Wealth Building
Renting or buying: the arithmetic nobody does before signing
The comparison is not EMI against rent. It is total cost of ownership against rent plus what the down payment…
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Wealth Building
Compounding, asset allocation, tax-aware investing and the behaviour that decides most outcomes.
Savings rate first
Over a working life, how much you invest each month matters more than which fund you choose. Automating the transfer on salary day, and raising it with every increment, does more than any amount of fund research.
Diversify across asset classes #
Equity for growth over ten years and more, debt for stability and near-term needs, gold as a hedge, real estate only with eyes open about liquidity and transaction costs. Concentration in a single employer's stock, or a single flat, is the most common household risk.
Tax-aware, not tax-driven #
Holding periods, the treatment of dividends and the set-off of losses all affect returns. But an investment bought only for its tax treatment, and held reluctantly for the lock-in, usually costs more than the tax it saved.
What you will need
- Consolidated portfolio statement across all accounts
- Monthly investible surplus
- Target allocation across equity, debt and gold
- Capital gains statements for the year
- List of goals the portfolio is funding
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Wealth Building
Renting or buying: the arithmetic nobody does before signing
The comparison is not EMI against rent. It is total cost of ownership against rent plus what the down payment…
Wealth Building
The emergency fund and SIP plan that survives a bad year
Most investment plans fail in the first downturn because there was no cash buffer behind them. Build the buffer first,…