense. Regular doctor check-ups, supply of diapers, formula and other common baby items are not surprises and yet, most new parents fail to allocate a certain amount in their budget for the baby expenses. Every new parent need to carve out a place for the baby in the budget before the baby arrives. Experts advice to start living out that way couple of months before the baby arrives to get used to the change in your
expenses.

So, if you are an expecting parent, put some thought into the potential expenses and make a “baby budget”. If you already have the bundle of joy with you, it’s not too late to plan one now. And do not forget to add emergency funds to your budget plan too!

Mistake #2: Overspending

A direct impact of not having a baby budget is overspending and boy, is it easy to overspend on your new baby! The baby may be tiny but the expenses are enormous. The price tags attached to the shiny new stroller, or the whole stack of new clothes (which she is going to outgrow in a few weeks) could be a real eye opener! But resisting the cute, little baby stuff is hard. New parents spend on too many toys, too many clothes, too many “extra” bottles, bibs, pacifiers
because “just in case”. There is no end to it. At the end of the month, you struggle to figure out why you have no money to buy a shirt because well, you didn’t use the extra-soft burp cloth when the baby happily puked on you. Don’t make this mistake.

Babies are easy to please. They don’t need too much of anything but your attention. Stick to your baby budget and buy only the absolute necessities like new bottles. Don’t hesitate to ask for used toys, clothes from other members of the family or friends with older children. There is no shame in it. You are not only being smart about how to manage your finances, you are also inculcating a healthy money habit in your family. This will ultimately be adopted by your
fast-growing child.

Mistake #3: Life Insurance

A baby’s arrival is special but it’s a life long responsibility that spans from her basic needs of food and shelter through health, education and marriage. The costs add up quickly. According to a 2011 report by The Economic Times , the average cost to raise a child is INR 54.75 Lakhs. If the primary breadwinner dies, what happens to your child’s future? It’s an uncomfortable thought but it’s a responsibility that the new parent needs to take with utmost sincerity. And yet, many new parents make the mistake of not reviewing their life insurance after the birth of their
child. This may be unintentional or ignorance.

Fortunately, it’s not rocket science to fix this mistake. The first step is to estimate the expenses of your family including house, health, child’s education, wedding. As a general rule of thumb, it’s recommended that your life insurance be at least five times your annual salary and the other
expenses mentioned above. If you don’t have a life insurance yet, get one today. And make sure your new baby is added as a beneficiary along with your spouse.

Mistake #4: Child Education Savings

The cost of higher education is rising by a whopping 20% yearly. That means what costs INR 20 Lakhs today will cost an incredible INR 95 Lakhs by 2025. What it means to you is saving for your child’s education is an immediate need. But in the midst of paying for diapers and overspending on toys, new parents let this important savings slip by until a few years. Even waiting till the child turns four years old is a big loss in the long term.

Saving for your child’s education should begin from the day your baby arrives. Investing in mutual funds through SIPs is one of the most effective ways to grow and protect your investments in long term. Companies like CAGRfunds have proven how easy and quick it is to get started with goal-specific investments . What more, CAGRfunds also provides tools to track your investments any day and any time.

Mistake #5: Protecting Your Retirement Savings

It is amazing how our priorities drop to somewhere at the bottom of the list once the baby arrives. Rightly so. After all, you are the parent with the humbling responsibility of giving the little guy a nourishing life. Yet, the baby will one day grow into an adult and leave the nest to pursue his own independence. Until then, you have saved and spent a substantial amount of your earnings on making the child able enough to pursue his dreams. So, once he leaves, where does it leave you financially? It’s important to remember that you are growing older with the child. Your earning years are shrinking. Are you going to forego your retirement savings to pay for your child’s growing expenses?

This is a tough situation but we are a big proponent of protecting your retirement savings with both hands (and legs, if possible!). Your ability to earn more diminishes as you grow older. In fact, your salary pretty much flattens once you hit 40. Which means your best earning years are the first 20 years of your career and that’s exactly when you can save the most. It is imperative that your retirement nest is secured with regular saving and investment plans and is
untouchable through the years of child-rearing.

A new-born baby is the center of joy and pride for parents and nothing in the world matches the happiness. This event could be daunting too but it could be made easier with proper financial planning. Be smart and avoid these financial mistakes new parents make. Your child will thank you for it!

Abhilash talks about his financial planning journey

When I first decided to pursue MBA, I assumed it to be synonymous with 6 figure salaries. Well, I wasn’t wrong about that. Yet my life was a perfect live telecast of a “hands to mouth” living. I had no control over my expenses and at the end of every month, I had absolutely no idea where my money was being syphoned off to. Financial Planning was definitely not luring me enough. But somehow that wasn’t even bothering me. Maybe because I thought such is life for everyone who is approaching his late 20s.

This (Read: Mid 20s) is also a time in life when taking risks gives a lot of thrill. So I started investing in stock markets. I now realize I was betting on circumstances which I could not predict. But I think I was lucky since I had invested a small amount in 2 stocks. By the way, that was my only “savings cum investment” so to say. And oh, also the annual allocation I used to do for the 80C deductions.

Life went on and I forgot about the amount parked in the two stocks. On one such day, I met my friend Vikash who has started a wealth management company called CAGRfunds. As I told him about my inability to save, he told me about investing, mutual funds and the stock market. Boom. I just remembered my stock investments. I went home, logged on to the site and there it was. A substantial reduction over what I had invested. Complete disbelief overtook me.

