Back in 2004, when I took up reading about ‘Personal Finance’ to save myself from the clutches of an LIC agent :-), I had to scourge the internet (rediff money and later economic times) to understand even the basics like PF vs PPF, why Term Insurance is the way to go or how evil ULIPs were . Thankfully, things have improved and there are some very good books that people can instead turn their attention to.

A book like this would save so much trouble for people looking for important finance stuff in Indian context. All fresh-salaried employees should be given this book as it will help them immensely in their planning. Even experienced folks will find something new and useful. It contains all necessary information and practical suggestions with a fluid writing style and a “next door neighbour explaining stuff” vibe. It is a challenging task to write finance for general populace, because an interest in maths or numbers cannot be assumed but Monika has handled in beautifully and whenever she senses that the reader’s brain might be heating up – she adds some encouraging words to keep him/her engaged and travel just a bit more. Frankly, when I started writing articles on Personal Finance back in 2004, my idea was to do something useful like this. This is a much more complete, polished, not to mention, updated version.