AVFINPAL- Your Financial Pal

So, recently I have been getting a lot of questions on book recommendations about personal finance and investing. So I thought why not share my top personal favorite books on investing and personal finance. The suggestions are going to be in order so don't just hop to book number 5 if you have not read the remaining books as there will be chances you might not understand the fifth book in the very first reading so consider these books in the order they are: 1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki:  This classic is a must-read for young investors. Kiyosaki's view is that the poor and middle class work for money, but the rich work to learn. He stresses the importance of financial literacy and presents financial independence as the ultimate goal to avoid the rat race of corporate America. The author points out that while accounting is important to learn, it can also be misleading. Banks label a house as an asset for the individual, but because of the required payments to ...

If you are an investor or someone who is looking to invest in the Indian economy, you must be aware that while the debt market is facing turbulence due to the recent downgrades in the securities of some of the giant companies like "Yes bank", ADAG, DHFL group and even Zee group. At the same time, the equity market is rushing to the sky and is rolling around its all-time high. In this article, we will be discussing what should be your strategy in such a cumbersome economy. While moving forward we will also be looking into the future outlook of the markets. In this article, our primary focus will be on retail and small investors only, as the institutional investors or the big players might already have planned their next move. But these small investors are at the end of the knowledge tail and need some updating. To begin with, let's look at the positive and simpler part of the market i.e equities. The same equity market that has bled red during the last year is on ...

The recent fall in the equity market has led many investor's portfolios to the negative. Where the market recently touched its all-time high last month, the market has completely turned around since last month. This raises the question should you stop your SIPs and redeem your equity exposure completely? In this article, we will be focusing on SIPs mainly as more convenient and preferred behavior in a bearish market is to discontinue the SIPs. Before moving forward lets quickly recall what a SIP is : A systematic investment plan (SIP) is a disciplined way of investing in mutual fund schemes, in which an investor can make equal payments at regular intervals (normally monthly) over an extended period to accumulate wealth over the long run. It inculcates the habit/discipline of saving and building wealth for the future. SIPs make sense only if invested regularly for a long period of time. If you get into a SIP only for a short period, the returns generated are insignificant...

Investing in stocks requires a careful analysis of financial data to find out the actual worth of the company. The simplest way to make a viable investment decision is to look for the favorability of various ratios which are easily available. This approach is less cumbersome and less time consuming than examining the actual figures of the balance sheet, income statement and cash flows. Though this is not a foolproof method, it is a good way to run a fast check on a company's health. "Ratio analysis is crucial for investment decisions. It not only helps in knowing how the company has been performing but also makes it easy for investors to compare companies in the same industry and zero in on the best investment option. In this article, we will be sharing with you some of the key ratios one should look for before investing.  1. Price- earning ratio or P/E ratio: The price-to-earnings or P/E ratio shows how much stock investors are paying for each rupee of earnings. It sh...