First Investments

Inflation, risk, asset rooms, SIP, mutual funds, and the long boxes — without product noise.

Personal Finance 101 · Beginner · 55–65 min · Start reading

Articles in this series

1. Saving vs investing (7 min) — Saving is protection of principal. Investing is a trade: you accept ups and downs for a chance that the money outruns inflation.
2. Inflation: the silent leak (6 min) — Prices rise. A fixed pile of rupees buys less. That is why cash under the mattress feels safe and still loses.
3. Risk, time, and sleep (8 min) — Risk is not a vibe. It is “this number can drop, and I might need the money before it recovers.”
4. The main asset classes (8 min) — Equity, debt, cash, gold, real estate - five rooms, not fifty products.
5. SIP and lumpsum (8 min) — SIP is a calendar habit. Lumpsum is a pile you already have. Neither is magic.
6. Mutual funds in plain words (8 min) — A mutual fund is a shared basket with a published rule. You buy units. NAV is the per-unit price.
7. EPF, PPF, NPS - the long boxes (8 min) — Some Indian money lives in boxes the government designed for decades, not for next Diwali.
8. A simple core to start (7 min) — A beginner core is small, automatic, and boring.

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Educational only — not investment advice.