Whether you are getting married or planning your child's academic career, it pays to invest early. A couple of useful tips on how and where to invest.

By Shilpa Nayak

The heat, it turns out, is the least of hassles in summer. For most, the real worry is managing transfers, weddings, and school admissions. Here are some simple tips on how to manage the season of events.

Getting married

MURALI AND KOMAL had not anticipated that marriage meant managing bills too

Reema and Rahul had been on cloud nine the past three months. After much convincing, their families had agreed to their wedding. And, boy, what a wedding it had been. But now that they were married, the 20-somethings were suddenly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the move they had made: starting life together with no support systems. Everything had to be figured out: who'd pay the house rent, who would take care of the grocery bill, who'd buy furniture for the apartment they were moving into, who'd take care of emergency expenses... the list just went on and on. Worse, all the shopping spend had already landed them in a mini financial crisis. The outstanding on Rahul's credit card had ballooned, and last month the newly-weds had barely managed to pay their car loan. Suddenly, marrying didn't seem such a great idea. Do all marriages need to start on a scary note like this one? Fortunately, no.

At least three months ahead of marriage, start setting some money aside. The sum should be large enough to allow you to run the household for a couple of months, should you-God forbid-lose your job soon after marriage. Instead of keeping the money in your savings account, park it in a fixed deposit. It helps in two ways: one, you can't take the money out on an impulse and, two, it earns interest. If you haven't taken a life insurance policy till now, then do so immediately. Remember, you have a spouse-and pretty soon, children-to provide for. No point leaving them in a lurch.

In a marital relationship, money often becomes a bone of contention. You could avoid that by opening a joint bank account. Besides, it makes sense to start a disciplined saving plan-ELSS or PPF, which gives you tax breaks-with both participating in it with equal ardour. Although the amount saved may not be huge, the regularity of saving will go a long way in giving you financial stability. That apart, you may want to invest in equities; go for a mix of stable and aggressive stocks, with a bias towards the latter.

Last but not the least, think home. With home loans getting cheaper and attractive (you get tax breaks), it makes sense to buy a house at a younger age. Murali Iyer, a 30-year-old, who married recently, quit his dotcom job and became a TV show host because he wanted, one, a less risky industry to work in and, two, buy a house. Says his wife Komal, who works for a broking house: ''Initially, we'd spend a lot of money eating out or shopping. But we realised quickly enough that we have to start saving regularly.''

Moving House

Rukmini, 32, and Shankar Vishwanathan, 35, were glad that they were shifting to Bangalore, a city they both loved. But that won't be until next week. Rukmini was going crazy winding up their Mumbai establishment. There was her three-year-old daughter to be taken care of, new mailing address had to be given to a range of service providers, including her bank, life insurance company, sharebroker, and even the water filter and ups companies. Most of all, there were some furniture and electrical items to be disposed off. A week, she feared, wasn't enough for all this.

Not an uncommon situation, which is why the family should have started planning for the shifting at least a month in advance. That would have allowed them to realise better prices for the household goods they want to sell. Ditto when it comes to packers. You should call the movers four to six weeks before the d-day, to get the best quote. It would give you time to compare the rates and services offered by different packers. References, a must if you are moving valuables, can also be checked out in that time.

But if you are caught in a last-minute jam, don't panic. Follow some simple rules. For one, pick a mover who has a solid reputation. Then, get a fix on the items you want to move.

What about cost? Well, there are no fixed charges for moving homes, but packing and moving a two-bedroom apartment of around 750-square feet can cost between Rs 15,000 and Rs 17,000. Insist on a comprehensive insurance to cover for damage to goods. Since you will be reaching your destination city ahead of the household goods, make sure that the minor repairs that your new house may need are done in advance.

Saving For Kid's Education

The cost of quality education is going through the roof. Apart from the usual fees and donations, there are related expenses such as buying a computer, microscope, CD-ROMs, books, excursions, swimming lessons, and coaching, among others, which add up to the cost of education. And if you are an ambitious parent, then you probably want to send your children abroad for a Masters degree. At universities in the United States, the yearly cost of education ranges anywhere between $30,000 and $150,000.

Instead of curtailing your or your children's ambitions, you should start planning for their education expenses early on. The effect of compounding will work to your favour. If you want to save, say, Rs 10 lakh for your child's education, you will need to put in Rs 65,000 in a fixed deposit for 15 years (assuming a 20 per cent annual return). But if you have only 10 years to go, the needed sum more than doubles to Rs 1.60 lakh.

But what is the ideal investment vehicle for an education fund? Equities are the best bet for growing your money over a five- to-15 year horizon. Since you are investing over a relatively long period, fluctuations in return get evened out over your holding period. Within equities, look at blue-chip growth portfolio covering the large FMCG or pharma stocks. If you want to steer clear of stocks, pick mutual funds. You can choose from a range of funds-growth, aggressive, balanced growth. In fact, some mutual funds, like HDFC, have schemes meant specifically for education. Be sure you check the lock-in period, before making the investment. ''We keep investing some money regularly in bonds, mutual funds, and national saving certificates for Tanay's education,'' says Sudan Rege, a commercial artist and graphic designer in Mumbai.

Like with most things in life, it pays to plan and start early on.
  

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