When Bangalore-based couple Pragati and Sharad Madiman got married about a year back, they made a lot of plans. “We had just got married. We wanted to travel, buy a house, buy a car…,” said Sharad. At the same time, they wanted to bring discipline into their financial lives.
“We wanted to save smarter, instead of just saving in fixed deposits,” said Pragati. Their savings and investments at that point were general in nature, and not following any pattern. It was mostly in recurring deposits and fixed deposits. They wanted better. “All the interest was getting taxed,” he said.
While looking for more information, Sharad read about fee-only financial planners on Facebook. “I wanted more control over investments,” he said. Pragati, however, was not gung ho about taking external advice, mostly due to her past experience. “My reluctance was mostly due to the earlier experience with banks, which had left me confused. I didn’t want to invest in something that had a lock-in and I didn’t want to get swindled out of my money,” she said.
