Computer science grad: What career path should I choose?

Ans: Dear Anonymous,
I understand it is a tricky situation. Drinking might seem trivial to some people, but if that’s a dealbreaker for you, your potential alliance should not have lied about it. But then again, he has come clean. I suggest you take some time to consider your options. First, think if drinking is going to be a huge issue in your marriage. If yes, please rethink before committing. If you think it’s ok, you can consider giving this person a chance but not without making it clear to him that you will not tolerate anymore lies.

Have an open conversation and then give yourself some time to come to a decision.
Hope this helps.

Ans: Dear Mrs,
I really wish I could just pick the right choice for you and make your life easier, but you know I can’t. The only person who has the right to choose is you. What I can do is give you extremely important advice- please go see a marriage counsellor. Trust me, this would be the best thing you can do right now. Talk it out in front of a professional who is trained to help people navigate these difficult situations. You don’t deserve to have sleepless nights because your partner is the one who is at fault. If anything, it’s him who should be feeling anxious since the fault is entirely on his part. I cannot promise or comfort you by saying that he would 100% never cheat again; what I can tell you is that even if he doesn’t, you might always have doubts in some corner of your mind. That is why it is extremely important to see a marriage counsellor. The entire process will help you gain clarity about what you want and what is best for you.

Hope this helps.

Ans: Dear Anonymous,
16 is usually a very common age when people start experiencing romantic attractions. However, I want you to understand your parents' perspective as well. At 16, you might be too young to understand what’s best for you. They are worried about your feelings. I understand that it’s a tricky situation but I just wanted you to understand that they have the best of your intentions at heart.

No, it is not a crime to have feelings; it is quite normal, but again, your parents are worried about you getting hurt, which often happens at this age. I suggest you focus on your studies and enjoy friendships because these will turn out to be the best days of your life. If you come across someone special, try to build a friendship first. Take your time to understand if you two have similar intentions, interests, values and goals. This will help you understand your compatibility. Once all of that is established, you can, without rush, decide if the person is worth your time, energy, and effort.

Hope this helps

Ans: Hi,

You have done great investments at such age. Let us go through the details one by one:
1. You have a term cover and health insurance for yourself as well as family.
2. You should have emergency fund of 6 months' worth expenses in liquid mutual funds for uncertain times, 2 lakhs is way too less.
3. Currently 3 loans - Home, Car and Personal. All loans will be finished in 9 and 4 years respectively(total EMI - 1.5 lakhs). Overall loans are high. Try to close PErsonal loand first followed by car loan to reduce the EMI burden.
4. 50 lakhs current holdings in stocks and mutual funds.
5. 30 lakhs in PF.
6. 1.4 lakh monthly expenses.
7. Current SIP - 1 lakh permonth in stocks and mutual funds.

You have build a great wealth for yourself at your age. You are also planning to start a family. Keep your invesments like this with consistency and you will finish loans and be able to move to your home as well.

Although direct stock investment needs loads of time and research - hence not recommended. It is advisable for you to keep your investments limited to mutual funds only. And it would be great to take a professional's help as even a slightest mistake can break or make your wealth.

Before relocating after few years, try to maximize your investments at the maximum potential and let compounding do its magic. Try to invest more than 1 lakh per month in mutual funds for a secured future.

Doing and managing investments along with your job is not recommended. It is always better to go for professional advice when it comes to money.

You can connect with a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

Ans: Hi,

It is great that you are investing since 2017. Long investments and patience always gives results.
You can easily achieve your goal corpus by the time you turn 58, if investment done correctly.

The funds you mentioned have so much overlapping and scattered. It needs rework and complete reallocation. Maximum of 5 funds should be there. Take the help of a professional to align your portfolio with your goal and customized profile.

A random portfolio like yours can create an opposite impact and generate negative to zero returns.

And try to increase the monthly SIP by 10% each year. This will take care of inflation power.

Hence do consult a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

Ans: Hi Rajesh,

Appreciate your dedication in investing in mutual funds for long term. The funds selected by you are very random and not recommended for your goal. Overall investments are also not in alignment, this portfolio is a very random one.
Currently you are investing 36000 per month - keep your investments simple in largecap, midcap, smallcap and mutlicap fund. Keep additional 1 lakh as well in these funds.

You should consider exiting funds like quant and shift to more stable ones.

Your current funds are direct, but direct funds are over-rated. A random portfolio like this can instead give less returns than a professionally designed one. It is always better to go for a regular portfolio suggested by a professional. Proper funds with a designed dedicated plan will help you reach your goal of 2 crores in 10 years in an efficient way.

Hence do consult a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

Ans: Hi Kiran,

Avoid investing in these funds for a short term like 3 years. Although this is a good fund and gives an average of 14% XIRR, but investments should be done thoughtfully.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

Ans: Hi Ebenser,
Silver is a good investment for now and long term. Avoid any big lumpsum buys and go for small buys each month.

Also it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. Hence avoid investing everything in silver.
Gold and silver shall not exceed 10% of your total networth.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

Ans: Hi,

Investing everything in mutual funds is never a good idea.
- you should have an emergency fund of 3-6 months worth expenses in FD
- a term insurance and a health insurance is mandatory.

Once these conditions are fulfilled, invest additional 5000 in mutual funds. Share the existing funds in which you are doing SIP along with time horizon for me to guide you in a better way.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/