SIP for salaried people: save first, spend the rest

The salary arrives on the 1st and is gone by the 25th. A monthly SIP turns that around: the saving happens first, automatically, and you spend what's left.

Five habits that work

1. Set the SIP date right after salary day, so the money is invested before it can be spent.
2. Raise it with every hike. A 10% yearly step-up makes a much bigger difference than people expect: see it in the step-up calculator.
3. Give each SIP one goal and one date: a home in five years, school fees in ten, retirement in twenty-five. Work out a goal's monthly amount.
4. Send bonuses to a goal, not to the savings account where they quietly disappear.
5. Protect it first: an emergency fund of six months' expenses, term insurance and health cover, so one bad month doesn't break the plan. Take the one-minute money health check.

Tax saving without the March rush

Under the old tax regime, ELSS mutual funds qualify for the Section 80C deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh a year, with a three-year lock-in. A monthly ELSS SIP from April spreads it across the year. Under the new tax regime there is no 80C deduction, so the SIP is simply for your goals.

Run a business instead?

If your income comes in uneven months, a smaller fixed SIP plus top-ups in good months works better than one big amount. Tell us how your income flows and we'll set it up around it.

Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. FundsFirst Financial Services is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-96060); we earn a commission from fund houses on regular plans, and you pay us no fee.