'I am continuing with my SIPs in spite of the fall'

Ramesh is in his forties. He lives in Hyderabad and has been working in the field of information technology. Currently, he is in a senior management role. A curious learner, Ramesh has interests in human psychology and financial management. He learnt the difference between 'wants' and 'needs' during his childhood. Recalling his childhood, he says, "That was a time when even five paisa mattered. My mother used to send me to a shop to collect five paisa that the shopkeeper owed us. This helped me understand the importance of money." He adds, "Even though we had enough, yet we kept our expenses in control. I keep sharing these lessons with my kids now." Ramesh was a bright student, who also received government scholarships. After his 10th standard, he joined a polytechnic course in electronics and communication engineering. His career began in 1996 with a relatively low-paying job. Since he also had to finance his further studies after polytechnic, he couldn't save much. Two years later, he changed his job and in 1999, his father opened a PPF account for him. "My dad told me that the PPF was one of the safest options," remembers Ramesh. However, he did not make regular contributions for the first few years. Experiencing equity Ramesh got an experience of equity markets around 2000-01. He recollects, "During casual chats with my office friends, I learnt that they invest in the stock market. To explore it, I opened an account with a large broker and started making small investments and revelled in my profit

This article was originally published on July 23, 2020.