Exploring Fixed Deposit as an Investment Tool

Lessons in Investing    « Previously

Investment Evaluation Report

SECTION 1: Understanding Your Investment

Based on the screenshot provided, you have successfully booked a Fixed Deposit (FD) with Axis Bank. Here is a breakdown of what exactly you have signed up for:

• Principal Amount (The Seed): You have invested ₹5,00,000. This is the lump sum you are lending to the bank.
• Interest Rate (The Reward): The bank is paying you 6.45% per annum. Think of this as the "rent" the bank pays you for using your money.
• Tenure (The Time): Your money is locked in for 15 months.
• Payout Type: This is a Monthly Payout FD. Instead of waiting until the end of 15 months to get your profit, the bank will send the interest earned straight to your bank account every month.
• Maturity Instruction: It is set to Reinvest. This means after 15 months, the bank will automatically start a new FD with your ₹5,00,000 unless you tell them otherwise.

SECTION 2: Exploring the Alternatives

While an FD is safe, it’s important to see what else is out there. Let’s be brutally honest about your other options:

1. Public Provident Fund (PPF)

PPF is a government-backed savings scheme. It currently offers a slightly higher interest rate (usually around 7.1%).

• The Reality Check: It has a 15-year lock-in period. While your FD lets you get your money back in 15 months, PPF traps it for a decade and a half. Also, you cannot get monthly payouts; the interest is only credited once a year. It’s great for retirement, but terrible for someone who needs regular cash.

2. Debt Mutual Funds

These funds invest your money in corporate bonds and government securities.

• The Reality Check: Unlike your FD, these are not "fixed." The value can go up or down based on market interest rates. More importantly, the recent tax changes in India mean that any gains from debt funds are now taxed at your regular income tax slab, removing the old "indexation" tax benefit. You are taking market risk for returns that might not be significantly higher than your FD.

3. Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs)

These are a mix of insurance and investment.

• The Reality Check: Avoid these if your goal is pure investment. ULIPs are notorious for high hidden charges (Premium Allocation Charges, Mortality Charges, Fund Management Charges). A large chunk of your ₹5,00,000 would go toward commissions and fees before it even gets invested. Plus, there is a mandatory 5-year lock-in.

SECTION 3: Questions and Answers

Q: How much am I going to get each month?

Since your interest is paid out monthly, we calculate it by taking the yearly interest and dividing it by 12 months.

Monthly Interest = (Principal × Interest Rate) ÷ 12

Example Calculation for your investment:

• Principal: ₹5,00,000
• Annual Interest: 6.45% of 5,00,000 = ₹32,250 per year
• Monthly Payout: ₹32,250 ÷ 12 = ₹2,687.50

Note: The bank might deduct a small amount as TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) before sending it to you if your total interest income exceeds certain limits.

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Q: Would there be any growth of my investment in the FD account after the interest is paid out monthly?

The short answer is No.

In a "Monthly Payout" plan, you are choosing to consume your profits as they are earned. Think of it like a fruit tree where you pluck every single fruit as soon as it ripens. The tree (your ₹5,00,000) stays the same size; it doesn't get any bigger because you aren't letting the "fruit" (interest) fall back to the ground to plant new trees.

This is why your Maturity Amount in the screenshot is exactly ₹5,00,000. At the end of 15 months, you will get back exactly what you put in, because you already took the profit out every month along the way.

Summary: This FD is an excellent choice if you need a steady monthly "pocket money" of about ₹2,687. However, if you wanted your ₹5,00,000 to grow into ₹6,00,000 over time, you should have chosen the "Cumulative" option instead of "Monthly Payout."

Lessons in Investing    « Previously

Dichotomy of living your life, and doing sacrifice now for better future

See All on Motivation    « Previously

The dichotomy between living in the present and sacrificing for a better future is a fundamental human tension often described as the conflict between instant gratification and long-term reward. It is the struggle between being fully engaged in the "now" (joy, peace, presence) and enduring hardship today to ensure comfort tomorrow (ambition, discipline, security). 

This paradox is best understood not as an "either/or" choice, but a balanced "both/and" approach to prevent regret or burnout. 

