Do you remember what you did with your first pay/payment cheque? (Haven’t received your first cheque yet? What are you doing on this page!) Did you blow it up having a good time with friends and family? Why not? You don’t remain young forever. There is a long and bright future ahead of you – and plenty of time to save and invest. Right?
Nishit doesn’t think so. He started planning for his retirement as soon as he received his first pay cheque. He wanted to use the leverage of compounding over his entire working life. In this month’s guest post, he explains why.
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Everyone invests money with the aim of having a comfortable nest egg at retirement. Most of us have not worked out how much money we need at retirement, and at what rate of return we will be comfortable. Most of us chase multibagger returns in the equity markets, burning our fingers in the process.
The magic of compounding is such that 1 lakh invested in the markets today turns into 19 lakhs after 20 years at a rate of 16% return every year. To make 16% every year your asset portfolio need not take undue risks. A Government securities fund over the past 10 years has given a compounded return of 9% on an annualized basis, and a good mutual fund like the HDFC Top 200 has given annualized return of 34% over the past 10 years.
Inflation is a monster which is like a silent killer. Now assuming an inflation rate of 8%, after 20 years, expenses of 1 lakh become 4.66 lakhs. Your assets of 1 lakh have transformed into 19 lakhs whereas the expenses have just gone up to 4.66 lakhs. You have a nice cushion of 14 lakhs.
Gold as an asset class has also yielded an annualized compounded return of 17% over the past 10 years. The trio of equity, gilt funds and gold should form the cornerstone of any investment portfolio. What I am trying to point out here is that investments need not be complex; any common person can invest making use of investment vehicles like Mutual Funds.
The above returns are through investments using the SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) method. One can invest a fixed amount every month, say Rs 5000 each, in a gold ETF, equity fund and a Debt fund. The idea of doing this is that you do not try and catch the bottom or top of any market. One need not invest in too many funds at one go.
India’s economy is growing and will continue to do so for the next 10 years at least. Anyone who is planning to retire with a comfortable income must start doing a SIP at the earliest. By doing this, one can ensure that one is financially independent after retirement. Add to this a Medical Insurance policy that will cover major health care expenses post retirement. The earlier one buys a Medical Insurance policy the fewer are the tests one has to undergo and easier it is to get one. Everyone should have a personal medical health insurance policy, as company policies expire when one leaves the company.
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(Nishit Vadhavkar is a Quality Manager working at an IT MNC. Deciphering economics, equity markets and piercing the jargon to make it understandable to all is his passion. "We work hard for our money, our money should work even harder for us" is his motto.
Nishit blogs at Money Manthan.)
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