freefincal

2 Crores in FDs, Single, 42, Wants to Retire at 50 – Retirement Planning Case Study Part 1

M. Pattabiraman — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:30:49 +0000

Last Updated on September 17, 2026 at 8:24 am This composite case is built from patterns I see repeatedly in practice. Names and numbers are fictional. I show every calculation so you can check it and reuse the method. This is Part 1 of a four-part case study. About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only...

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Active Mid Cap Mutual Funds vs Nifty Midcap 150 – Long Term Performance

M. Pattabiraman — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:30:45 +0000

Last Updated on September 17, 2026 at 6:47 pm In Aug 2026, we published a report comparing Active Mid-Cap Mutual Funds with the Nifty Midcap 150. We used 5-year, 4-year and 3-year rolling returns. What about the performance over longer time frames? Is it worth staying invested in an active mid-cap fund, paying a high...

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AI Can Calculate Your Retirement; It Cannot Ask You Why

M. Pattabiraman — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:30:14 +0000

Last Updated on September 15, 2026 at 9:39 am Over the past few months, I’ve found myself asking AI more and more financial questions. Sometimes I already knew the answer. Other times I simply wanted to see how it reasoned. Can it calculate a retirement corpus? Compare the old and new tax regimes? Explain sequence...

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ETF tracking error screener Sep 2026

M. Pattabiraman — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:30:52 +0000

This ETF screener tracks errors and differences (ETF return minus index return). It will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus the index’s monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficiently the ETF tracks the index. Unlike returns,...

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Trust Is Good, but Blind Trust Can Be Expensive in Personal Finance

M. Pattabiraman — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:30:00 +0000

When we talk about financial freedom, we usually think about income, savings, investments, debt, and returns. But there is another factor that can quietly influence our financial decisions: Trust. Yes, Trust. We trust our bank relationship manager. We trust the insurance agent who has been visiting our family for years. We trust the neighbour who...

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You Know How Much You Invest Every Month – But Do You Know If It Is Enough?

M. Pattabiraman — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:30:59 +0000

When I speak to clients during financial planning, a few questions come up again and again. I thought it might be useful to share how we can approach these questions, because many investors may be wondering the same thing. “I am investing ₹50,000 every month. Is that enough?” Another common question I hear is: “I...

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Equity Mutual Fund Screener Sep 2026: Shortlist consistent performers

M. Pattabiraman — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:30:54 +0000

The latest freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener is now available. Use it to screen for equity mutual funds that consistently deliver strong performance. You can screen by fund category & benchmark to identify mutual funds that deliver higher returns than the benchmark while maintaining lower risk. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo...

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From Hotel Helper to a Rs 32 Lakh Portfolio

M. Pattabiraman — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:30:23 +0000

In this edition of the reader story, we feature a 38-year-old who started his career as a hotel helper at the age of 10! About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this...

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She Earns – But Does She Have Financial Independence?

M. Pattabiraman — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:30:07 +0000

The quiet financial dependence hiding inside India’s dual-income households. Every weekend, another Financial Independence story appears on YouTube. Someone retired at forty-five. Another left corporate life to move back to their hometown. Another now spends their mornings trekking or gardening in the mountains instead of attending project meetings on mute. Yes, some of these stories...

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Types of Wills you should be cautious about

M. Pattabiraman — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:30:38 +0000

Last Updated on September 8, 2026 at 9:13 am Although the Indian Succession Act, 1925 does not prescribe a standard form or specific terminology for drafting Wills, careful drafting is essential to avoid ambiguity and potential disputes. Word choice can have significant legal consequences. For the importance of clear communication while drafting a Will, please...

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National Pension Scheme Fund Screener Sep 2026: Shortlist consistent performers

M. Pattabiraman — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:30:12 +0000

This is a National Pension Scheme Fund Screener to shortlist consistently performing NPS schemes. You can also identify NPS schemes that offer a higher return than the benchmark while maintaining lower risk. This is similar in design to the freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory tool...

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A tool to review your goal-based investments

M. Pattabiraman — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:30:26 +0000

Last Updated on September 7, 2026 at 11:51 pm Use this simple spreadsheet to review and audit your goal-based investment portfolios. Over the years, we recognised the need for a tool beyond financial planning and portfolio value/return tracking. A financial planning calculator tells you the target corpus for a goal and the investment amount required....

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My Financial Journey: Mistakes, Debt, Lessons, and a Fresh Start

M. Pattabiraman — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:30:29 +0000

In this edition of the reader-story, “I believe many people in this group, especially those who are still learning about personal finance, may relate to my financial journey. This is not a story about extraordinary investment returns or a perfect financial plan. It is a story about financial mistakes, poor decisions, learning, recovery, and starting again.”...

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Stocks with low volatility and momentum for Sep 2026

M. Pattabiraman — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:30:16 +0000

Last Updated on September 5, 2026 at 9:48 pm We publish a monthly list of low-volatility, momentum stocks. We provide data for BSE 500 and BSE 100 stocks. Update: Starting March 2026, we have significantly updated the screening metrics (details below). Three different screener files are now available. (1) Stocks with low volatility and momentum...

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How to rebalance a portfolio with 20 percent international equity?

M. Pattabiraman — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:30:44 +0000

Last Updated on September 3, 2026 at 4:27 pm I was recently asked the titular question at an event. The person has a target asset allocation of 20% international equity, 40% Indian equity, and 40% fixed income (the international equity allocation is 33.3% of the overall equity allocation). He wants to know how to rebalance...

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You Don’t Drive an Entire Journey in One Gear – Then Why Invest That Way?

M. Pattabiraman — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:30:52 +0000

When I review investment portfolios, I often see two very different kinds of investors. Some have most of their money in fixed deposits, savings accounts and other very safe investments. Others have gone almost entirely the other way, with most of their wealth in equity mutual funds, stocks or other growth-oriented investments. These approaches look...

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Why Do We Feel Guilty for Wanting to Be Rich?

M. Pattabiraman — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:30:41 +0000

Last Updated on September 1, 2026 at 9:51 pm Imagine sitting at a dinner table with your close friends. The conversation turns to the future, and you honestly say, I want to build a business that makes a lot of money so I can buy a big house and leave a large inheritance for my...

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How should I deploy my Rs. 6 Crores retirement corpus?

M. Pattabiraman — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:30:06 +0000

Last Updated on August 31, 2026 at 7:16 pm A reader says, “I am investing next month with a corpus of Rs. 6 Crores. Please guide me on how to invest this for a peaceful retirement. My wife and I are both 55 years old. Our annual expenses are Rs. 12 lakhs (including Rs. 25...

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7 Money Lessons I Learnt From Pattu Sir (And What They Did to My Finances)

M. Pattabiraman — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:30:17 +0000

Last Updated on August 30, 2026 at 4:50 pm In this edition of the reader-story, “I’m 38 years old today, working a private sector job, and living in a Tier 1 city on rent with my spouse and our 4-year-old kid. Around 2021, I stumbled upon Pattu Sir’s videos. Luckily, I had a light workload at...

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My Stock Portfolio Analysis: Aug 2026

M. Pattabiraman — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:30:55 +0000

Last Updated on August 30, 2026 at 4:53 pm This article compares my stock portfolio with an equivalent investment in a Nifty index fund and the Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 TR index. We post this comparison each month. Before we begin, new readers need to understand the context of these investments. Update: We recently...

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