The Core Conflict: Present vs. Future 

• The Case for Sacrifice (Long-term Gain): Achieving significant goals—career, financial freedom, health, or mastering a skill—requires giving up temporary comforts, sleep, or leisure time. This perspective views present sacrifices as investments, not losses.
• The Case for Living Now (Short-term Enjoyment): Focusing entirely on the future can lead to neglecting the present, where true happiness lies. Over-sacrificing can result in a "pathological" state where one is always working, never truly living, and potentially missing out on life itself.
• The "Middle Way": The best approach lies in finding balance, where today’s actions are enjoyable but also align with long-term goals. 

Key Strategies for Balancing the Two 

1. Reframe "Sacrifice" as "Investment": Change your mindset from "losing out" to "investing." Sacrificing time for study or working out is investing in a healthier, more capable future self.
2. Practice "Surgical" Sacrifice: Don't sacrifice blindly. Be strategic about what you give up (e.g., frivolous spending, excessive social media) and ensure it directly serves your long-term goals.
3. Use the "Three Pot" System: Organize your life into "Yesterday" (past responsibilities), "Today" (enjoying life now), and "Tomorrow" (saving for the future) to ensure all areas get attention, say experts via Winson Capital.
4. Aim for a 25% Savings Target: A common rule of thumb is to save or invest roughly 25% of your income. Once that goal is met, you can enjoy the rest of your money guilt-free.
5. Be Present in Your Work: You can "live in the moment" even while working hard. By focusing intensely on the task at hand rather than anxiety about the future, you find flow and joy in the process. 

Risks of Extremes 

• Too much present living: Leads to regretting a lack of security, health issues, or financial instability later in life.
• Too much future sacrifice: Leads to burnout, loneliness, and realizing you have sacrificed the best years of your life for a future that might not turn out as planned. 

Ultimately, the goal is to create a "purposeful, disciplined, and playful" life, where you are building for the future while still enjoying the journey. 

To help yourself find your personal balance, ask yourself:

• What is the biggest sacrifice you are currently making?
• What is the primary goal you are sacrificing for?
• Do you feel more burned out or more anxious about the future?

 

See All on Motivation    « Previously

Six Months To Live (May 2026)

My Meditations    « Previously

“If you learned today that you only had six months left to live, how would you spend your last six months on earth?”

(Read more about this question »)

I thought about this topic for about 30-40 minutes and I realized in such 6 months I would be busy repairing my relationships and I would be busy managing my finances (or debts to be specific and clear).

I could be more sensitive, respectful and careful in my relationships but I can't really try to mechanically try to fix them like a broken toy or gadget.

For my finances, I would really need to be watchful of where money goes and how I spend it.

My debts aren't exactly problematic because I have got them covered but I think about them for two reasons:
    1. Debts are still Debts. 
    2. The money which I am spending towards EMIs could have been used towards creating a financial cushion, a safety net.

