It’s always wise to start saving early in life. Usually, one starts one’s career from the age of 25 after completing higher education. The tendency after earning the monthly salary is to splurge and fulfil one desires and wishes.
It’s always wise to start saving early in life. Usually, one starts one’s career from the age of 25 after completing higher education. The tendency after earning the monthly salary is to splurge and fulfil one desires and wishes. It is okay to have your share of fun, but it’s also important to be prudent and wise with your finances. In fact, it’s extremely judicious to make a few smart money moves before you turn 30. Hence, adopting healthy financial decisions early in life will secure your future moneywise. There are a few smart money moves you must make before you turn 30. Have a look.
Invest in a term plan
A term plan gives the sum assured to the family in the event of an unfortunate death of the policyholder. Most breadwinners of the family tend to ignore the term plan as there is no maturity benefit at the end of the policy period. But a term plan assures a family of a sum assured that they can use to fulfil their needs in the breadwinner’s absence. Besides, if you buy a term plan when you are young, the premium will be much lower compared to buying the same plan at the age of 40 or 50. Also, choose an adequate cover that will generate a sufficient monthly income and fulfil all needs. You should also choose to go for a plan till the age of 60. If you choose for a shorter duration for, say, 10-15 years, then the policy will lapse when you are 45 or 50 and you have to pay a higher premium to buy the same plan again. You will also be exposed to some medical conditions that may influence the premium amounts.
Health plan is a must have
When you are in your 20s, you tend to take your health lightly as you believe that you are young and nothing wrong can happen to you. Hence, you tend to avoid investing in a health plan. Or, you just rely on the health coverage provided by the company you work for. But once again, it’s a wrong attitude to have. Health coverage provided by the office is never adequate and if you are out of the job, then you become uninsured. The benefit of investing in a health plan at a young age is that it will cost you less and tide away the 3-4 years of waiting period with ease. You can also insure yourself against some critical illnesses to cover yourself adequately. Self-employed professionals can take a health plan that also provides for loss of income due to hospitalisation.
Open a PPF account
Public Provident Fund is the best savings tool for retirement. You can invest as low as Rs 500 to Rs 1 lakh a year. It has a 15-year lock-in period that will keep your finances safe for retirement. Besides, it also gives you tax benefit under Section 80C. Interests and withdrawals on PPF are tax-free. Interest rates keep fluctuating depending on the average bond yield in the previous year. Invest in PPF early in life to keep your retirement years secure and safe.
Invest in SIP
Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) are beneficial for those who do not have sound understanding of financial markets. Investors are freed from the tensions of speculating in volatile markets as SIPs do it for you, investing in more units when the price is low and less in units when the price is high. Investing in SIP early in life will help you in creating wealth that will prove to be beneficial in future. Also, SIP will make you more disciplined in savings as it will automatically deduct from your bank account every month.
Invest in a short-term debt fund for meeting contingencies
Usually, you rely on your savings stacked in bank accounts to meet some short-term financial contingencies such as loss of job or a medical condition. But instead of adopting a traditional approach and earning just 4 percent interest on a savings account, you can invest wisely in a short-term debt or liquid fund to meet such contingencies. You can also invest in flexi deposit account to earn higher interest and withdraw as per your convenience.
Hence, it is extremely important to save and invest wisely when you are young to secure yourself during the rainy days.
(By Adhil Shetty, CEO, Bankbazaar.com)
