55-60 K is a very good amount of money one intends to save in today's life.
Let us assume you save Rs60000 per month.I would invest 60% and keep 40% in my account which is 36k for investment and 24k for saving in a savings account.
Investments:
1)PPF account-15 years plan
-The earlier you start the best for you
-Try to plan per yearly how much you want to dedicate to PPF based on your salary.For example if I target Rs 1000/year.Try to divide it by 12(no of months) i.e Rs 83.3 and add an auto debit of Rs 83.3 to your PPF account
-Try to transfer the money you intend to before 5th of the month so as to gain the running month's interest
-Helpful in longer terms
-As per me, add average money which is not immediately required by you as the duration period is a long term one i.e 15 years
-Government is too lenient for PPF
-Interest rate 8.75% and amount one can add to there PPF account ranges from mere Rs 500 to 1.5 lakhs(recently increased)
2)SIP(MF):2-5 years gives best outcome for midcap and 10-12 years for large cap
-Personally for me I go for mid cap investments
-Try 2 mid cap and 1 large cap investment(if you can afford)
-For details see here: Shambhavi Choudhary's answer to What are the differences between small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap mutual funds in India?
-No tax benefits but great return
-Lock in period investments do have tax benefits but minimum period is 3 years
3)NSC: 5 years
-Buy National Saving certificates for the extra added income
-Example, if you target to buy 25k , the amount is almost 1.5 years
-Good tax benefits
4)Life Insurance Policy:16-25 years duration plan have best outcome
-An okay investment
-Good tax benefits
-Buy one when you can afford
-LIC Insurances are the best Example:Jeevan Anand
-Term Insurance is a good investment here
5)Other optional investments:Do only when permissible
a)Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savigs Scheme
b)ULIP
c)Post office Saving's bank A/C/Time Deposit scheme/MIS
6)Last but not the least-FD and RD:
A)Fixed Deposits:(6 months-15 years)
When you get a bonus/any investment matures/a major chunk of money keep it in FD.Today, private banks like ICICI,HDFC etc has made it really transparent where you can open through netbanking itself.The minimum period is 6 months.They don't come under tax exemption but are a great asset.Minimum FD period avaialble is 7 days however I would prefer the money to go for minimum 6 months.
B)Recurring Deposits:(6 months-15 years)
-One should make a rule of always having a recurring deposit in Life while you are earning.
-Merely starts from 500 Rs and the best middle duration (keeping best interest provided in mind) is 15 months
-Taxable
-Convert your RD total (once it matures) into FD if you really don't need that money
-Keep minimum 2 RD's
-Can be broken at any point of time
-Highly recommended
Note on investments:
1)ELSS/Lock in period enabled MF are also a good investment because you have a good amount of money to be saved
2)Medical insurance/dependent insurance/donations/planned vacations are few things your money would go , I have not included them here however if you are in a steady position buy medical insurance and include your family as well. For example, in my company this has been already provided .
Savings in your Bank Account:
For me personally, they are really helpful in my time of need.
It is good to keep a good chunk of money in your saving's account which you can use in emergency/contingency.This includes no credit card payments for buying gifts for loved ones/planning a trip etc without credit money.That will feel awesome.For example, as stated earlier if I target Rs 1000 as my savings per month I will add Rs 400(40%) to my savings bank account.
Some personal tips:
a)Open a savings account and link your salary account to it.Go for an auto debit from your sal account to this savings account.
b)It is highly recommended that keep a Public sector bank as your saving's bank
c)Do not handle much of it in terms of Netbanking,mobile banking.Infact I don't carry the ATM also with me.This is a pschycological game I play with myself to save myself from being a spendthrift.If I carry the ATM , I shall know I have money and can spend more than reqd(human tendency nothing bad in it)
d)Interest earned on SB account is taxfree(limited upto 10k is if the interest)
Suggestions on how to save money:
1)Calculate your tax much ahead for a financial year and plan your investments.Keep a record of all of them like date start , date end, rate% , amount paid and amount received.
2)Calculate your daily expenditures and if possible maintain a diary.When you see how much you spend you can identify what was your requirement and what was absolutely not
3)The Warren Buffet principle: Salary-savings=your expenditures and not Salary-expenditures=savings
4)Don't invest much on yourself for no reason.Personally I have seen people who spend major chunk of there salaries for fun every weekend.They are not worth it.Sometimes it is fine.
5)Buy PM Yojnas recently launched it hardly costs Rs 12/335
6)Target to save 35-40% of your salary
7)Compare all policies/rate of interest/any plans on policy bazar first.
8)If you are into private sector, go for NPS(National Pension Scheme) because we don't have govt jobs who can depend on pension.We youngsters hardly think about future
9)Keep track of your PF , through EPFO website/app
10)Credit cards are just means to fool you.Keep one if you really require.Once you possess, make sure you maintain it.Don't ever ever come in terms of EMIs.They are a real waste.I can for example maintain a good credit score.I shop with my credit card only but also maintain information on how much I own.I transfer that money to my savings bank and during payment I do not struggle.However, if you cannot maintain I would not recommend being a spendthrift through credit card
11)This will be enough saving, and in few years you will be in a position to take this further to step 2.you can always go for buying home,property,car or anything of need once you know you are financially stable.Even though you have money, take a home loan because they help a lot in tax benefits.Some other regular tax benefit can include donations,Tution fees of your children,education loan etc
12)Try as much auto debit as you can for all investments and savings.Mentally you will know how much you have in your account and how much you need to spend.If not auto debit, maintain a chart and make transfers by 1/2nd of every month.
13)Dont compromise on quality life for savings
14)Respect in material world comes from money but Love comes from relations 🙂 Plan the best for both money and Love from your relations
HAPPY SAVING 🙂
Note: I have given all possible options, you may not able to fulfill all so prioritize on your own which may be different from person to person.Also, I have not included stocks which does not mean I don't support it but that is one complete different http://forte.In a nutshell, I personally invest 10-20k in stocks per year as I am still a learner.