In this way, debts aren't the exact problem but poor money management is.
Also, what concerns me is if people (in my relationships) would be able to do well financially after I am gone (that thought is despite how broken my relationships are).

~~~

Having written this much already makes me feel a bit lighter 😀

I am thinking after I would have made some progress towards my relationships and finances, I would devote some time (or rest of my time) towards my spiritual wellbeing.

I would practice forgiveness. And humility. And also the other of ten Jain virtues…

Wish you well!
Thank you for reading!

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Ask ‘Why’ Five Times…

My Meditations    « Previously    Next »

Asking ‘Why’ five times to clarify my intentions and motivations, deeper reasons, personal values and motivations of why I do that what I do...

    1. Why do you study ML (or algorithms, or whatever)?

To be able to crack interviews.

    2. Why do you want to crack interviews?

To be able to get a project (before today: it was to get a better job)

    3. Why do you want to get a project / job?

To earn money.

    4. Why do you want to earn money?

To live a comfortable life… with, maybe, decent standards of living.

Well, no, I responded to question in two points in the above answer almost to the point of justifying my current situation and way of life.

So, I would rather say: “To live comfortably” 

But then even now it seems to reveal an escalating loop in my thinking: “I am choosing an uncomfortable way of life to seek a comfortable life.”

And the grey area appears: I don't want to think of my way as the way of delayed gratification. Because no book on delayed gratification tells you how delayed it is going to be.

And then I recall my learnings from Buddhism and reckon “There is no such thing as comfortable life. Everyone suffers.”

    5. THE LAST ‘WHY’

Assuming my last answer (“to live comfortably“) was okay and accepted.

Then I ask again “Why live comfortably?”

I am not getting any thoughts, other than thinking of myself as a hedonist... 

My Meditations    « Previously    Next »

Mind Your Own Matters

My Meditations    « Previously    Next »

I have been in a lot of mess, a lot of chaos, a lot of trouble because of one mistake, one habit – I don't mind my own business.

As I try to see its truthfulness, its validity, I see it in play in most (if not all) of my relationships and equations with other people.

Somebody comes to me with a problem and I tend to make it a personal task, goal to accomplish.

My maid asks for help in police verification for working in the society and I make it a personal mission – she may neither be that appreciative of my help, nor may be critically needing it.

Some girl in my society in first year of college asks for my help with Math and Python, and I make that a personal mission. Even when (same as before) she might neither be that appreciative of my help, nor may be critically needing it.

My mom calls me and tells me of some issue with some tenant, or some issue with water, or electric, or some tool or equipment, and I would be totally distracted from what I would be doing. Packing my things and leaving for Tri Nagar. And then when things are sorted, my mom would be telling me that “my personal intervention was not needed”. I then at such times think (for no reason) to myself “why did she call me then to rant?”

At the NGO I went to for the last two months to teach, I thought of it as a personal responsibility, and felt an onus for it to make sure that the kids there learn something. Even when their parents and the kids themselves don't see much value in it, though the kids cannot be blamed given their age. And this is not my assumption, I see it in absenteeism and falling attendance.

The same thing applies to my blogging activity – what do I have to do with Iran? What do I have to do with Bihar? What do I have to do with Bengal? What do I have to do with Delhi? Nothing, nothing and nothing – but I still write, I still blog, still waste my time and energy.

Then came the moment of realisation…

Yesterday afternoon, I was at Bikaner Sweets to buy some sweets and namkeen. There I saw an electric kitchen appliance that was frying samosas in an oil pool. I was totally excited to see that and could not hide my excitement. I asked “is that an electric appliance for making samosas?... Is that an electric appliance for making samosas?” Then the old bitter-and-sour man sarcastically remarked, “No, that's running on gobar-gas!” (Gobar: cow dung)

I went quiet. I thought about it. And put in my pocket the lesson he meant to impart…

~~~

Thanks for reading! 

My Meditations    « Previously    Next »

Is this my awesome stuff? (A Lesson in Financial Literacy)

See All TED Talks on Financial Literacy    « Previously    Next »

Personal Finance  ·  Mindful Living

What if More Was Never Going to Make You Happy?

David Delisle 8 min read Spending · Saving · Giving

"He had everything we're taught to chase — the money, the stuff, the freedom. And still, it was never enough."

On the story that changed everything

My father was the kind of man who could light up a room without trying. He had a Harley, a big house, a revolving door of exciting friends, and an appetite for adventure that never dimmed. He once told me he wanted to travel to the Congo just to see a gorilla in the wild. That was him — always chasing the next extraordinary thing.

But I knew a different version of that man. I knew the father who missed every single hockey game I ever played. I remember scanning the stands during one particular game, the one he'd promised to attend. He wasn't there. He'd gone out with friends instead. Over the years, my mother left him, his brother stopped calling, and my own brother cut him off entirely — he didn't even know he'd gotten married. My father never met my boys. He died alone on a boat at fifty-four.

He spent his whole life chasing more. And it was never, ever enough.

---

The Lie We've All Been Told

Here's the belief that ruined my father's life — and one that I carried into my own for far too long: if only I had a little more, I'd finally be happy.

I remember the day I walked through the front door of my dream home. I felt it — that warm rush of I've made it. Then one afternoon, standing in my beautiful backyard with its sunken garden and gazebo, I noticed something: I couldn't hear my boys anymore. They were too far away. The house I'd worked so hard for had quietly created distance between me and the people who mattered most.

That moment stopped me cold. What if I had believed a lie? What if more would never make me happy?

That question sent me down a long road of studying money — not to accumulate it, but to understand it. Why do we want it? What are we really chasing? And what does it cost us when we chase it blindly? Those questions are also why I now teach children about money — not just how to earn and save it, but how to think about it.

