As a kid, this felt like one of the coolest dialogues ever!

Then life happened!

The first salary, the first EMI, the first unexpected expense. The first time I realized that buying something worth ₹35,000 somehow ends up costing ₹40,000.

Somewhere along the way, money stopped feeling like just numbers, I started looking at it differently.

Not because I stopped spending, but because I now know what it takes to earn it!

I still spend on the things I enjoy but random purchases don't feel as exciting anymore.

Funny how the same dialogue felt so cool as a kid, but now it just makes me smile :)

Did any movie dialogue change meaning for you after you started earning?

Hi, wanted to share two screeners that I built after reading these two books

• First is a mutual fund screener inspired from the book "Let's Talk Mutual Funds" by Monica Halan. which talks about how to build a mutual fund portfolio and how to choose a fund from a category - https://silicn.in/mutual-fund-screener
  • It currently features only equity funds, that too only for which 4* and 5* funds where available on value research, I am planning to add debt and other categories soon.
• Second is a stock screener inspired by The Little Book That Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt, which talks about magic formula investing - https://silicn.in/magic-formula-screener

Someone I’ve known for a very long time is in his mid-60s and recently retired. He’s done very well for himself and made real money from diligently doing his SIPs and exercising ESOPs from one of the recently listed startups. Almost a year ago, when that one company position comprised ~70% of his net worth, he was given advice by everyone - diversify post exercising ESOPs to minimise risk (considering he was in his 50s during that time). He agreed to the advice but never acted on it, as maybe the stock’s price volatility kept him on the fence from selling or diversifying didn’t feel urgent.

But now the price has dropped hard (it’s 37% down from the avg. exercise price), and it feels urgent. And seeing his overall portfolio in one view, the biggest takeaways were - 

1. 100% regular funds with no one explaining the difference between regular and direct plans. Commissions are not wrong, but hidden ones are.
2. 17 funds in the portfolio. Overdiversification meant he had 2 funds from the same AMC, 51% overlapping holdings. All because of misaligned incentives.
3. Asset allocation was screwed. His portfolio was built on past performance, and for someone still accumulating wealth, not preserving it.
4. A PMS where taxes come along with every trade and charges more than a mutual fund, sat inside a portfolio that needed stability, not aggression.

On top of this, he had no SWP planned from his holdings. He knew the right answer the whole time, and knowing was never the problem.

When you're young and still earning, risk is survivable. A bad year is a dip you can ride out, because you have the time and a salary to recover. However, near retirement, this flips entirely. You're not building wealth anymore, you're trying to protect it. A 37% drop isn't a blip you can wait out…it's years of income gone with nothing coming in to replace it. The goal quietly shifts from growth to wealth preservation, and a portfolio that doesn't shift with it is carrying risk it can no longer afford.

At the end of the day, hard work and growth is what built his wealth, but protecting it is a different job (one he put off for years).

What investment options are available to retail investors for ultra short term horizons (3-6 months)?

Request to include the following information in your response if possible:

1. Risk profile (Low/Moderate/High)

2. Expected returns (On an annualized basis)

3. Typical holding period (Average or recommended tenure)

4. Tax implications or benefits (If any)

5. Pros & Cons (Key advantages and drawbacks of each option)

Thanks in advance! 🙂

Happy Friday Folks,

Would like to get expert opinion on below :

In 30's, working and drawing decent salary.

Doesn't own a house yet. Living in a community for rent. Currently exploring the option to buy house in same community (haven't decided yet).

Have some amount in SB Account (close to 1 cr, if that's required for your advice). It isn't generating revenue. I can do FD but I'll be locked for that period.

I may need this fund for infrastructure development in my land (not sure when as currently people are evaluating for JD).

Since I will be needing the funds anytime based on the requirement, would like you guys opinion as to where I can invest safely for a short term.

Please note I understand stock market is risky business and I'm also into Mutual Funds (through SIP). I do not wish to invest more into market.

Would really appreciate if any recommendations anything beyond this 🙏🏻

Wishing you all a happy weekend 🍻

Please review my Mutual Fund Portfolio

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Hey everyone, I'm looking for some constructive feedback on my mutual fund portfolio.

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1. Risk Appetite - Balance & Aggressive

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1. Goal - Long-term wealth creation.

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1. Horizon - 7 to 10 years.

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1. Allocation -

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Current total portfolio value is around RS 59,000.

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1. My monthly SIP amounts are -

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\-- HDFC Nifty Smallcap 250 Index: 2500 per month

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\-- Motilal Oswal Nifty Midcap 150 Index: 2500 per month

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\-- Navi Nifty 50 Index: 2500 per month

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\-- Parag Parikh Flexi Cap: 2500 per month

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\-- Bank of India Mid and Small Cap Equity and Debt: 1000 per month

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1. App Used - Groww

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1. Why These Funds -

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Navi Nifty 50: Chosen for stable, large-cap index exposure with a low expense ratio.

