Protect your investments from Inflation

Written by Vidya Kumar

April 5, 2013

Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Inflation, Wealth, Invest, Saving, Liquid Mutual Fund

 Law of inflation: whatever goes up will go up some more  … Anonymous

The consumer price inflation was at 10.79% in January and increased to 10.91% in February. Inflation rate in India is the highest among the emerging economies of the world like Brazil, China etc. This means your money’s worth in February was less than what it was in January.  We should protect our wealth from erosion. If not, our financial goals will not be met. Here are some ways to beat inflation and protect your money –

Invest as early as possible – It is important to start saving and investing as early as possible as you can get the advantages of the power of compounding. It is tempting to splurge/spend when you start earning and when you have just started working. We have to take care to not go overboard. It is said that compounding is an investor’s best friend. If you start investing Rs. 10,000 every year starting from the age of 25 at 10%, then at the age of 35 you will have Rs.23,579. In comparison, if your friend started the yearly investment of Rs. 10,000, at 10% at the age of 30, he will have only Rs. 16,105 at the age of 35. As you can see even in 5 years, there is a significant difference and if this is extrapolated to more years, the difference will be even bigger. Read our article on the benefits of investing early by clicking here.

Money should not be left idle in savings accounts or kept as cash with oneself – We should keep a watch on our savings account. We should ensure there is only a limited amount in savings accounts. If we think there could be some big ticket expenses in the near future, we should put the money in liquid mutual funds. One can get better interest rates there and also exit quickly and get cash immediately whenever required.

Invest in debt oriented instruments – There are expectations that RBI will cut the rate at which it will lend to banks. This would be good for debt oriented investments as their values will appreciate. Debt oriented funds have a higher degree of safety and this year they could provide good returns. So you should have debt funds as part of your portfolio.

Add equity to your portfolio – Needless to say, in the long run equities do provide the best returns if one has the right mix of stocks. Markets are expected to remain volatile this year and so one should take informed decisions and pick the right stocks.  Investing directly in stocks is riskier than investing through mutual funds, and hence should be done with great care. So if you do not have the time or experience for direct investments, then the mutual fund route is the one for you.

Fixed Deposits – If there are more rate cuts announced by RBI, there could be reduction in Fixed Deposit rates. One should invest in FDs now if one is looking for a regular and secure income avenue. Moreover senior citizens get a slightly higher rate in FDs.

Summary

Start investing early to create and build your wealth. Look at different investment avenues at regular intervals to take advantage of the market conditions and invest appropriately.

Vidya Kumar
Team GettingYouRich.com

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