Best ways to save and invest money to fund my travels?

As a kid, I distinctly remember how elderly people used to consider visiting Varanasi or Badrinath or Vaishno Devi as once in a lifetime event. My father was an Indian Railway employee and had privilege of free train journeys; despite that our vacations were quite less, probably due to associated other expenses.

Gone are the days, when travelling was considered a luxury or once in a while affair. Travelling has now become a necessary part of our lives. Escaping Workplace Stress, Pollution are pretty honest excuses, but in reality it is financial independence which is driving this new found breed of vacationers.

During my early career days, I used to save and just save for small trips, hardly 250 -300 km. from Delhi. Such a trip along with a few friends, more than once in a year used to be a big achievement. The way I used to plan for these trips, I now see the youngsters plan for Thailand, Maldives, Eurotrip and practically much more than I ever could have thought of. By seeing the millennials plan for such foreign trips, I at times used to wonder – Who is funding their frequent travels? Are they availing Loans?

I know one of my friends, who took a loan to take his family abroad for a trip and proudly paid back a hefty interest amount for the next couple of years. Well, this was not so smart an option which he realized later, when he ended up paying interest costs to the extent of 20%.

There must be a better alternative to EMI’s and Investing is a smart way of saving. With investing comes the basic question Where and How much to invest? Being myself a travel enthusiast, I will be always open to explore any investment opportunity that can help me in continuing my travels even post my retirement with some luxury and adequate risk cushion. Why not? Why should I not? 

There is a Universal Thumb rule in investment: High Risk – High Returns / Low Risk - Low Returns. In between these extremes lie Mutual Funds for those seeking reasonable returns with fewer risks.

Where money is involved Trust and Reliability is the first point to hammer the minds. Most of the time, good investment plans will die abruptly if you are unable to strike trust with the company. However Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is one such company which has constantly figured as one of the most reliable and trustworthy companies in India and L&T has a financial services company as well.

So, with L&T Mutual Fund, investing seems a safer choice to fund your vacations with luxury. Either you save for your travels or you Invest and plan your travels as per your wish. That’s what I learned over the time and from this new age financially aware generation, utility of availing SIP’s related investment from early stage of carriers. Please remove this doubt that “Mutual Funds are not suitable for beginners”.

SIP is all about disciplined investment in mutual funds, starting with as low as Rs. 500 per month and aim to achieve your financial goals and which also ensures availability of money as and when required, except for equity linked saving schemes which has lowest statutory lock in period of 3 years.

Travelling is quickly catching up as a necessary part of our lives, but decision to travel at times depends on your financial situation in wake of economic meltdown or any other job related issues. It is important to be financially prepared and maintain a corpus that can help you fund your planned/ unplanned trip. Based on your risk appetite, capacity and financial requirements; L&T Mutual Fund has an exhaustive portfolio of mutual funds to suit every requirement. Best part all the important information like Fund Size, NAV, Asset allocation and the risk associated with the fund can be checked and verified at one place. At a glance:

Check out L&T Mutual Funds’ portfolio for an informed decision from Short Duration funds to Long term fund or balanced advantage funds. MONEY comes handy for any expenses in life be it Children's Education, Regular Income and post retirement planning and can ensure continuous happy moments like Travelling as and when you feel like without worrying about monetary compulsions.

SIP is simple; let’s say if intend to plan a foreign trip in 2 years from now and based on your tentative expenses and assumed annualised return from the fund adjusted with yearly inflation can provide a monthly investment amount. Once you decide to invest in mutual Funds, you will be bombarded with terms like NAV, custodian, Debt Funds, Exit Load, Maturity value and likewise. It will be better to make yourself aware about the Financial Terms so that discussion with fund managers does not end up scaring you.

(Very handy section to a special breed of engineers who can design a Rocket in minutes but have a hard time differentiating between Debit and Credit)

Have a look at this picture below. As I myself drive for my travels on such roads most of the times, I am fully aware about the caution and planning required for maneuvering these roads. However if you cannot drive yourself better seek professional taxi services or start with some easy roads to get a feel of driving on hills. This is what I advise to travellers for such adventurous road trips:

Similarly planning and caution is required for investment as well. In case of Mutual Funds investment, professional help is readily available. You just need to talk to your Mutual Fund distributor for planning as per your requirements. You may start with a small amount and gradually grow your portfolio with time as your responsibilities will also grow with time.

- Always have the habit of reading the scheme related documents before investing to understand the scheme type, investment patterns and the risk factors associated with particular investments and consult your financial advisor to understand the implication of any investment

Disclaimer: 

This information is for general information only and does not have regard to the particular needs of any specific person who may receive this information. L&T Investment Management Limited, the asset management company of L&T Mutual Fund or any of its associates; does not guarantee/indicate any returns/and shall not be held liable for any loss, expenses, charges incurred by the recipient. The recipient should consult their legal, tax and financial advisors before investing. The recipient of this information should understand that statements made herein regarding future prospects may not be realized or achieved.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.