Im 33 yers old earning 1.9L per month I have 6L in MF, 2L in PPF, 7.5L in EPF, 1.5L in NPS, emergency fund 3L FD, APY 20K and 7.5L in stock market making a sip of 32k in MF, 24K EPF, PPF 5k, NPS 5k , APY 0.5K, gold 11k, digital gold 2k, cheet fund 12k and other monthly expenses 40k(includes rent, groceries and other home expenses) every month. I am debt free and I don't have any parent property. I have started from zero. Please help me are my investment planning is good where I should investment my goal to achieve good corpus for my daughter education and she is 1 month old.
Ans: You are just 33 and already taking smart steps.
Starting from zero and reaching this point shows your strength.
That effort deserves appreciation.
Now let us assess everything with a 360-degree approach.
We will look at your savings, SIPs, and how to align for your daughter’s future.
Income, Expenses and Savings Snapshot
You earn Rs. 1.9 lakhs per month (in-hand).
Your monthly expenses are around Rs. 40,000.
That leaves you with Rs. 1.5 lakhs to save or invest.
Your current monthly investments:
Mutual Fund SIP – Rs. 32,000
EPF – Rs. 24,000 (employee + employer share)
PPF – Rs. 5,000
NPS – Rs. 5,000
Gold – Rs. 11,000
Digital Gold – Rs. 2,000
APY – Rs. 500
Chit Fund – Rs. 12,000
Total monthly investment: Rs. 91,500
You are saving around 48% of income.
That is a very strong habit.
Existing Asset Distribution
Your accumulated savings:
Mutual Funds – Rs. 6 lakhs
PPF – Rs. 2 lakhs
EPF – Rs. 7.5 lakhs
NPS – Rs. 1.5 lakhs
FD – Rs. 3 lakhs (emergency fund)
Stocks – Rs. 7.5 lakhs
APY – Rs. 20,000
This totals approx Rs. 27.5 lakhs.
This is an excellent start at age 33.
But now, you need to invest with specific goals.
Key Goal – Daughter’s Education
This is the most important long-term goal now.
You have 16 to 17 years to plan well.
Higher education costs can be Rs. 30 to 60 lakhs easily.
So early planning gives you better control.
You are saving well.
But savings need structure.
Random investments won’t give results.
Review of Mutual Fund Investments
You are investing Rs. 32,000 monthly in mutual funds.
You didn’t mention the scheme names.
So let us guide you on ideal structure.
Your SIP allocation should be across 3 to 4 funds only.
Do not keep more than 4 mutual fund schemes.
Ideal category-wise SIP allocation:
Flexi Cap Fund – Rs. 12,000
Multicap Fund – Rs. 8,000
Mid Cap Fund – Rs. 6,000
Small Cap Fund – Rs. 4,000
You can also add Rs. 2,000 in Balanced Advantage Fund
Avoid overlapping categories.
Don’t add sectoral or thematic funds.
Also avoid index funds.
Index funds are not suitable for this goal.
Why?
They copy the market and can’t exit bad stocks.
No flexibility when markets fall.
They don’t offer downside protection.
They miss tactical opportunities.
Instead, use actively managed funds.
These give better risk-adjusted returns over long term.
And a good fund manager can reduce volatility.
Direct Plans vs Regular Plans
If you are using direct mutual fund plans, please review now.
Problems with direct funds:
You invest without any personalised guidance.
You may panic and stop SIP during market crash.
You may hold too many funds and forget goals.
You miss chances to review or rebalance.
Invest through a regular plan with MFD having CFP certification.
Why?
You will have yearly review and guidance.
You will link funds to your real-life goals.
You will invest with discipline and tracking.
They will help switch if performance drops.
This support is more valuable than saving expense ratio.
Go with expert-led, not self-led investing.
PPF and EPF – Long-Term Safety Cushion
You are investing:
Rs. 24,000 monthly in EPF
Rs. 5,000 monthly in PPF
This is building a strong safe and tax-free corpus.
