Holistic Wealth with Zen

As a soon to be retiree, one wants to ensure that our savings will last throughout the retirement. And one option is investing in debt or other fixed-income securities. While these have some benefits, the article looks at the potential pros and cons before you make the decision.

Mis-selling is the act of selling something unsuitable for the person who buys it. A major cause of mis-selling is investors' lack of knowledge of financial goods. Lack of transparency is another cause. If one lacks financial literacy, they can learn how to understand the product or seek the advice of a financial advisor. Insurance and other financial products are regularly mis-sold. Let the Buyer Beware – this article looks at how to avoid falling into this trap.

While life expectancy has been on the rise, but at the same time, people are also dying young, primarily due to cardiac issues. And this is evidenced in salaried people, most of whom are typically known to sleep less, starve, work more and work out hard. The article looks at how to plan your estate well in time to avoid problems later.

Do you talk “money” with your wife? Should she be involved? Are you worried that if all the finances are known to the wife, they may influence you to deviate from the financial plan and goal in pursuit of something else? The article looks at why you should look at sharing the information with your spouse and children.

While debt instruments are great to generate regular guaranteed cash flows and preserve wealth for long periods of time, there are multiple risks. The article looks at the 5 major risks of investing in any kind of debt instrument.

While beating inflation and wealth creation are normally targeted through equity, capital protection is addressed through investing in debt. But do you need it? The article takes a look at whether you need debt or not in your portfolio.

Most traditional finance theories assume that people will act rationally, considering all available information when they make investment decisions. But behavioral finance challenges that assumption. Everyone may know what to do and have a plan in place but following that plan and abandoning your emotions is often a difficult task.

Health insurance provides people with a much-needed financial backup at times of medical emergencies. However, the fine print is not easy to understand for laymen. This article will help to bring more clarity on some of the terms, clauses in the fine print of health insurance policies so that you will be able to take an informed decision before either buying a health insurance policy or going in for hospitalization.

Annuities are going through a scanner thanks to a controversial case making the headlines in Karnataka. Are you asking the right questions? Are you selecting the right annuity plan for yourself? Is it in line with your other investments?

Any profit or gain that arises from the sale of a ‘capital asset’ is a capital gain. This gain or profit comes under the category ‘income’, and hence taxable. The article looks at the reasons for this tax and the emotions that run through people at that time in the year.

Succession laws for both men and women vary according to gender and religion in India. The article gives us the details for us to be more clear on contentious issues, if and when they arise.

All of us have heard our parents exhorting us to save. They tell us to save for the future, for the unknown, and for our own good. They have seen a tough life in the olden days when jobs were tough to get and keep. Incomes were far too low while expenses remained high and most of the country was poor, requiring frugality and tight-fisted choices. But is it fair to drown our young with our tales of caution and drive their investments in a context they don’t understand?