SoloJournal - Finance Blog

First Blog

Posted 14th Nov 2023, 11:00am

My Financial Journey

Hey everyone! I'm Shravan, an engineer working in the automobile industry. During the day, I tinker with machines, and at night, I take care of my finances. This blog is like a diary of my money journey, where I share my financial experiences. Join me as we explore the worlds of budgeting, investment, and debt management together. Let's build a strong financial future. Get ready because this journey is going to be a lot of fun! Welcome, everyone!

15 years ago, I started a journey into the world of money stuff. First up was figuring out income tax—yeah, the part where the government takes a slice of your hard-earned cash. It felt like decoding a secret language!

Then, I stumbled into the land of fixed deposits (FD) and Public Provident Fund (PPF). They were like money-saving superheroes, quietly growing in the background. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, it felt good knowing my money was in a safe place.

But hold up, credit cards were a whole new story! They seemed like magic cards that let you buy things even if you didn't have the cash right then. Took me a bit to wrap my head around it, but once I did, swiping became a breeze.

Then came the big guns—mutual funds. They were like a team of financial superheroes, pooling money from everyone to invest in a bunch of things. It felt like being part of a money-savvy squad.

With a bit of hesitation, I tiptoed into the world of direct stocks. It was like owning a tiny piece of a big company. Risky? Yeah. Exciting? Absolutely!

Government securities and corporate bonds felt like the VIP section of the finance party. I realized my money could work for me by lending it to the government or companies. Who knew money could have such adventures?

Looking back, my financial journey has been like learning to ride a bike. Started with wobbles and falls, but now I'm cruising, exploring new paths and enjoying the ride. There's always more to learn, but hey, that's what makes the journey exciting!

Posted 3rd Dec 2023, 10:00am

Investment options available in India that you can consider:

Public Provident Fund (PPF): PPF is a long-term investment option that offers a fixed rate of interest and tax benefits. You can invest up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per annum in PPF.
National Pension System (NPS): NPS is a retirement-focused investment option that offers tax benefits and a choice of investment options. You can invest up to 50% of your contribution in equities.
Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS): ELSS is a tax-saving mutual fund that invests primarily in equities. It offers tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
Tax Savings Fixed Deposit: Tax-saving fixed deposits are offered by banks and offer tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. The interest rates on these deposits are usually higher than regular fixed deposits.
Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs): ULIPs are insurance-cum-investment plans that offer tax benefits and a choice of investment options. They invest in a mix of debt and equity instruments.
Stock Investment: Investing in stocks can offer high returns, but it also comes with significant risk. You can invest in stocks through a broker or online trading platform.
Mutual Funds: Mutual funds are professionally managed investment portfolios that pool money from multiple investors to invest in a variety of assets. They offer diversification and professional management.
Commercial Real Estate: Commercial real estate investments can offer high returns, but they also come with significant risk. You can invest in commercial real estate through a real estate investment trust (REIT) or a real estate mutual fund.
Initial Public Offer (IPO): An IPO is the first sale of stock by a company to the public. Investing in an IPO can offer high returns, but it also comes with significant risk.
Gold: Gold is a popular investment option in India. You can invest in gold through gold ETFs, gold mutual funds, or physical gold.

Remember, investing involves risk, and there is no guarantee of returns. It’s important to do your research and make informed decisions based on your investment goals and risk tolerance.

Posted 3rd Dec 2023, 8:00am

Choosing a good stock to invest in:

Determine your investment goals: Before investing in any stock, it’s important to determine your investment goals. Are you looking for long-term growth or short-term gains? Are you willing to take on more risk for potentially higher returns?
Research the company: Research the company you’re interested in investing in. Look at their financial statements, earnings reports, and other relevant information. You can also check out the company’s website, social media pages, and other online resources to get a better understanding of their business model and future prospects.
Analyze the industry: Analyze the industry the company operates in. Look at the current market trends, competition, and other factors that could impact the company’s performance.
Check the valuation: Check the valuation of the company. Look at the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, and other relevant metrics to determine if the stock is undervalued or overvalued.
Consider the risks: Consider the risks associated with investing in the stock. Look at the company’s debt levels, cash flow, and other factors that could impact its financial stability.
Diversify your portfolio: Diversify your portfolio by investing in stocks from different industries and sectors. This can help reduce your overall risk and increase your chances of success.

Remember, investing in the stock market involves risk, and there is no guarantee of returns. It’s important to do your research and make informed decisions based on your investment goals and risk tolerance.

Posted 3rd Dec 2023, 8:00am

Stocks and bonds are two common investment options with different characteristics. Stocks represent ownership in a company, while bonds represent debt owed by an entity.

When you buy a stock, you become a shareholder of the company and have the potential to earn money through capital appreciation and dividends.

On the other hand, when you buy a bond, you are essentially lending money to the issuer, and in exchange, the issuer promises to pay you a rate of interest on top of the bond’s principal.