Keep this as part of retirement savings.
Do not use this for child education.
EPF is long-term and illiquid.
PPF also has 15 years lock-in.
But both give stable compounding.
Good for financial safety in later life.
NPS – For Retirement Only
Your NPS is Rs. 1.5 lakhs now.
You are investing Rs. 5,000 monthly.
This is fine for retirement.
But it cannot be withdrawn for daughter’s education.
So don’t depend on it for this goal.
Keep investing here for retirement purpose.
But keep that goal separate.
Emergency Fund – Keep it Untouched
You have Rs. 3 lakhs in FD for emergency.
That’s a good start.
Try to grow this to Rs. 4.5 to 6 lakhs over time.
This is equal to 3 to 6 months of your expenses.
You can use liquid fund or ultra-short-term fund too.
Do not touch this unless it’s a medical or family emergency.
Gold and Digital Gold
You are investing:
Rs. 11,000 monthly in physical gold
Rs. 2,000 monthly in digital gold
That is Rs. 13,000 per month total.
This is very high allocation to gold.
Gold doesn’t generate income or high returns.
Price can stay flat for years.
Keep gold investment within Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000 per month.
That too only for diversification.
Better to move balance amount to mutual funds.
They will give better growth for child’s education goal.
Chit Fund Contribution – Risk Needs Caution
You are investing Rs. 12,000 monthly in chit fund.
This is a high-risk and unregulated space.
Chits are useful for liquidity.
But they don’t give predictable returns.
You must limit exposure here.
Withdraw from chit fund and shift to SIP gradually.
If you need monthly liquidity, use liquid mutual funds.
They are safer and regulated.
APY – Keep It Separate
You are contributing Rs. 500 monthly to APY.
This is okay as a small retirement pension.
But it will not help in education or wealth building.
Keep it running, but don’t increase.
Suggested Portfolio Restructuring – Going Forward
You can do the following from now:
Reduce gold SIP to Rs. 2,000
Stop chit fund and move Rs. 12,000 to SIP
Keep emergency fund untouched
Retain NPS, EPF, PPF for retirement
Increase equity SIP to Rs. 40,000 gradually
This way, your monthly investments will look like:
Mutual Fund SIP – Rs. 40,000
EPF – Rs. 24,000
PPF – Rs. 5,000
NPS – Rs. 5,000
Gold – Rs. 2,000
APY – Rs. 500
This will give you better structure and tracking.
Taxation Awareness
New tax rule for mutual funds:
Equity LTCG above Rs. 1.25 lakh taxed at 12.5%
STCG on equity taxed at 20%
Debt fund gains taxed as per your income slab
So plan exits only when needed.
Avoid churning funds frequently.
Let the compounding continue.
Portfolio Review and Rebalancing
Do this once a year:
Review mutual fund returns.
Remove underperformers if needed.
Check if you are on track for education goal.
Consult your CFP-qualified MFD.
Increase SIPs if income grows.
Staying consistent is more powerful than trying to time returns.
How to Plan for Your Daughter’s Education
Now start a separate SIP for her education.
Label it clearly in your tracker.
You can assign 2 to 3 mutual funds for this goal.
Start with Rs. 15,000 per month here.
Increase SIP every year with income hike.
Avoid using this corpus for other goals.
Let this grow untouched for 15 to 17 years.
What You Must Avoid
Please avoid the following:
Don’t invest more in gold.
Don’t invest in land or property.
Don’t use insurance plans for investing.
Don’t hold too many mutual fund schemes.
Don’t invest in direct funds without proper review.
Don’t keep more than 1–2 chit funds.
Don’t take out money from PF or PPF.
Focus only on structured, goal-linked, long-term investing.
Finally
You are saving well.
You are disciplined.
You have no loan pressure.
Now just focus on planning better.
Invest goal-wise.
Review yearly.
And stay consistent.
This will create a strong future for your daughter.
And a peaceful life for yourself.
Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment