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Ramalingam Kalirajan |10879 Answers |Ask -Follow

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Jul 30, 2025

Ramalingam Kalirajan has over 23 years of experience in mutual funds and financial planning.
He has an MBA in finance from the University of Madras and is a certified financial planner.
He is the director and chief financial planner at Holistic Investment, a Chennai-based firm that offers financial planning and wealth management advice.... more

Asked by Anonymous - Jul 14, 2025Hindi

Dear sir, I am 37 years and i have a home loan which i took just 24 months ago of 85lac, (remaining balance 70 lakhs emi 89k pending 115 months) personal loan of 29 lac, (emi 66k, pending 5.5 yrs). my corpus collected in PF is 20 lakhs, 8 lakhs in NPS, 8 lakhs in Stocks and 8 lakhs in. Mutual funds. My current mutual fund SIP is 15k. Credit card bill comes upto 25k (mostly necessities like fuel, meds, groceries etc) and household / regular expenses workout to 80k (which includes childs expense, day to day expenses like ordering food, eating out, maid etc). My monthly take home is 3lakhs. My intention is to clear the HL as soon as possible, is that a correct method or should i lower the emi and put more money towards investment. Need assistance with planning my finance as i want to retire by 50 and want a stable income of at least 1.5lakhs per month post retirement (given my current expenses work out to 80k).

Ans: At 37, your retirement goal at 50 is ambitious yet achievable.
Your income of Rs. 3 lakh is strong.
But high EMIs and loans are slowing your wealth creation.

Let’s address this step-by-step with a full 360° approach.

? Your current cashflow – understanding the reality

– Monthly take-home: Rs. 3 lakh
– Home loan EMI: Rs. 89,000
– Personal loan EMI: Rs. 66,000
– Credit card spends: Rs. 25,000
– Monthly expenses: Rs. 80,000
– SIP: Rs. 15,000

– Total outflow: Rs. 2.75 lakh
– Net surplus left: Just Rs. 25,000

– Surplus is low, considering your income level
– Interest burden from loans is eating your savings
– This must be restructured immediately

? Assets and investments – where you stand today

– EPF corpus: Rs. 20 lakh
– NPS: Rs. 8 lakh
– Mutual Funds: Rs. 8 lakh
– Stocks: Rs. 8 lakh
– SIP: Rs. 15,000/month

– Net liquid investment: Rs. 24 lakh
– Retirement accounts (EPF + NPS): Rs. 28 lakh
– But EPF and NPS are not easily liquid

– Mutual fund SIP is too low for your income
– Credit card usage may be blocking fresh savings
– Loans are restricting your investing potential

– You are investing only 5% of income
– You must raise this to 25% in phased manner

? Personal loan – the main cashflow blocker

– Loan size: Rs. 29 lakh
– EMI: Rs. 66,000/month
– Tenure left: 5.5 years

– This loan is eating 22% of income
– These are high-interest, non-asset loans
– No tax benefit and no long-term value

– These EMIs must be your top priority
– Do not keep investing Rs. 15,000 SIP if loan is dragging
– Focus on closing this in 2.5 to 3 years

– Redirect bonuses, incentives, or gift income toward prepayment
– Every Rs. 1 lakh prepayment reduces EMI burden
– Avoid credit card rollovers. Pay in full every month

– Personal loan closure frees Rs. 66,000
– That alone can double your monthly investment

? Home loan – EMI is high but manageable

– Remaining balance: Rs. 70 lakh
– EMI: Rs. 89,000
– Tenure left: 115 months (~9.5 years)

– Loan is secured against appreciating asset
– Interest is lower than personal loan
– You also get tax benefits under Section 24

– Do not rush to close this first
– Instead, aim for 3 to 5 years closure of personal loan
– After that, target home loan aggressively

– You can consider EMI reduction by extending tenure
– But only if bank allows without extra charges
– Or shift to better ROI through balance transfer

– Once personal loan is cleared, use Rs. 50,000 monthly to prepay home loan
– That will reduce tenure by many years

? Retirement planning – time and goal setting

– Retirement age goal: 50 (13 years left)
– Target income: Rs. 1.5 lakh/month
– Adjusted for inflation, this will be Rs. 3 lakh/month at age 60

– Post-retirement, need minimum Rs. 4.5–5 crore corpus
– That requires aggressive investing and consistent increase in SIPs

– You already have Rs. 28 lakh in EPF and NPS
– Add Rs. 24 lakh in mutual funds and stocks
– Total corpus so far: Rs. 52 lakh approx

– But future value depends on how you invest from now
– A major SIP boost will be required after loan closure

