New Delhi, May 14 -- Financial planning includes the measured assessment of an investor's finances, risk tolerance, and future goals to calculate savings and investments over the short-, medium- and long term, and compute the required retirement corpus.

While your decisions are most likely guided by financial goals and long-term stability, inflation is another factor that can have major impact on your savings and how far they go, regardless of the amount. Thus, it is important for a first-time investor to first evaluate your income (current and future growth), expenses (current and inflation increase), savings (liquid and invested), and liabilities before selecting which investment instrument to prioritise.

Key factors to keep in mind i...