Money9 Helpline | How to manage your money efficiently amid the COVID-19 crisis

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The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the way of life as we know it. Your personal finance is certainly not immune to the current crisis. Therefore, smart money management is critical to survival through this uncertain period.

Money9 Helpline takes the responsibility to at least help you in shedding away the financial burden covid-19 has amplified. The purpose is to make sure that you are tension-free from at least one important part of your life- ‘your money.’

The idea of Money9 Helpline, hosted Amit Kukreja, founder, amitkukreja.com, is to help people navigate through this period of uncertainty.

Dhaval Joshi, Ahemdabad: I work in a cloth retail shop in Ahemdabad, but due to covid-19 pandemic, I am able to save just Rs 3,000 -4,ooo monthly. Should I invest this amount in SIP or should I go for recurring deposits in a bank or post office?

Kukreja: First and foremost, I suggest you take care of yourself. Selfcare is the most important and best care, given the present circumstances. You can save this money in recurring deposits in the post office or bank of your choice. For market investment, you should at least have an emergency corpus that constitutes at least six months of your monthly expenses. I am sure you will be in a better position soon, to be able to save more money and invest in markets and other tools.

Aakash Arora: Next year, I would like to take a trip to Singapore which will cost me around Rs 2.5 lakh. I have managed to save about Rs 1 lakh and will be saving another one lakh. Can you suggest an investment plan that can help me bridge the Rs 50,000 gap?

Kukreja: I would suggest that if you invest your money in a fixed deposit, or debt fund it will give you a 5 to 6% return. Right now we are not sure of the market, even experts are not able to predict how the market will react in the future. The equities market has a shorter horizon, and it is not possible to stay risk-free in the highly volatile period. Ideally, keeping in FD or debt fund will give you a decent return.

Pramod Desai, Lucknow: Is this the right time to invest a lump sum amount in HDFC Flexi cap fund?

Kukreja: Considering the market dynamics, I would not advise lump sum, rather spread out your investment for 12 months. There are schemes in the Flexicap category where you can invest, like Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 Fund of Fund, Kotak Flesicap.

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