Managing Money in Nepal: Where I'd Start If I Were Starting Over

Most money advice online is written for people in the US or India. It talks about credit scores, 401(k)s and SIPs on apps we don't have. So I'm starting this blog with the basics, written for how money actually moves in a Nepali household: salary or business income, remittance from a brother in Qatar, a loan from the cooperative, Dashain shopping, and relatives who need help.

If I had to start from zero again, this is the order I'd go in.

1. Find out where the money goes

Spend one month writing down every rupee. Rent, groceries, Pathao rides, mobile recharge, the Rs 2,000 you gave your cousin. A notebook is fine. So is an Excel sheet. The best method is whichever one you'll still be using on day 25.

Don't try to fix anything that month. Just look. Most people find one or two categories that shock them. For me it was eating out.

2. Build a small cushion before anything else

Before you think about shares or IPOs, put aside some money that's only for emergencies: a hospital visit, a broken bike, a month without income. Even one month of basic expenses changes how you sleep at night.

3. Deal with expensive debt

If you're paying high interest on a credit card, a personal loan or an informal loan, paying that off is usually a better "return" than anything the share market will reliably give you.

4. Then give every goal a number and a date

"Save for the future" isn't a goal. "Rs 3 lakh for my daughter's +2 admission by Shrawan 2085" is. Once a goal has a number and a date, you can work out the monthly amount, and you can decide whether that money belongs in a savings account, a fixed deposit or something riskier.

5. Invest only what you won't need soon

NEPSE can drop 20–30% and stay down for a long time. We've seen it happen more than once. Money you need for next year's rent shouldn't be sitting in shares.

That's the whole roadmap. Over the next few weeks I'll go deeper into each step: budgeting, emergency funds, how Demat and Mero Share work, IPOs, dividends and the rest. If there's a topic you want covered, leave a comment.

General information, not personal financial advice. Rules, rates and fees change, so check with the official source before you act.