Where to invest to get Rs 25 lakh in next 3 years?
I am a 24-year-old mechanical engineer employed in a private firm. I have to take care of my parents as they have no savings. We live in our own house and my CTC is Rs 5.5 lakh. I have a Rs 20,000 monthly SIP in mutual funds, in addition to about Rs 4 lakh in my bank savings account. I would like to study for a master’s degree abroad and would need Rs 25 lakh in the next 2-3 years. Please advise on how to achieve this.
Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar: You have two requirements: to arrange funds for your education abroad, and to support your parents in the interim.
Your first step should be to calculate each sum separately, so that you have a clearer picture of the funds needed and investments required for each goal. Make sure to include living and emergency expenses in your calculations. Use an education loan to fund your higher education.
Given what you can invest currently, it would be impossible for you to put together the entire corpus in the next few years. An education loan will help you fulfill your aspirations and give you a longer window to repay the loan. Meanwhile, take the next few years to accumulate a corpus to support your parents and cover a part of your living expenses while you go for higher education.
You may also want to consider working part-time along with your studies so that you are less stressed about funds. If your investments are only for the short term, say, 2-3 years at the most, then your focus should be on securing capital as opposed to earning high returns. So, it would be wise to move your mutual fund investments to fixed deposits and other secure instruments.
I am 26 years old and have joined a PSU this month. I have a basic pay of Rs 28,200, and gross pay of Rs 51,000. The medical, NPS