Stocks offer the greatest potential for growth, but they also come with significant risk. Stock prices can drop significantly in a short time, so it’s possible to lose money investing in stocks. Bonds, on the other hand, offer a predictable and reliable stream of income through interest payments. If you hold onto the bond until its maturity date, you also get back the entire principal, so there’s little risk involved.

When choosing between stocks and bonds, it’s important to consider your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Remember, investing in the stock market involves risk, and there is no guarantee of returns.

Sensibull - Android App

Sensibull is India’s first and largest Options Trading Platform. It offers a wide range of features to help both beginners and experts in options trading. Here are some key features of the Sensibull app:

1. Options Chain Analysis Tool: This tool allows traders to explore options chains related to specific stocks or underlying assets.

2. Comprehensive Statistics: The app provides comprehensive statistics concerning option holdings, including delta, gamma, and theta.

3. Options Back testing Tool: This tool allows traders to assess their options trading strategies using past data.

4. Options Strategy Builder: This feature allows experts to build and analyze advanced options strategies.

5. Real-time Price and P&L Alerts: The app provides real-time price and P&L alerts on WhatsApp.

6. Free Options Learning Video Tutorials: The app offers a lot of free options learning video tutorials.

7. Virtual Portfolios: Users can trade options with real money or learn and practice with virtual portfolios without real money.

8. Ready-Made Options Strategies: The app provides ready-made options strategies such as call spreads, put spreads, straddles, strangles, iron condor, iron butterflies, ratio spreads, etc.

Please note that premium subscription is free for Zerodha account users.

StockEdge - Android App

The StockEdge App is a popular tool for stock market analytics and research in India1. Here are some key features and reviews about the app:

Features:

Daily Updates Section: This section provides relevant and filtered news related to the stock market. It also tracks corporate actions, forthcoming events, announcements, movement of various market indices, results, block, bulk, insider deals, and FII/DII activity1.

Wide Range of Analysis Tools: The app offers a variety of tools for analyzing stocks and sectors1.

High Performance: The app is known for its high performance.

360° Stock Analysis: The app provides news, announcements, edge chart, volume & delivery, technical, fundamentals, scans, and much more.

Premium Features: The premium version of the app offers advanced analytics, investor portfolios, thematic stock lists, readymade strategies, concall analysis, case studies, IPO notes, filtered mutual funds, advanced charting tool, combined data of big business houses, and the ability to create your own strategy.

My StockEdge Feature: This feature allows you to create your own watchlists.

Learn Features: The app provides learning resources for users.

Language, Theme, Font Size Customization: The app allows you to customize the language, theme, and font size.

Pre-defined Screeners: The app offers pre-defined screeners to filter out stocks that match users’ requirements.

Please note that some features may require a premium subscription. The team runs frequent discount offers on premium subscription. You can download the free app and use it. Also keep watching for the discounts.

RBI Retail Direct

Benefits of RBI Retail Direct:

Engage in the primary issuance of Government Securities (State, Central and T-Bills)
Invest in Sovereign Gold Bonds.
Participate in Floating Rate Savings Bonds.
Directly hold your securities at RBI.
Enjoy free account opening.
You will receive weekly email notifications about auctions announced by RBI, available for bidding on the RBI Retail Direct Port.
Click the button below to learn more about government securities and how to calculate yields.

RBI Retail Direct Site RBI FAQ's

Finance Calculator India - Android App

A Financial Calculator exclusively for Indians with the schemes available in Indian Banks, Post Office, Mutual Funds, Retirement, Income Tax, Insurance, Bonds and much more.

App has been serving Indians for more than 8 years and it is trusted by millions of Indians.

I'm a premium subscriber to this app. It's really helped me understand different schemes, and the finance calculators make decision-making much easier. Below is the link for the website.

Financial Calculator

GoldenPi .com

GoldenPi is an online platform that allows you to buy bonds, debentures, and other fixed-income assets in India. The platform aggregates ‘AAA’ to ‘A’ rated bonds across institutions, including private sector banks, NBFCs, and State governments, and lists them with their current purchase price. GoldenPi is a trusted platform for online bond investment in India.

Features:

Wide Range of Bonds: The platform aggregates ‘AAA’ to ‘A’ rated bonds across institutions, including private sector banks, NBFCs, and State governments, and lists them with their current purchase price.

Partnerships: The platform powers bond investments in partnership with institutions such as Zerodha, Axis Direct, and IIFL Securities.

Filtering Options: You can filter bonds by preset criteria such as investment purposes, credit rating, yield, payment frequency, issuer type, tenure remaining, instrument seniority, NRI eligible, etc.

Investment Process: GoldenPi takes care of the entire bond investment process starting from KYC processing until bond units get transferred to the customer’s demat account (NSDL or CDSL). Interest payments go directly to your bank account. On maturity, the bond face value is also credited to the bank account.

Selling Bonds: If you want to sell bonds before maturity, you can put them up for sale on BSE/NSE. Alternatively, you can reach out to GoldenPi and its team will help you to sell your bonds.

GoldenPi

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