This week, Monika takes on the headline-grabbing claim that Indians need just ₹3.5 crore to retire, based on HSBC’s Affluent Investor Snapshot 2025. She explains why a survey of only 1,006 people cannot give us a one-size-fits-all number for something as deeply personal as retirement. Using her three-bank-account system, Monika shows how to calculate expenses, adjust them for inflation, and arrive at a realistic corpus — one that could be far higher than the study suggests.

Monika also shares practical milestones to track: 3x your annual income by age 40, 6x by 50, and 8x by 60. She stresses that retirement planning depends on lifestyle, healthcare needs, and investment choices, not arbitrary averages. With tools like SEBI’s calculators and the worksheets in her book Let’s Talk Money, she urges listeners to run their own numbers and avoid being misled by simplistic estimates.

This week’s listener questions include Raghavendra V B asking how to map multiple mutual funds to different goals without creating overlap, Amit Gujral seeking the right strategy to build a long-term portfolio for his newborn daughter, and an anonymous listener from Bangalore debating whether to prioritize home loan repayment or SIP investments.

Chapters:

(00:00 – 00:00) The Problem with “Rs 3.5 Crore to Retire” Headlines

(00:00 – 00:00) How to Estimate Your Retirement Corpus the Right Way

(00:00 – 00:00) Mapping Mutual Funds to Goals Without Overlap

(00:00 – 00:00) Planning for a Child’s Future While Securing Your Own

(00:00 – 00:00) Home Loan vs SIP: Which Should You Prioritize?

https://amzn.in/d/6gbEbrM

If you have financial questions that you’d like answers for, please email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

Monika’s book on basic money management

⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-money-english/⁠⁠

Monika’s book on mutual funds

⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-mutual-funds/⁠

Monika’s workbook on recording your financial life

⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-legacy/⁠⁠

Calculators

⁠⁠https://investor.sebi.gov.in/calculators/index.html⁠⁠

You can find Monika on her social media @monikahalan. 

Twitter ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

Facebook ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

LinkedIn ⁠@MonikaHalan⁠

Production House: ⁠www.inoutcreatives.com⁠

Production Assistant:⁠ Anshika Gogoi