A Financial Health Check Tool developed by M. Pattabiraman is now available at SEBI’s Investor Education Portal. A prototype was tested in Jan 2023 with members of the Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth, and their feedback was implemented.
Later, the SEBI Investor Protection Education Fund Advisory Committee gave further feedback, and the tool has now been included in the revamped Investor Education Portal.
Readers may recall that nine freefincal calculators are already part of the SEBI investor education website. Since then, video tutorials by M. Pattabiraman for a few calculators have also been uploaded. All the calculators can be found here: https://investor.sebi.gov.in/calculators/index.html.
Link to the financial health check tool. We recommend using the tool on a desktop or a laptop. On mobile, you may have to scroll right to see the buttons as the page is not yet responsive (feedback sent to the SEBI team). This tally version may be easier to use on mobile.
This is a screenshot of Financial Tools and Calculators at the Sebi Investor Education Portal. Nice of the tools first developed for the CNBC TV-18 book, You Can Be Rich Too With Goal-Based Investing, written by P. V Subramanyam and M. Pattabiramam. The tools can also be accessed here: freefincal.com/goalbasedinvesting
The financial health check asks questions like:
- Do you have anyone who depends on you financially?
- Do you have life insurance cover for at least 15 to 20 times your annual income?
- Do you have health insurance for yourself and all your dependents (if applicable)?
- How well are you aware of the features, terms and conditions of your health insurance cover?
- How well can you handle sudden, unexpected expenses?
- If you have a credit card do you manage to pay the bill in full before the due date each month?
- Do you have any personal loans or any unsecured loans?
- Is the total EMI you pay towards the home loan, car loan, personal loan etc., greater than 40% of your monthly take-home pay?
- Do you create a budget for your income?
- Have you calculated the corpus needed for you to retire comfortably?
- Are you investing enough for retirement?
- Have you shared the details of your investments with your spouse/children/or other dependents (as applicable/relevant)?
- Have you added nomination details to all your investments?
- Have you made a will?
The tool offers a suggestion immediately after the user completes each question, like the one below.
A consolidated report such as this is presented to the user at the end of the questionnaire.
Financial Health Check Report (Sample)
Areas Of Concern
- As you don’t have any health insurance, it is recommended to purchase a personal health insurance policy for at least Rs. 5 lakhs to 50% of your annual income (which is the higher)
- As you are not able to handle sudden, unexpected expenses, it is recommended for you to build an emergency fund over the next few months from which you can withdraw immediately (e.g. a savings bank account other than your salary account or main account). The emergency fund should at least be six times your monthly expenses.
- As you don’t have a budget, it is recommended that you set a budget for income and expenditure each month. You can allocate a maximum target amount that can be spent for different ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. The goal is to not exceed the amount set as a target for ‘wants’.
- As you have not calculated the corpus needed for you to retire comfortably, you may use the financial goal planner available on SEBI Investor Website to plan for your retirement and other financial goals. Delaying this exercise can be quite expensive as the total investment amount increases by 10-12% for each year of delay.
- As you haven’t shared the details of your investments with your spouse/children/or other dependents, it is recommended to discuss your investments with them so that they do not suffer in case you are incapacitated / unable to manage your money
- As you haven’t added nomination details to all your investments, it is recommended you do this immediately! This is a crucial step to ensure your loved ones have easy access to your investments in the event of your demise.
A nomination alone is not enough to ensure your assets are distributed to your kin as per your wishes. The provisions of a Will prevail over the nomination. Therefore, it is recommended to create a Will and ensure that beneficiaries in the Will are also the nominees (when possible) for smooth disbursement of the amount.
Areas Displaying Good Financial Health
- It is Great that you have life insurance cover for at least 15 to 20 times your annual income. Life insurance is a key component of financial security.
It is Fantastic that you manage to pay your credit card bill in full before due date each month. - It is Fantastic that you have no personal / unsecured loans.
- It is Great that your total EMI towards the home loan, car loan, personal loan etc., is less than 40% of your monthly take-home pay. It is recommended that you continue to keep debt as low as possible as it is the first step towards building wealth.
- It is great that you have invested enough for your financial independence after retirement.
Do give the tool a try.
Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
Podcast: Let’s Get RICH With PATTU! Every single Indian CAN grow their wealth!
You can watch podcast episodes on the OfSpin Media Friends YouTube Channel.
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with the form below.
- Hit ‘reply’ to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!
About The Author
Dr. M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter, Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We have all made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it and teach him several key ideas of decision-making and money management is the narrative. What readers say!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. – Arun.
Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & it’s content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.
Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)
