Gold on Dhanteras
A yearly habit of buying a little gold built savings and gave women assets in their own name.
Wise take: Keep the habit, skip the making charges: gold ETFs or gold funds, 5–15% of the portfolio.
Story Corner
Money myths, traditions and the stories behind them
Two-minute reads and games about how the world earns, saves and spends — from your grandmother's gullak to Singapore's 37% savings rule and the Nizam's diamond paperweight.
Myth or fact? 15 questions
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Question 1 of 15
Gold always beats inflation.
Myth. Gold that cost about ₹31,000 per 10 grams in 2012 cost about the same in 2018 — six years of no return while everything else got dearer. Gold is a good diversifier, not a guarantee.
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Question 2 of 15
Your money in a mutual fund is held separately from the fund house's own money.
Fact. Scheme assets are held by a custodian under the supervision of independent trustees, and SEBI regulates every scheme. If a fund house ran into trouble, the scheme's assets would not be used to pay its debts.
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Question 3 of 15
A fund with a NAV of ₹10 is cheaper than one with a NAV of ₹500.
Myth. NAV is just the value of one unit. If both funds rise 12%, you earn 12% in both. What matters is how the NAV grows.
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Question 4 of 15
Bank deposits in India are insured up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank.
Fact. Deposit insurance (DICGC) was raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh in 2020. It covers savings, current, fixed and recurring deposits together.
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Question 5 of 15
Starting a SIP 10 years later only costs you 10 years of returns.
Myth. At 12% a year, ₹5,000 a month from 25 to 60 grows to about ₹3.2 crore. Starting at 35 gives about ₹95 lakh. The ten years you skip are the ones that compound the longest.
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Question 6 of 15
Singapore makes workers and employers together save up to 37% of salary.
Fact. The Central Provident Fund takes 20% from the worker and 17% from the employer for workers aged 55 and below. It pays for retirement, housing and health care.
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Question 7 of 15
The IDCW (dividend) from a mutual fund is extra money on top of your returns.
Myth. The payout comes out of the fund's own NAV — it is your money being returned, and it is taxed at your slab rate. The growth option keeps it compounding.
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Question 8 of 15
Finland has been ranked the world's happiest country every year since 2018.
Fact. The World Happiness Report has placed Finland first every year since its 2018 edition. Trust, safety and a strong social net matter more than income alone.
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Question 9 of 15
An endowment policy is a smart way to insure and invest at the same time.
Myth. Traditional endowment plans typically earn 4–6% a year with small life cover. A term plan plus a separate investment usually gives far more of both.
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Question 10 of 15
In 2008 Zimbabwe printed a 100-trillion-dollar banknote.
Fact. Inflation was estimated at 89.7 sextillion percent a year in November 2008. The note bought very little. Savings in that currency were wiped out.
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Question 11 of 15
You need lakhs of rupees to start investing in mutual funds.
Myth. A SIP can start at ₹100–₹500 a month. More than five crore Indians invest in mutual funds.
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Question 12 of 15
Paying only the minimum due on your credit card is a smart way to manage cash.
Myth. The unpaid balance attracts interest of roughly 36–42% a year, and new purchases may lose their interest-free period. Always pay the full amount.
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Question 13 of 15
Every mutual fund scheme in India must display a riskometer.
Fact. Since January 2021 every scheme shows a six-level riskometer, from "low" to "very high", reviewed every month.
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Question 14 of 15
Indian households own more gold than the official reserves of the world's top five central banks combined.
Fact. Estimates put Indian household gold at more than 25,000 tonnes. The US, Germany, Italy, France and Russia together hold under 19,000 tonnes in official reserves.
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Question 15 of 15
Holding ten large-cap funds gives you ten times the diversification.
Myth. Large-cap funds largely own the same top 100 companies. Three or four funds across different categories diversify better than ten similar ones.
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India's money traditions, decoded
What our grandparents got right — and how to update it for today.
The gullak
A clay piggy bank you must break to open: small coins add up, and saved money should be hard to reach.
Wise take: Your modern gullak is a SIP that you never stop.
Bishi and chit funds
Friends pool a fixed sum monthly and one member takes the pot each round — savings and credit built on trust.
Wise take: Use only registered chit funds. Anyone promising returns far above bank rates is a red flag.
Streedhan
Gifts to a woman at marriage are legally her absolute property — an old form of financial security.
