I am 43 years old . My wife passed away 3 years ago. I have a 13 years old child.My relatives are asking me to get re-married. I am in confused state. Should I remarry or not?

Ans: Hi Shaks,

Your query will resonate with many working professionals.

First and foremost, please check/calculate if you have capital gains arising out of the sale of your current flat. This is important for tax implication and will also help make your decision for utilizing the funds.

Lets assume you have some capital gains from this sale, then you can again have to confirm if the capital gains can be utilized without paying tax on it - this is possible if you have purchased the new flat within the last 1 year. If so, then you can utilize/adjust the capital gains towards payments made for the new flat and save tax on it. If you have purchased the new flat earlier than the last 1 year, then you have 2 options - pay tax on the capital gains and then use the funds as you wish OR invest the capital gains amount in NHAI bonds (locked) for the next 5 years (pay tax only on the interest earned).

Once you have sorted the above, you will know what is the amount in hand to make your decision, so lets dive into it.
You have a loan of 60 Lacs and you can manage the EMI from your salaries. Over the next 6-7 years, your salary will also see an increment of approx 7-8% annually, so I suggest you utilize this excess amount each year to prepay/topup your EMI payments. This will help reduce the loan burden over time. At the time of retirement, your loan outstanding can be paid with available options at that time.
You mentioned PPF as an option - I would suggest you do not utilize PPF amount towards this loan closure. The reason is PPF is a completely tax exempt asset and can be utilized well towards retirement income. Of course depends on how much you have accumulated in PPF.

So lets now consider paying the loan amount with the sale proceeds of the current flat. You have a loan today (assuming interest rate applicable is 8-8.5%), which you can manage and you are keen to continue it till retirement, so also recommend you do so. Keep the sale proceed amount available for investment and wealth creation as there are opportunities that can generate returns at a same rate (conservative options) and higher returns (with a slightly higher risk associated).

As you do not have any major liability which is outstanding or cannot be managed, and also you are investing 90k per month in Mutual funds, you can consider wealth creation options for the sale amount available.
PMS is an option but I feel its risks will out weigh the returns in the time frame you have, unless you have a known and trust-worthy option you want to consider.
As you are looking to retire early, at age 50, you should target to create a corpus that will sustain your retirement life (consider at least 30 years post retirement) and your child's education requirements.
Hence my recommendation would be to invest in Mutual Funds and continue with your PPF until retirement. A well constructed portfolio to create a retirement corpus and your child's education requirements would be required.

You can consult a Certified Financial Planner to help you with this plan. They can guide you with your Investments and Retirement planning and provide options to consider and provide advise on risk management (Insurance requirements).

Thanks & Regards
Janak Patel
Certified Financial Planner.

Ans: Hello Swapan
There are chances to get admission to one of the tier 2 NITs. You have to compromise with the beach.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Hello dear.
The chances are low to get admission to NITs bur surely in IIITs.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Hello Dear.
The chances of admission to NIT are strong under the home state quota. Best of luck to you.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Very surprising. If you fail in the 2024-25 board exams, your 99 percentile in JEE Mains 2025 will not be valid for admission since you must pass Class 12 with at least 75%.
First, focus on clearing your boards in the compartment exam in July 2025.
If you pass with 75% (or 65% for SC/ST), you can still take admission with your 2025 JEE Mains score.
If not, prepare for JEE Mains 2026 and improve your board marks together.

Ans: IIT Bhilai is far better than Bits. Check faculty profiles. So, complete your degree and then go for MBA from top IIMs like ABC.

Ans: At NIT Surat you may get Mechanical, Civil, Chemical etc. You may get seats at NITs at North East states

Ans: He has a very low chance of getting NIT Surathkal EEE. He may get EEE at NITs at North East states

Ans: Your son will get good branches in Top NITs