INVEST AND INSURE WITH 12 AND 500 ` `

MANY PEOPLE CONSIDER FINANCIAL PLANNING TO BE THE PRESERVE OF THE RICH OR UPPER MIDDLE CLASS. HERE WE EXPLORE OPTIONS FOR THE POOR. ■

Taking baby steps towards money management costs very little. It’s the start of a New Year, but we are hurtling towards the end of the financial year. It is time to take stock of your investments for the year, and to buy some more to cover your shortfall. Let us take a look at some insurance and investment options that are very easy on your pocket. So easy, you should buy these for all your family and friends.

PAY 12, GET ACCIDENT COVER OF 2 LAKH ` `

For less than the cost of a fizzy drink, you can participate in the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna. This offers a personal accident cover worth ` 2 lakh for individuals aged between 18 and 70. This cover can be bought through participant banks and insurance companies. You can buy it directly from your Aadhaar- linked netbanking account. The premium will be autodebited from the linked account and terminate when you reach the age of 70 or fail to pay the premium. The cover provides a sum assured against death, or partial/ total disability due to accident. The nominee receives ` 2 lakh after the insured death. In total disability ( which is described as “total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes or loss of use of both feet or hands or loss of sight of one eye and loss of use of foot or hand”), the insured gets ` 2 lakh. In partial disability ( described as “total and irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye or use of one foot or hand”), the insured is paid ` 1 lakh.

PAY 100, ENROL FOR PPF `

PPF remains one of the best risk- free small savings schemes for the common man. Though the returns fell to an unappetizing 7.6 per cent recently, for an investor looking for a safe investment, this is still the go- to option. The returns are higher than those offered by fixed deposits and are also completely tax- exempt. You can open an account through your netbanking account and by submitting the requisite documents along with ` 100. Further contributions starting from a minimum of ` 500 can be made from your bank account, and partial withdrawals can be made from the sixth year.

PAY 210, GET PENSION OF 5,000 ` `

If you are an early starter in life already thinking of retirement, why not give the Atal Pension Yojna a shot? Investors between ages 18 and 40 can register for this scheme via their netbanking accounts. The minimum tenure for this scheme is 20 years, and it will start paying out when you are 60. You can assure yourself a life- long guaranteed pension in multiples of ` 1000, up to a maximum of ` 5000. The premium increases with age and pension expectation. For example, if you are investing for a pension of ` 5,000 when you are 18, your monthly premium will be ` 210; at 40, your monthly premium would be ` 1,454. Additionally, the scheme also pays out a corpus to your nominee upon your death, up to a maximum of ` 8,50,000.

PAY 330, GET TERM INSURANCE WORTH 2 LAKH ` `

The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana offers term insurance to the common man at very low costs. A term insurance policy is a pure life cover with no investment benefit. Individuals between ages 18 and 50 are eligible. The cover ceases once you reach 55. You can buy this policy directly from your participant bank’s portal, and ensure you have sufficient account balance while enabling the auto- debit mandate for automatic renewal payments every year.

CREATE WEALTH WITH EQUITY SIPS, FROM 500 `

One of the best money decisions you can take is to start an equity mutual fund SIP. The minimum contribution you need to make is ` 500 a month. Systematically investing in equity over the long term will help you create wealth. A small sum of ` 500 a month invested in a fund providing average annual returns of 12 per cent can give you a corpus of ` 5 lakh in 20 years. If you annually step up the investment — basically, increase your monthly contribution after every year — by 20 per cent, you will have a corpus of ` 10.85 lakh in 20 years, or ` 42.45 lakh in 30 years.