Most people think they’re financially prepared. Most aren’t.
Here’s a quick way to find out: Ask yourself what happens to your family’s finances if something happens to you tomorrow. Not in broad strokes. In specifics. Can your spouse pay the EMI next month? Do your parents know which bank accounts exist? Can your children access your investments?
If you paused or felt uncertain, you’re not alone. And you’re not as prepared as you thought.
This checklist will tell you exactly where you stand. It takes five minutes. Be honest with yourself. There’s no one watching, and self-deception helps no one.
How to Use This Financial Preparedness Checklist
The rules are simple:
Score yourself: Give yourself 1 point for each item where you can honestly answer “Yes.” Not “I think so” or “I’ll do it soon.” Only a clear, confident “Yes” counts.
Be brutally honest: The point isn’t to feel good about yourself. It’s to identify gaps before they become crises.
Interpret your score:
- Below 7: You have real gaps to fix. Your family is vulnerable.
- 7-9: Good foundation, but room for improvement.
- 10: Excellent. You’re in rare company. Maintain it.
Ready? Let’s go.
The 10-Point Financial Preparedness Checklist
1. Do you have term insurance covering 10-15x your annual income?
Your answer: Yes / No
If your annual income is ₹10 lakhs, you need at least ₹1-1.5 crore in term insurance. Not ₹25 lakhs because that’s what your father had. Not ₹50 lakhs because “that sounds like a lot.” Actual 10-15x coverage.
If you answered No: This is your highest priority. Get quotes today. Buy a policy this week. Every day without adequate coverage is a day your family is at risk.
A 30-year-old non-smoker can get ₹1 crore coverage for roughly ₹10,000-12,000 per year. That’s less than ₹1,000 per month to protect your family’s entire future.
Calculate how much coverage you actually need
2. Do you have health insurance that’s yours (not just employer-provided)?
Your answer: Yes / No
Employer health insurance is great. Until you lose your job, change companies, or retire. Then it vanishes exactly when you might need it most.
Personal health insurance, bought when you’re young and healthy, stays with you for life. It also covers pre-existing conditions after the waiting period. Try getting new coverage at 55 with diabetes and hypertension. The premiums will shock you, if you can get approved at all.
If you answered No: Don’t wait for health issues to appear. That’s like waiting for a fire to buy insurance. Get a personal health policy now, even a basic one. You can always upgrade later.
Understanding health insurance claims for your family
3. Do you have at least 6 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund?
Your answer: Yes / No
Not 6 months of income. Six months of expenses. If your family spends ₹80,000 per month, you need ₹4.8 lakhs in accessible, liquid savings.
This money shouldn’t be in stocks or mutual funds. It should be in a savings account or liquid fund where you can access it immediately without worrying about market conditions.
If you answered No: Start building now. Even ₹5,000 per month adds up. At that rate, you’ll have ₹60,000 in a year. Not perfect, but infinitely better than zero.
How to build your emergency fund
4. Are all your nominees updated (within the last 2 years)?
Your answer: Yes / No
When did you last check the nominee on your:
- Bank accounts
- Fixed deposits
- Mutual funds
- Insurance policies
- Demat account
- PPF/EPF
- NPS
Many people set nominees when they opened accounts years ago. Life changes. You got married. Had children. Your parents aged. But the nominee field still shows your mother from 2015 or a sibling you’re no longer close with.
If you answered No: This week, log into each account and verify. Update any that are outdated. It takes 30 minutes total and prevents months of legal headaches for your family.
When and how to update your nominees
5. Does your spouse or family know where all your accounts are?
Your answer: Yes / No
This is different from having nominees. This is about whether your family can actually find everything if you’re not there to tell them.
Can your spouse list all your bank accounts? Do they know you have a demat account with Zerodha and mutual funds with Groww? Are they aware of that PPF you’ve been funding for 15 years?
If you’ve never sat down and explicitly shared this information, the answer is No.
If you answered No: Create a simple one-page document listing every financial account. Include the institution name, type of account, and approximate value. You don’t need account numbers or passwords. Just enough so they know what exists and where to look.
Share it this weekend. Update it every year.
How to create your family financial snapshot
6. Do you have a will?
Your answer: Yes / No
If you own any property, have children from a previous relationship, want to leave something to someone specific, or simply want to avoid your family fighting over your assets, you need a will.
Without a will, succession laws decide who gets what. Those laws might not match your wishes. The process takes longer. And families that got along fine can fracture over money and property.
If you answered No: This is especially urgent if you have property, children, or any family complexity. Writing a will isn’t as hard as people think. You can start with a simple one and refine it later.
7. Are you saving at least 20% of your income?
Your answer: Yes / No
Twenty percent isn’t a magic number, but it’s a solid benchmark. If you’re saving less, you’re either living beyond your means or not building wealth for the future.
This includes everything: EPF contributions, mutual fund SIPs, PPF deposits, and any other investments. If the total comes to less than 20%, you’re falling behind.
