Financial Planning 101: Balancing Debt Repayment and Investments

Effective financial planning is a balancing act. While it's tempting to use every spare rupee to clear your home loan, it's equally important to invest for your future goals like retirement or your children's education.

A sound strategy involves a three-pronged approach:

1. Build an emergency fund covering 6 months of expenses.
2. Allocate a portion of your surplus to systematically prepay your high-interest debt.
3. Allocate the remaining portion to disciplined investments (like SIPs) for long-term growth.