Choose Debt fund wisely

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cut the repo rate by 0.25 percent, in its third bi-monthly monetary review for the financial year 2017-18, on August 2, 2017. 

The move is surely going to depress the retirees and other investors who rely heavily on the fixed income products such as bank fixed deposits. The bank FD rates are already lying low and in all probability will come down further.

The option one can opt is debt fund.
For a retiree, building up a portfolio to meet regular income needs requires careful attention. Safety, liquidity and post-tax return have to be kept in mind. Bank FD can be between 10%-15% of their portfolio for immediate liquidity requirement and debt mutual fund should be around 75%-80% of their portfolio, 
* Basic rule one needs to follow is, not to withdraw from debt mutual funds until the holding period of more than 3 years is completed in order to make it tax efficient. 

* For the income for the initial 3 years, required funds should be parked in Liquid and arbitrage funds, which are a better option compared to saving account and a systematic withdrawal plan should be setup from it. 

*Income for 4th year onwards will come from debt mutual funds through systematic withdrawal .. 

Basics of investment is must for Single Mothers

Women usually get scared with the idea of handling money and remain indecisive - often turns out to be a problem if for some reasons they are forced to live on their own and this problem becomes more ugly if they gave children with them and they have to secure the financial future of all of them having zero knowledge about finance and investing.

First few steps to start managing their investments:
# Never give management of your money to a relative
# Open a fixed deposit account as your first investment in a good bank and keep money in it
# Must educate yourself with the basics of finance and investing
# To gain experience of investment start with a small amount from the money kept in your FD ( fixed deposit)
# Understand financial planning and if needed get in  touch with a financial planner for a fee
# Choose your planner by relying on strong references
# Financial planner must have a minimum 2-3 years of experience
# For a good long term investing experience you have to have a disciplined approach to saving and investing
# Keep calm during markets short term volatile phases
# Trust SIPs for investing in mutual funds. SIPs average out costs, neutralise negative impact of volatility.