If you answered No: Automate it. Set up a SIP that triggers the day after your salary hits. Start with whatever you can manage. Even 10% is better than sporadic investing. Increase by 1-2% each year.
SIP for beginners: A complete guide
8. Do you know your retirement number and are you on track?
Your answer: Yes / No
Your “retirement number” is how much you need invested by the time you stop working to maintain your lifestyle. It’s calculable based on your expected expenses, inflation, and lifespan.
Most Indians underestimate this number. ₹2 crore sounds like a lot until you realize inflation will eat through it in 15 years.
If you answered No: Calculate it. Free calculators are everywhere online. Once you know the target, you can figure out if your current savings rate will get you there. That’s uncomfortable but important to know now rather than at 55.
9. Is your debt under control (EMIs less than 40% of income)?
Your answer: Yes / No
Add up all your monthly EMIs: home loan, car loan, personal loan, credit card minimum payments. If the total exceeds 40% of your monthly take-home income, you’re over-leveraged.
High debt levels mean less money available for emergencies, investing, and building wealth. It also means one job loss or medical emergency can push you into financial crisis.
If you answered No: Focus on paying down debt before increasing investments. Target the highest-interest debt first (usually credit cards and personal loans). Once your EMI ratio is under 40%, redirect those freed-up payments into investments.
10. Can your family access your financial information if something happens to you tomorrow?
Your answer: Yes / No
This is the ultimate test. Not whether you have a will. Not whether your nominees are updated. But whether your family can practically, actually access what they need when they need it.
Do they know your passwords? Can they get into your email? Do they know who your financial advisor or CA is? Is there a list of documents they need and where to find them?
If you were gone tomorrow, would they spend months hunting for information, or could they handle things within weeks?
If you answered No: This is urgent. Fix it this week. Not next month. This week.
Your Score: What It Means
Add up your “Yes” answers. Be honest.
0-3 points: Financially Vulnerable
Your family is at significant risk. If something happens to you, they’ll face not just grief but financial chaos. Prioritize immediate action on the items you scored “No.”
4-6 points: Foundation Gaps
You’ve done some things right, but there are holes. Each gap represents a potential crisis point. Address one item per week. In two months, you can be in the 7-9 range.
7-9 points: Good Foundation
You’re better prepared than most Indians. Focus on the 1-3 items where you scored “No.” These are your remaining vulnerabilities.
10 points: Well Prepared
You’re in rare company. Maintain this by reviewing annually and updating after major life changes.
The Most Commonly Missed Items
Based on patterns we see, items #5 and #10 are where most people fail. Even financially savvy individuals.
You can have perfect term insurance. Fully funded emergency account. Updated nominees everywhere. A comprehensive will.
But if your family doesn’t know where to find any of it, all that preparation is effectively useless.
People plan but don’t share. They organize but don’t communicate. They protect but don’t enable access.
Your planning only matters if your family can act on it.
Creating Your Action Plan
Don’t try to fix everything at once. That leads to overwhelm and inaction.
Step 1: Look at the items where you scored “No.”
Step 2: Pick 2-3 that are most critical or easiest to fix.
Step 3: Address one per week.
In a month, you’ll have made significant progress. In three months, you can realistically be at 8 or 9 on this checklist.
The key is starting. Today. Not when you have more time (you won’t) or when the market is better (irrelevant) or after your next promotion (procrastination).
The Annual Review
Financial preparedness isn’t a one-time achievement. It’s ongoing maintenance.
Take this checklist once a year. Put it in your calendar. Also review after major life events: marriage, divorce, children, job changes, major illness, property purchase, or inheritance. Each of these can change multiple items on the checklist.
What to Do Right Now
Not tomorrow. Not this weekend. Right now.
If you scored below 5: Open a new browser tab and get term insurance quotes. This single action is the highest-impact thing you can do for your family’s financial security.
If you scored 5-7: Create a simple list of all your financial accounts. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Just institution names and account types. Share it with your spouse or a trusted family member today.
If you scored 8-9: Identify your weakest point and schedule time this week to address it. Block the calendar. Treat it like an important meeting.
If you scored 10: Review your preparations with your spouse. Make sure they understand everything and know how to access what they need.
Items #5 and #10 on this checklist are exactly what Anshin is built to solve. If your family can’t access your financial information when they need it, all your careful planning doesn’t help them when it matters most.
Your life insurance payout means nothing if they don’t know the policy exists. Your emergency fund is useless if they don’t know which bank it’s in. Your will is worthless if they can’t find it.
Anshin makes sure your family can access everything they need, when they need it, without hunting through drawers or guessing at passwords. It’s the difference between “I think he had some investments somewhere” and “Here’s exactly what we have and how to claim it.”
Your family shouldn’t have to figure things out during their worst days. Anshin helps you store what matters and share it with the people who need it most.
Financial preparedness isn’t about being pessimistic or morbid. It’s about love expressed through action. It’s about ensuring the people who depend on you are protected, regardless of what happens.
Take this checklist seriously. Score yourself honestly. Fix the gaps.
Your family is counting on you, even if they never say it.