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The Awesome Stuff Experience

A few years ago, I took my boys, Will and Noah, to Disneyland. Before we walked through the gates, I gave them each twenty dollars and said: "This is your money. Do whatever you want with it. But before you spend a single cent, I want you to try three things."

What followed became one of the most powerful financial lessons I've ever witnessed — and it started not with a spreadsheet or a savings account, but with a pause and a simple question.

Here's what I asked them to do. Close your eyes. Hold out your left hand and think about something you really want to buy right now — a gadget, a pair of shoes, that shiny thing in the window. Got it? That's your "awesome stuff" in this moment.

Now keep your eyes closed. Hold out your right hand. This time, think of something different — maybe it's not a thing at all. Maybe it's laughing so hard your stomach hurts and you still can't stop. Maybe it's being truly present for someone you love when they need you most. Maybe it's watching the sunrise with a person who means everything to you. Hold that in your right hand.

Open your eyes. Look at both hands. Which would you choose?

Sometimes it's still the thing in your left hand — and that's completely fine. But sometimes, the shift is instant. The thing you wanted a moment ago just doesn't seem to matter as much. That feeling — that quiet internal recalibration — is the magic. And it all starts with a pause.

The goal isn't to choose less. It's to choose what matters more — and to know the difference before you spend.

Three Steps That Change Everything

The Awesome Stuff Experience isn't a one-time experiment. It's a system — a daily practice for how we spend, save, and give. It comes down to three things.

1

Pause and Ask: Is This My Awesome Stuff?

Before any purchase, big or small, take one breath and ask yourself honestly: Is this the thing I actually want, or am I just reacting to the moment? Awareness is the difference between impulse and intention. Will saw a toy plane at Disneyland, picked it up, put it back in his mind — then bought it anyway. And that's okay. The point isn't to say no. The point is to stop buying on autopilot. He chose it; he didn't just grab it. That distinction matters more than the price tag.

2

Save for Freedom, Not for Things

We've been taught to save with a destination in mind — a bigger purchase, a vacation, an upgrade. But that's really just delayed spending. True saving is different. It's letting your money grow and work for you so that one day you have the freedom to say yes to what really matters. I asked Will and Noah to save just 20% of the twenty dollars I gave them — not as a rule, but as a question: Is there a freedom you'd like to protect? Even 5% or 10% compounded over time creates options. And you can start today, even if you didn't start yesterday.

3

Give Because You Can

We often teach generosity as an obligation — give because you have more than others, because you should be grateful, because someone is less fortunate. But that framing creates a hierarchy; it turns giving into a transaction. What if we gave simply because we could? Because it feels good, because it connects us, because the things that matter most are almost never the things we keep — they're the ones we share. That day in Disneyland, everyone received a free collector's pin for Mickey and Minnie's birthday. Later in the queue, Will overheard an older woman telling a cast member she hadn't received one. Without hesitation, he walked over and gave her his. The look on her face was unforgettable — as though, for just a moment, she had been truly seen. I caught a glimpse of the man my son is becoming.

---

A New Money Story

My father passed down one money story — chase more, and happiness will follow. I want to pass down a different one.

The next time a child asks you to buy them something, or you catch yourself reaching for your wallet out of habit, try something first. Pause. Ask the question. Is this my awesome stuff?

It sounds almost too simple. That's the point. After spending most of my life studying money and what it does to people — the lives it builds and the lives it quietly hollows out — I've come to believe there are really only three things worth knowing:

What Actually Matters

• What matters most is rarely a thing. It's people, connection, and meaning.
• The simplest path to financial freedom is to always save first — before you spend, not after.
• You don't need to wait until you have more to give. You can give today, and it doesn't have to cost anything at all.

Financial literacy doesn't have to be a dry subject of compound interest and debt ratios. It can be a conversation about what you actually value. It can be a question you ask at a checkout counter, a moment of pause before a purchase, a small act of generosity on an ordinary Tuesday.

Imagine a world where every child learns to seek meaning over more. Where the pause becomes second nature. Where saving isn't deprivation and giving isn't sacrifice — they're just how you live.

We can build that world. It starts with a single question.

Is this your awesome stuff? Ask it often. It changes everything.

See All TED Talks on Financial Literacy    « Previously    Next »
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