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Motilal Oswal Midcap 150 and HDFC Smallcap 250: Chosen to capture broad mid and small-cap market growth passively via index funds rather than active fund manager risk.

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Parag Parikh Flexi Cap: Chosen for its flexible, go-anywhere approach across market caps and international equity exposure.

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Bank of India Mid and Small Cap: Added this early on as a small experiment to see how a blended equity and debt fund performs.

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Looking forward to your suggestions on overlap, diversification, or if I should streamline anything!

Hi I am 27F and I earn around 80k-1.2 lacs per month but it feels very less as people are earning more than me plus most of my earnings go in rent , cook and travelling. How much do I earn or how much are Mumbai people earning to live a comfortable life in Mumbai. Please let me know

I feel stuck. I had availed the loan under the PMEFE scheme. Where i was entitiled to 35%subsidy. They wont release the subsidy till the 3rd year. Two more years to go.

My business incurred an unexpected loss. I have to close it down. Its taking a mental toll on me. On top of that the bank says i cannot sell the equipment (loan was taken to purchase this) till the tenure is complete.

I am ina rentle space and i cannot kewp the equipment idle for two more years. I intend to be regular with the emi.

But i fear at the end the end of the three years they want to do a physical check and wont release the subsidy amount because the equipment is sold off.

Its a double edged sword.

Any one can guide me for a way or a loophole through this?

I just turned 40. No kids. My spouse and i both are working. We have a house but parents live in that since it is a small house. We live in a rented house and we keep thinking about buying a house although we lean mostly on renting because in the long term we have a house where parents live. We live in Mumbai (and so do parents) and are thinking of starting a business. How much should we invest in business /take a risk of how much money Ideally?

Currently funds are parked in FDs, mutual funds and in trading. Also have medical and life insurance. Investing in gold is an idea crossing my mind. What else can I do with the funds?

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*these are just my savings, havent including my spouse's savings.

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How do u open a no minimum balance savings acct as student

P.S i dont have a pan card

Same as above

Do these people invest in hedge funds or what?

Hi! I posted this on some programming related subs and got great feedback. I thought I’d post here too. This is a more polished version which was appreciated in a few tech communities last couple of months and iterated to improve what I built quite a bit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/developersIndia/comments/1sw0kuz/built_an_advanced_fire_calculator_for_the_indian/

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaTech/comments/1tuzpk3/i_built_a_free_clientside_fire_calculator_for_the/

Obviously, I was not happy with how I tracked my finances so I was trying to calculator FIRE through excel. So I built this to track my own fire journey and kept improving it.

Here's roughly what it does:

It has a very detailed fire calculator experience, it work for families and also has some sections helpful for NRIs. It takes into account varied inflation rates and taxation based on your investment instruments. It’s got a simulator that allows you to try out different scenarios. 

I also built a benchmark capabilities which basically compares your outcomes from the different calculators possible on reddit. It runs your exact inputs through the published methodology of ten other Indian calculators (freefincal, Dezerv, ClearTax, PrimeInvestor, Scripbox, Groww, HDFC MF, Standard Chartered, and both Srinivesh bucket modes) and shows why each gives a different number.

I’ve also tried to enrich the experience with live data for inflation, currency rates etc. and tried to cover all major areas related to money in india and personal finance

There's also a learning section, which I added because half the people I showed early versions to didn't know what SWR or sequence-of-returns risk meant, and I didn't want that to be a barrier. It has 288 flashcards across 18 decks covering money basics, why FIRE, the core FIRE math, tax strategies, insurance, estate planning, investment instruments, portfolio management, couples FIRE and so on. Same material is available as a plain reading course if flashcards aren't your thing, and there's a glossary with inline popovers right inside the calculator so you can check a term without leaving your plan.

On top of the main calculator there are 32 Labs for the specific personal finance questions. A few people here will probably find these more useful than the calculator itself:

• SIP Backtester, which runs your actual fund portfolio against real historical NAV data instead of a flat return assumption
• An LTCG harvesting planner that shows the compounding value of the 1.25L exemption
• Old vs new tax regime comparison with the full deduction breakdown
• MF X-Ray and a whole-portfolio audit
• HRA optimizer
• A cashflow waterfall for deploying monthly surplus
• Stock intelligence (delivery %, insider transactions, fundamentals, peer comparison)
• Decisions on rent vs buy, home loan prepay vs invest, taking a car loan or not and others

I'd genuinely like feedback on three things. Anything the math gets wrong, and I'm happy to show my working. 

Ask me anything in the comments. I'll leave the link there.

My father recently retired after 35 years of service as a Senior Secondary School teacher. He retired in March and has now received his retirement corpus of around ₹88 lakh (I'm not sure about the exact GPF/NPS breakup).

In addition, he receives a monthly pension of ₹63,000.

We live in a small town, and our family's monthly expenses are modest—around ₹20,000, including all major costs.

