‘We separated business expenses from family’s finances’

MY PLAN

Name: Daljit Singh 

Age: 42

Profession: businessman

Name: Mona Singh

Age: 38

Profession: photographer

City: Gurgaon

Financial planner: Amit Kukreja, Sebi-registered financial adviser, and founder, WealthBeing Advisors 

Most entrepreneurs tend to plough all their money into the business. Daljit and Monika (Mona) Singh wanted to avoid making this mistake.

The Gurgaon-based couple decided to take advice on how to unbundle the business from the family’s finances. 

Apart from this, their portfolio was heavily skewed towards real estate. “Any surplus I had, was put into real estate. I realised that in this way my networth was increasing but liquidity was getting choked,” said Daljit. 

The couple were broadly clear of their goals—important among which was separating the business portfolio from the personal portfolio—but their planner helped them further fine tune this list. “I had a wishlist of some 14 things, including our children’s education (daughter Meher is in Class 10 and son Ashir is in Class 7); and having a contingency fund,” said Daljit. “Amit (Kukreja, the couple’s financial planner) further asked us if we wanted to do this, or do that… he opened up our minds.” 

Both Mona and Daljit are also clear that they don’t want to depend on the business too much. “We wanted to create some passive income that is not dependent on the business,” said Daljit, adding that he wanted to invest in such a way that the growth of their retirement corpus is on autopilot by the time he turns 48. 

“We also don’t want to take education loans for our kids’ higher education,” he said. A financial plan helped them arrive at a figure for this goal.  

Professional advice helped the Singhs realise that they were too heavily exposed to real estate. It also helped them know if their aims were realistic. “We didn’t have enough knowledge. A financial plan gave us clarity,” said Mona. 

“I was investing in a very traditional manner. Then I learnt about different asset classes. It was instructive for me to know that there are so many choices, each with its pros and cons,” said Daljit. The skew towards real estate is being corrected, “but it takes time,” said Daljit. 

Their money is now invested in mutual funds and other instruments based on goals and duration. “We now have a clear-cut plan that meets our goals. I don’t think my husband should be working always,” said Mona. 

Reduced exposure to real estate has given them more liquidity and money, which can be invested for better returns. “Even our children are learning. We have told our daughter about how much we have for her higher education,” said Daljit. Their son now asks if his choice of holiday destination will be within the budget. “This has helped us as a family,” said Mona. 

The financial plan has helped the Singhs use their income better so that their present and the future is more secure.