How the Kulkarnis need to boost income to secure major goals

Low income is typically an indicator of problems when it comes to financial planning. Since it almost always translates into a meagre surplus, investing for goals becomes difficult. Though Sandeep Kulkarni may be able to overcome this handicap with some good investing decisions, he must make a concerted effort to boost his income. He has made an early start and sought professional advice at the right time, besides having realistic, long-term goals. As for his financial portfolio, there are several positives to his credit. He has a high equity exposure of nearly 70%, has been prudent enough to buy both life and health insurance, and does not face the burden of buying a house. All these measures should help him achieve most of his goals and the financial planning team of Principal Retirement Advisors will assist him in doing so.

Existing financial status

Sandeep Kulkarni is a 31-year-old salaried employee, who stays in Nashik with his wife, two-year-old daughter and parents. While 26-year-old Sonika is a homemaker, his parents are not financially dependent on him. In fact, he stays in their house and is set to inherit it. This is the reason he doesn’t have to worry about acquiring property at this stage.


Sandeep brings home a salary of Rs 44,300 every month and has an outgo of Rs 30,876. Of this, Rs 20,000 is spent on household expenses, Rs 4,000 on miscellaneous purchases, Rs 1,651 goes as insurance premium, and Rs 5,225 is being paid as EMI for the education loan of Rs 84,000 that Sandeep had taken.



After accounting for all these, he is left with a surplus of Rs 13,424, which will need to be invested judiciously to meet the goals. However, before the Principal team prepares a financial road map, it shall assess his insurance portfolio.

Insurance portfolio

Sandeep has taken some sound decisions and buying the right insurance is among them. He has purchased two term plans worth Rs 1 crore to secure his life. This is sufficient for his current needs and he doesn’t need to buy any more. Since Sonika does not have an income, the planner does not suggest buying life insurance for her.


As for health insurance, Sandeep has again been prudent about securing the risk. He is not only covered by his employer for Rs 2.5 lakh, but has also bought an independent family floater health plan worth Rs 5.25 lakh. Hence, he does not need to buy any more medical insurance. However, the Principal team suggests that he buy a personal accident disability policy worth Rs 50 lakh for himself, which will cost him Rs 6,000 per annum.