Bangalore: As Victor Hugo said, “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age,” then we all are old enough to take charge of our finances. As managing our finance is getting tougher by the minute, we must start planning for our retirement at the earliest. As society expects you to be well-settled by the time you’re 40, you must follow a few steps in order to be so. Here are 5 financial commandments before we turn 40, as listed by Personal FN–

1. Have a PPF Account

Having a Public Provident Fund (PPF) has more than one advantage. Apart from indirect contribution to our retirement fund, it is eligible for quite a few tax exemptions. The first is given when we invest in it. The second exemption is given when we earn interest on it. As the maturity value is not taxable, this too acts as a third exemption. No wonder it has earned the title of ‘EEE,’ that is – Exempt-Exempt-Exempt. As the government has extended the maturity period of 15 years by another 5 years, PPF is a strong player when it comes to saving for later. The earlier limit of 70,000 per year has been increased to 1 lakh per year. Section 80(C) of the IT Act allows for deductions on this amount as well. It is also wise to be in sync with the EPF (Employee’s Provident Fund) provided by your employer. This usually amounts to about 12 percent of your basic pay.