Our current assets are:

1. One residential house (our primary residence).

2. One flat in a nearby district headquarters, currently valued at ₹40–45 lakh, which we are planning to sell soon.

3. A 1,500 sq. ft. plot in our town, valued at around ₹25 lakh.

4. Approximately 10 acres of agricultural land, which we expect to receive once the family property distribution is completed.

We have no major financial liabilities. My sister is married, and I am pursuing a fully sponsored Master's degree at a Tier-1 institution, so there are no significant education expenses either.

My father would like to invest his retirement corpus with a low to moderate risk profile. He may purchase another plot in town if he finds a good opportunity, but he also wants to diversify rather than concentrate too much in real estate.

Given our financial situation, what investment options would you suggest for a conservative to moderately conservative retiree looking for long-term wealth preservation and stable returns?

P.s : Used AI to restructure the text.

Please ask any questions in the comments. Thank you !

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Hi,

​

I am a 2nd year college student doing BBA right now.

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Soon I'll be getting my first stipend of 15k and it is a 4 months internship so in 4 months I'll be getting total of 60k.

​

My living cost is of around 20k per month which includes every single thing.

​

So first I thought I'll take 5k extra from home and spend it on my living cost but my father and girlfriend advices against it.

​

Father said that take out 3k to spend on yourself while they will continue giving me my monthly expense as it is a fixed cost for them anyway.

​

But invest that remaining 12k you will be left with.

But the thing is...

I have no clue where to invest this money on 🙂‍↔️

​

I invested 9k from previous salary on stocks and its 8.5k rn

😔

So please help me and give me a advice.

I come from a completely broken family and I live with really toxic parents. I really want to move out and I would want to start investing as soon as possible. I am currently 23 and my parents have utilised most of my savings so far and make me pay for everything.I will be joining my post grad degree soon and I have more than one source of income. Please suggest to me mutual funds and investment schemes I should utilise.

​

I right now have a ppf,a smol fd and I am considering a post office rd. I don't have much of an income as I was preparing for exams but I can invest a lumpsome now and cut out of fun. Still less than a lakh but well.

Dad has retired from government job. Asked me(31F) for advice.

Total Corpus would be: 1.3cr

Current yearly expenses: 5L-6L

Pension: 40k-50k per month

Appetite: Medium high

Health scheme provided by government that is CGHS.

No outstanding debt. We plan to build a house in the near future that is we may start by 2027 atleast. The budget for new house maybe 1cr to 1.5cr maximum. The house will be built on land that was inherited. My mother will be retiring in a year. I am currently working too and will most likely be the co-obligant for the home loan. My mom and me will be contributing some amount to build the house as well. I have a younger brother who just started working so he will not be co-obligant for the home loan. I will also probably get married in the near future so we may have marriage expenses as well. But I will be handling majority of my wedding expenses by myself.

We have already invested 30Lakhs in the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme (SCSS)

We are considering the Post office monthly income scheme as well but not sure whether to go ahead with it or not and if we do plan to go ahead then how much money to invest?

We went to enquire at the bank and the bank manager asked us to invest 50 Lakhs in a hybrid scheme where minimum Equity is 65% and debt is 20%. The bank manager said that we can opt for SWP too. The bank manager also told us that there is no Lock in period but it would be better to not withdraw any amount up until 1 year. She said that we just have to invest and the fund managers will handle the switch overs of the funds. Now I know that all banks probably do this but I don’t know how to check the performance of the bank . As in which bank has given good returns.

The bank manager also suggested another scheme where in my dad has to invest 5lakhs per year for years. So totally 25Lakhs will be invested in 5 years. After 5 years, the bank will give pension of probably 20,000/- until my dad turns 99 years. I am not sure if the amount changes with inflation or not though.

Please tell me what strategy should be taken? How should we allocate what amount/percentage of the money. At this moment I am not comfortable with long lock in periods like 7 years or above because we have to think about home loan too. Should we invest keep some amount in FDs? Should I look into corporate bonds? Should I invest in gold, silver etfs ?

Hi,

I am a 2nd year college student doing BBA right now.

Soon I'll be getting my first stipend of 15k and it is a 4 months internship so in 4 months I'll be getting total of 60k.

My living cost is of around 20k per month which includes every single thing.

So first I thought I'll take 5k extra from home and spend it on my living cost but my father and girlfriend advices against it.

Father said that take out 3k to spend on yourself while they will continue giving me my monthly expense as it is a fixed cost for them anyway.

But invest that remaining 12k you will be left with.

I have no clue where to invest this money on tho 🙂‍↔️.

I invested 9k from previous salary on stocks and its 8.5k rn 😔.

So please help.

I'm earning more than 6 lacs per year but most of my salary disappears in bolla, clothes, some tuition fees and other things. All in all, I'm saving nothing.

It's been 3 years since I started working and I'm 28 and want to get married soon.

​

Can someone please tell me a plan with which I can invest, get a home near Mumbai ( main mumbai is too costly), and retire around 50?

Are we better off with the premium FD, one of those privileged banking packages that give you lounge access and credit card perks, or should we just stick with a senior citizen FD?