Make It Make Cents: Personal finance for DINKs
Helping you understand personal finance better, one story at a time.
Dear Reader,
Every time I go to Bangalore I feel 10 years younger. The city is teaming with startups, fintechs, and ignited curious minds. All those discussions coupled with endless cups of coffee — this is my zone as a reporter and editor.
At this point, I must have visited Bangalore more than a dozen times. It’s always a trip I look forward to; every trip has a new meeting that illuminates my mind even further.
As always, you can write to me by replying to this mail, or reaching out to me on Twitter @ActusDei.
I’ll be speaking at my hometown, Pune, next week. I’m excited to bring more personal finance-related work here and other cities. I hope to see you — sign up by clicking on the image.
Our week’s work
We began the week with a story that originated with fintechs and ONDC that may disrupt the entire mutual fund distribution system. Jash Kriplani and I wrote about the new rails that ONDC has built that cut out intermediaries like BSE Star MF and MFU. Eight AMCs have already joined the system. The discussions go even further — the possible creation of a new class of MF distributor with (kirana stores for example) who can distribute only a limited set of low risk funds and the use of RBI's CBDC for cheaper payments.
On Tuesday Shipra gave you a Mumbai-couple's itinerary for their Japan trip, a hot destination for Indians. The total cost of this 12 day trip for a family of 3? Well just ₹5.5 lakh.
On Wednesday we wrote a rather controversial story (albeit one that made Shashwat, the editor of this newsletter, rather happy). Sashind gave you the cost savings if you choose not to have kids, and some strategies like joint annuities and reverse mortgage that are available for those not wanting to leave behind an inheritance.
On Thursday, Anil gave you the process for registering marriages in India, in case you get married abroad in a destination wedding or you are an NRI. You must get the marriage registered under either the Foreign Marriage , 1969Act or the Special Marriage Act, 1958.
Finally on Friday, freelancer Vedant Vichare and Aprajita worked together to give you some strategies to get a ₹1 crore health cover. You could either get a base policy of that value (expensive) or base + super top up (cheaper but with conditions). A third option is to get a policy with increasing cover.
Fiscally responsible graphic
Social media funnies
Due to yesterday’s tragedy in Ahmedabad, we’re electing not to add a humorous post to this week’s edition. I hope you and your loved ones are safe.
That’s all for this week. If you have any feedback, criticism, or generally want to vent about the state of your portfolio, do reply to this newsletter. Rest assured, I will read every one of your replies.
Best,
Neil Borate
Deputy Editor
Mint
Great 👍 Thank you 🙏