– Do not use EPF or NPS for prepaying loan
– These are critical for retirement cushion
– Protect them and grow them

? How to structure savings and loan payments – recommended plan

– Pause SIP for 1 year and increase personal loan prepayment
– Allocate Rs. 40,000–45,000 monthly towards loan
– Pay minimum SIP of Rs. 5,000 to maintain MF continuity
– Reduce credit card spend by Rs. 5,000–8,000 per month
– Reduce unnecessary spends like eating out and OTTs

– After 18–24 months, your personal loan balance will reduce heavily
– Resume SIPs at Rs. 25,000–30,000 once freed
– Raise SIP by 10% yearly

– After personal loan closure, put Rs. 50,000 toward MF SIPs
– Rs. 25,000 toward home loan prepayment
– This strategy balances both long-term wealth and EMI relief

– Do not invest lumpsum while loan interest is higher than return

? Mutual fund investments – increase depth and quality

– Your SIP of Rs. 15,000 is low for Rs. 3 lakh income
– Ideally, 20% of income (Rs. 60,000) should go to SIPs
– After 2 years, increase SIP to this level gradually

– Choose only regular plans through MFD with CFP credential
– Avoid direct funds. You need ongoing guidance

– Direct funds seem cheaper
– But they lack expert review, exit advice, and rebalancing
– One wrong fund or timing can erase years of gain

– Regular plans offer better support and strategy
– Fund switching, risk alignment, and goal planning is done for you

– Active funds are better than index funds
– Index funds give no protection in falling markets
– Active funds shift to safer sectors and reduce losses

– SIP in active funds gives better peace and long-term returns

? Stock portfolio – keep it minimal

– You have Rs. 8 lakh in stocks
– Don’t increase this without professional support
– Mutual funds should be your main growth tool

– Stocks need time, skill, and discipline
– If not reviewed regularly, they underperform

– Avoid intraday or F&O
– Stay long-term and stick to large cap if continuing

– Don’t sell stocks for short-term needs
– But don’t increase exposure either until debt is cleared

? NPS and EPF – long-term assets, keep them growing

– Rs. 20 lakh EPF is solid
– Rs. 8 lakh NPS is also growing well

– Don’t touch EPF or NPS till retirement
– Let them compound quietly

– Continue EPF as per salary
– You may increase NPS voluntary contribution if tax slab is high
– But do this only after loan is cleared

– NPS is helpful for Section 80CCD(1B) tax benefit
– But has restrictions in withdrawal
– Use MF as main retirement vehicle, not just EPF and NPS

? Credit card usage – reduce or switch to debit

– Rs. 25,000 monthly spend on credit card is high
– This indicates overspending or delayed payments

– Use credit card only for planned essentials
– Pay full amount before due date

– Never convert to EMI
– That increases debt burden and interest cost

– Monitor spends weekly. Set alerts if needed
– Try to reduce card spends by 20% slowly

– Shift more payments to UPI or debit card
– This reduces mindless swiping and improves control

? Family protection – insurance and medical coverage

– You haven’t mentioned insurance coverage
– Buy a pure term insurance of Rs. 1 crore minimum
– Protect family from income loss due to death

– Premiums are low if taken early
– Don’t mix insurance and investments

– If you already hold ULIP or LIC endowment, surrender them
– Reinvest proceeds in mutual funds for better return

– Health insurance must be minimum Rs. 10 lakh
– Prefer family floater plan, even if employer gives cover

– Medical bills can wipe savings fast
– Health cover protects your financial planning

? Lifestyle spending – hidden leakages

– Rs. 80,000 monthly expenses include eating out and services
– These can be reduced slightly

– Try cutting Rs. 5,000–8,000 by adjusting lifestyle
– Every Rs. 1,000 saved can be redirected to SIP or EMI

– You don’t need to live like a miser
– But you must remove wasteful spending

– Track all spends for one month
– You’ll see many expenses that can be avoided

– Financial freedom comes from small changes, not sudden sacrifices

? Finally

– Your income is your biggest strength today
– But loan EMIs are pulling you back

– Clear personal loan in 2–3 years
– Don’t touch EPF or NPS for this

– Don’t try to close home loan first
– That is long-term and has tax benefit

– Focus on growing SIP after debt is reduced
– Move from 5% to 20% of income in SIP slowly

– Avoid direct funds, index funds, ULIPs, and endowments
– Use MFD backed by CFP for all MF investing

– Aim for Rs. 5 crore corpus by age 50
– With discipline and debt clearance, this goal is very possible

– Protect your family with term and health insurance
– Live below means today to live above needs tomorrow

Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment

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