Today I will talk about the simplest financial product known to me – the Recurring Deposit or RD as it is called. Most investors know about Recurring Deposits and have used them at some point of time. However, many investors are still confused regarding this straightforward product.
Also, I will share tips on extracting the maximum benefit out of Recurring Deposits and on using this product to lead a better financial life. (Even our upcoming investors bootcamp will help you lead a better financial life).
Simple and Beautiful financial Product
Recurring Deposits are often rightfully called one of the simplest financial products in the world. You open a Recurring Deposit for a fixed amount and for a fixed tenure. Each month that fixed amount is invested and you earn interest (at a predefined rate) on the Recurring Deposit.
For example – You can open a Rs. 1,000 Recurring Deposit for 2 years @ 9% interest. Now for the next 24 months, Rs. 1,000 will be invested from your bank account and it will get accumulated in the Recurring Deposit and will accrue interest at the rate that was offered. This is exactly the same as putting Rs. 1,000 in a piggy bank on a certain date for the next 2 years, except that in Recurring Deposit you also get interest income (which is not an option with the piggy bank).
I have been unequivocal in stating that almost all new investors who enter the world of personal finance should start with Recurring Deposits. Typically, new investors do not fully understand the principles behind personal finance and so to protect their money from the they leave funds dormant in their savings account or use them up for some other purpose. Instead, by creating a Recurring Deposit, they will ensure their income is getting channeled into investments and more importantly that they earn interest on their money – eventually leading to good investing habits being formed. Gradually over the next 1-2 years, they can start investing in other instruments such as mutual funds, real estate or bonds.
Planning your Short Term Goals using Recurring Deposits
A Recurring Deposit is a safe investment, or in other words, it is a financial product with guaranteed returns. Stocks or mutual funds are not ideal investments for short tenures. There is no guaranteed return in equity-based productsand consistent returns can only be expected over a long horizon of 8-10 years.
Recurring deposits are therefore the ideal products to consider when planning short-term goals over a horizon of 1-3 yrs. These may include
Now if you look at most of these goals above, Recurring Deposits give returns similar to those of Fixed Deposits. Returns are at the moment in the range of 8-10% depending on the tenure chosen. As Recurring Deposits do not carry risk, they are the ideal investment solution for short-term goals (such as the ones above) where the investor is looking for guaranteed and liquid returns on savings.
Using Recurring Deposits for Ultra Short term goals in life
But the real reason why I love Recurring Deposits the most is this – Recurring Deposits are without doubt, the most powerful way to reach your ultra short-term goals in life. The parts below are excerpted from my 2nd book – “How to be your own financial planner in 10 steps“.
How many long-term financial goals do you have in life – A maximum of 3 or 4, right? Investors tend to overemphasize their focus on this handful of goals in life and spend most of their time working towards them. However most of these goals are so distant in the future, that planning for them is virtually impossible. On the other hand, we have dozens of small goals in life, which are due in next 6 or 8 months or a year at the most. We really aspire to achieve these goals, but ironically, never plan for them – because we think they can be achieved without planning.
Source: http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2013/11/recurring-deposits-tax-benefits-and-best-usage.html#.V8VOYFt95kg