So I called back Vikash and asked him about what should I be doing with my money. And that is how I started my investing journey with them. Vikash gave me the following two pieces of advice that day.

  1. Redeem all my stock investments. This was because I neither had the expertise nor the knowledge to identify and monitor the right stocks. And my portfolio pretty much made that clear to me.
  2. Start a small SIP.

At that point, I had no idea of what a mutual fund is or what does SIP mean. But the next few sessions with the CAGR team clarified a lot of misconceptions I had about “money” in general and at the same time, opened up a huge number of possibilities of wealth creation.

But that is not what I liked about them. It was the fact that they asked me to start small. Simply because I was new to this domain and they felt it was important for them to educate me along the way. Now, I have met a number of relationship managers from various banks, but no one has ever asked me to start small.

I, therefore, started with a small amount as my monthly investment. Within 6 months, I started a few more SIPs and then kept on adding to it. Life couldn’t have been this simple had it not been for the CAGR online platform (www.cagrfunds.com). Online investment, monitoring and redemption – all in just a few clicks. And because it is a few clicks, it is much easier to manage investments regularly. Although I pretty much manage my investments myself, I owe it to the CAGR team for making me more responsible and now wealthier.

The story has been contributed by Abhilash Sethi who has been a CAGR client for over a year now. Abhilash is a 28-year-old MBA graduate from IIM – Bangalore and is married to Rachana Dongre (also a CAGR client).

Call / WhatsApp us on +91 9769356440 for a free financial consultation!

Four ways to make your vacation pay for itself

We can totally understand your excitement when a long awaited vacation is approaching. Likewise, the post vacation depression! How we wish we could guarantee ourselves one vacation every year without it making a big hole into our pockets?

Well a bit of planning and discipline can make a guaranteed annual vacation a reality! Here are 4 ways to achieve this dream.

Have a vacation fund amount in mind well in advance

If you are planning one high value vacation every year, it is best to start pinning down the fund you will require in advance. This is because an estimate of the amount required gives you enough time to create the fund.

Invest surplus lumpsum in a debt fund

If you have any surplus lumpsum amount in hand, invest the same in an ultra – short term debt fund. This will ensure liquidity so that you can withdraw as and when required. At the same time your money will grow at modest returns. This strategy should ideally be followed for a vacation that you want to make within 1 year.

Start a monthly debt investment to fund the balance amount

If you have an estimated amount required for vacations that you want to do next year or the year after that, you can start a monthly investment in a debt fund (this method is also known as a SIP). This will enable you to allocate a certain amount every month for the trip.

Start a monthly equity investment to fund trips after 3 years

Since you know you want to travel every year, why not start creating the fund for the vacations you will be doing after 3 years. For such vacations, you can start a monthly investment (SIP) in a balanced equity fund. This will not only enable you to park a certain amount of sum every month but will also grow your corpus over time. So essentially, a part of your trip can be funded by the returns you generate on your equity investment. Isn’t that great?

How do we help?

At CAGRfunds, we help you plan your annual vacation fund by identifying the asset allocation required for the same. Asset allocation is the split of investment required in debt and equity. We help you create your investment portfolio so that you can just plan your travel while your vacation pays for itself!

For planning your travel fund, call / whatsapp us on +91 97693 56440 or leave a message here

My 15 lakhs FD matured. How do I use the money?

As per a recent survey by SEBI, more than 95% of Indians prefer parking their money in Fixed Deposits (FD). Well, if that is true by any measure, then it is only likely that a good number of those FD(s) are maturing every single day. And the looming question is – Should I start another FD?

Before we answer this question, let us look at the various options we have in hand.

Retain it as cash – Unless you have a spending need within the next 7 days, there is ABSOLUTELY no reason to consider this. Liquid funds work best for any spending needs in near future. Idle cash at home is like a bucket of still water. The level only depletes with time gradually.

Start another fixed deposit – Fixed deposit returns have been falling and the extent of our expenses is increasing. Healthcare costs increase by approximately 15% every year. Are the fixed deposit returns still attractive? We would say a big NO to that. Low returns coupled with taxation of returns renders them to be an unattractive investment destination. With easy access to better information, a lot of Indians are now realizing this. Have you awaken yet?

Invest in debt funds – Debt funds are a type of mutual fund which invest in debt related instruments like Government bonds, corporate bonds, commercial paper (CP) etc. The reason a lot of people are now shifting to debt funds is because of better returns and lower taxation possibilities. With the tax net getting stringent, it only makes sense to explore all possible avenues of reducing tax liability. Read more about how debt funds fare better over FDs here

Invest monthly in equity funds – Equity mutual funds are the latest talk of the town. Useful or in-vogue, whatever you call them, they are amongst the very few wealth creating asset classes available to Indians today. A pre decided monthly investment in equity mutual funds can result in double digit returns over the long term. But only and mostly over the long term. And by long term we mean that your money should stay invested for more than 5 years. For example, an investment of INR 80,000 over 18 months (INR 14.4 lakhs) can lead to a corpus size of INR 41 lakhs after 10 years (Assuming annual return of 12%). And that too tax free.

Therefore in conclusion, the best investible options available are debt and equity mutual funds. You can choose either of them or a mix of them depending on your risk profile, return expectations and time horizon.

How do we help?

At CAGRfunds, we assess your complete profile in terms of risk, return and time horizon and accordingly make customized suggestions to you. We ensure that your money gets invested in the right avenues and meets your expectations.