Wise take: Today: her own bank account, investments in her name, and a nominee on every folio.
The ₹1 in a shagun
The extra rupee in ₹101 or ₹501 keeps the amount from ending in zero — a wish for growth.
Wise take: Gift a child a SIP instead: a shagun that keeps growing.
Muhurat trading
Stock exchanges open for a special hour on Diwali evening; many families buy a token share or fund.
Wise take: Use Diwali as your yearly portfolio review — not a reason to trade.
Chopda pujan and the bahi-khata
Traders begin new red account books on Diwali, praying for a prosperous year.
Wise take: Start a fresh household budget every Diwali, and track it monthly.
The joint family purse
Pooled incomes and elders as money guardians carried families through hard times. Tax law even recognises the HUF.
Wise take: Hold a yearly family money meeting: goals, insurance, nominees, wills.
Around the world: habits and rules that make people save
Japan: kakeibo
A household account book published in 1904 by journalist Hani Motoko. Four questions every month: what did I have, want to save, spend — and how can I improve?
Singapore: compulsory saving
Up to 37% of salary goes into the Central Provident Fund for retirement, housing and health.
Australia: superannuation
Employers must pay 12% of salary (from July 2025) into each worker's retirement fund.
Sweden: the orange envelope
Every year, every worker gets a statement of their projected pension. Seeing the number makes people act.
UK: saving by default
Since 2012 workers are auto-enrolled in a pension. They can opt out, but about 9 in 10 stay in.
China: red envelopes
Children receive money in hongbao at New Year; families save much of it. Households save about a third of income.
Germany: wary of debt
Germans traditionally prefer debit cards and cash, and use credit cards far less than Americans.
Switzerland: three pillars
State pension, compulsory workplace pension and tax-favoured private saving. In 2016 voters rejected a universal basic income.
The richest, the happiest, the youngest — by the numbers
US$27 trillionSize of the US economy in 2023 — the world's largest.
US$128,700GDP per person in Luxembourg, among the world's highest.
0.967Switzerland's Human Development Index — the world's highest.
7.74 / 10Finland's happiness score — first in the world.
28 yearsIndia's median age. Japan's is 49.
25,000+ tonnesEstimated gold held by Indian households.
Sources: World Bank (2023), UNDP Human Development Report 2023/24, World Happiness Report 2024, UN World Population Prospects, World Gold Council estimates.
Rules that changed how Indians save
- 1952EPF Act: compulsory provident fund for covered workers
- 1964UTI's US-64: India's first mutual fund scheme
- 1968Public Provident Fund launched
- 1987SBI Mutual Fund: first fund outside UTI
- 1992SEBI gets statutory powers
- 2004National Pension System begins
- 2009Entry loads abolished
- 2013Direct plans introduced alongside regular plans
- 2016UPI launched
- 2017SEBI defines fund categories
- 2021Six-level riskometer on every scheme
- 2024Equity LTCG 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh
Stories to read
10 money myths Indians grow up with — and what the numbers really say
Gold never falls, property only goes up, FDs are risk-free, a low NAV is cheap. Ten beliefs most of us inherited at the dinner table, tested…
Read the storyHow the world forces people to save: CPF, Super, KiwiSaver and lessons for India
Singapore sets aside up to 37% of salary, Australia makes employers pay 12% and Britain enrols workers automatically. How these systems work and what an Indian…
Read the storyGold, gullak, bishi and streedhan: India’s money traditions decoded
Dhanteras gold, the clay gullak, the ladies' bishi and the extra rupee in a shagun envelope. What our money traditions got right, and how to update…
Read the storyThe richest people in history and what they teach about money
A king who gave the world coins, an emperor whose pilgrimage crashed the price of gold, a Nizam with a diamond paperweight and an investor who…
Read the storySeven money habits from around the world worth copying
Japan's kakeibo notebook, Sweden's orange envelope, Germany's dislike of debt and Singapore's compulsory saving. Seven small habits from other countries, and how to use each one…
Read the storyMoney rules that changed Indian investors’ lives: 1952 to today
From EPF and UTI's first scheme to direct plans, the riskometer, UPI and the new Income-tax Act. A short history of the rules that shape how…
Read the storyStories are for education and general information only and are not investment advice. Figures are rounded from the sources named and may change. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. WishWiseWealth is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor, ARN-188221.