Remember, it's never too late to start investing. If you’re investing in your 30s, try implementing the following tips:
Draft a solid financial plan
By the time you turn 30, you should have a solid financial plan in place. Although unforeseen events can take you by surprise, ensure that you have clear short and long-term goals and plans for accomplishing them. For instance, buying a home is a short-term goal, while planning for retirement is a long-term one. A solid financial plan also takes cognisance of sudden emergencies like job loss or sudden home repairs. Make sure you have an emergency fund set up with ample funds to cover at least 6 months of expenses. If you are looking for a safe investment option, you can consider fixed deposit. They offer guaranteed returns and a fixed interest rate throughout your investment tenure.
Building a strong and lasting portfolio
When you’re investing in your 30s, you can afford to take on more risks. Since you have a longer investing horizon, you can worry less about short-term volatility and focus on generating better long-term returns. Generally, investments like stocks and equity mutual funds have a higher risk quotient and return potential. Since you have decades before retirement, you can afford to dedicate 70%-80% of your investment portfolio to high-return-generating investments. That said, you should also diversify your investments across asset classes and sectors to build a strong portfolio.
Maintain strict financial discipline
Financial discipline is the bedrock of a well-rounded investment strategy. Setting aside a fixed sum of money every month for your savings schemes and investments can be challenging at first, but once you develop a saving habit, the process becomes smoother. Instead of manually transferring your contributions to various investment instruments, try automating savings. Set auto-deduct mandates to ensure a fixed sum gets invested into the investment avenues of your choosing every month.
Use schemes based on the power of compounding
Select the investment products that offer compounding benefits to maximise your returns. Investments like mutual funds growth plans compound your earnings. Under the power of compounding, your returns on the investment are reinvested to yield further earnings. Without the power of compounding, your returns may lose their value over time due to inflationary pressures.
Even in an emergency, don't touch your retirement funds
As mentioned earlier, you should already have an emergency fund invested in an FD or liquid mutual fund to cover emergency expenses. In the absence of an emergency fund, you may be tempted to use your retirement funds to meet unexpected expenses. At first, this may seem like a prudent choice since your retirement is still a couple of decades away. However, withdrawing from retirement assets like PPF can compromise the compounding power of these funds.
You can consider investing Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposit. With a top-tier AAA rating from financial agencies like CRISIL and ICRA, they offer one of the highest returns, up to 8.60% p.a.
Whenever you can, increase your savings rate
In the beginning, you can start with a small amount. However, your contribution does not have to remain the same throughout your investment journey. In fact, you should always strive to increase your savings rate and contributions over time. Each time you receive a salary hike, bonus, promotion, or any other form of additional income, you can invest the same to boost your portfolio. Even a 10%-15% increase in your contributions annually can make a significant difference to your overall corpus.