Pay It Forward

We are very proud to announce that the team PIF has been requested to head the financial literacy vertical at ficci flo bangalore for the year 2022 - 23d a Blog Post Title

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 04:36:01 -0800

We are very proud to announce that the team PIF has been requested to head the financial literacy vertical at ficci flo bangalore for the year 2022 - 23. It's a recognition of our work in the field of financial wellness. It's been an honour to be able to reach out to so many women members. Our sessions have covered all major topics like personal finance planning, understanding equity, mutual funds, insurance, International investments, ESG, REITs and finance for women entrepreneurs.

How to be better prepared financially, during volatile time

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:12:35 -0700

These are such unusual and uncertain times. Never even in our nightmares did we ever imagine we would live through a pandemic! But yet here we are living in totally different circumstances for the past 5 to 6 months. How does one manage finances in such uncertain times?

The Indian economy has taken a big hit due to the lockdown. This has led to many companies winding up their businesses, cutting salaries, snipping overheads, running at much lesser capacity and even reducing their workforce drastically. This has been a double whammy for some. The fear of a highly contagious disease is by itself a new frightening reality to adjust to, and then the fear of job loss.

What does one do at such times? First and foremost, it is extremely important to have a positive mindset. We know it is easier said than done but, being resilient is the only way you can plan with a clear mind. Despair, ego and disillusionment never lead to good solutions.

So here are a few ideas to keep in mind in case one is worried about an imminent job loss or pay cut.

Step 1. Take stock of all assets (gold, financial assets etc.), liabilities (school fees, EMIs, rent, etc.), expenses (monthly household expenses, transport, etc.). and finally, all sources of income (interest earned, rental income, etc.). Also check if you have adequate insurance. Do this exercise on a paper or on the computer. Don’t do a mental assessment.

Step 2. Make a rough note of expenses of the past few months. Being largely at home this would be the time we would have realised the difference between needs and wants. Classify them like say food, rental, etc. under needs. Eating out or going for a movie or holiday is a want. Covid times has clearly demarcated this for us so this will hardly take any time.

Step 3. Divide these into absolute musts that cannot be avoided like school fees, rentals, EMIs, etc.

Step 4. Cut out all those that can be avoided or postponed. Say something like...Read More

How does one understand personal finance?

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 06:51:32 -0700

So you think it is rocket science and full of geeky stuff filled with number
crunching? Allow us to break this long standing myth .

Personal finance is common sense at the end of the day! For all the numbers, we
have enough tools on the web that will crunch both simple and complex ones.
Rest you just need to figure out your own goals and where you see yourself in the
near and distant future.

Lets start at the very beginning :

1. How does one start one’s financial journey? For those who have invested
and those who haven’t, the very first step should be to learn the very
basics of personal finance. Its all there on the net! (but if you find that
confusing do reach out to us and we will be more than happy to help!)
Usually people make the mistake of investing first and then trying to put
some learnings together. This either leads to some very costly irreversible
mistakes or delaying their investment journey due to which they deny
themselves the benefit of the power of compounding (something we all
learn in middle school)

2. What next? Take a pen and paper and write down all that you own (gold,
real estate, FDs etc) and owe (housing loan, credit card dues, business
loan etc). Next look at your present age, income and other commitments
in the near, middle and long term (marriage, children’s education, ageing
parents, etc). Have a rough idea as to how much you will need for each
(keep in mind however, that as we rise up the income ladder we need to
account for our lifestyle expenses too – like say a bigger car, holidays
abroad etc).

3. Then what? Have a rough estimate (an exact estimate is even better) of
how much you spend on broad large expenses like rent, healthcare,
schooling, kids wedding and your retirement years. Make a note of the
various sources of income too (salary, rent, etc)

4. And? Once you have these broad expenses and...Read More

Catch them young!

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 06:50:11 -0700

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who
prepare for it today” – Malcolm X

Indian parents are excellent with providing support for their children at any cost
(taking a loan, selling their jewellery or property or even dipping into their
retirement corpus), to ensure their children excel in school and colleges, as they
believe this to be the road to secure a good job, a good salary and ultimately a
comfortable life.

But one of the most crucial aspects that they miss teaching their children is that
the journey to achieve a comfortable life does not lie in just earning well but
more so in saving and investing wisely. There are many stories of the rich and
famous who lost everything because of bad money-management skills or
because they trusted someone else with their hard-earned money.
Even in schools personal finance is not taught as a separate subject under the
Life Skills series, even though it’s an essential life skill each and every girl and
boy needs to have.

In addition to not having been taught at home or in school, parental ideas on
traditional methods of investing, rampant mis-selling in the financial industry,
rising consumerism, easy availability of credit, lure of a better life, and changing
aspirations have made it very dangerous to start ones independent financial
journey with minimal knowledge or, worse still, the wrong kind of knowledge!
While there are many good websites and videos that teach us the nuances of this
topic, we find that very few people are actually motivated to learn this way, on
their own, as they find the subject boring or something that’s not relevant to
them today. Even those who want to learn don’t even know where to start.
(“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a
fortune.” ― Jim Rohn

Many youngsters believe they still have plenty of time to save and...Read More

Strengths ideal for personal finance

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 22:37:20 -0700

Youth

- Ideal time to start saving and investing to benefit immensely from the
power of compounding, starting with very small amounts
- They can plan for their short and long term goals
- They can pay for their own education, marriage, home loan etc
- They pay less for insurance
- They can make savings a habit
- They can take more risks
- They have ample time to plan their retirement corpus with smaller amounts

Women

- They are not risk takers
- They think through from various angles before taking decisions
- They are known savers
- They take charge and thoughtfully manage their home budget and cash flow
- They are good at multi tasking

Pankaj Jain About Bitcoin

Sat, 17 Mar 2018 05:25:00 -0700

Pankaj Jain spoke to us about Bitcoins - what they are, how they are mined, how they are valued, who should buy etc