If you are a woman reading this, you have come a long way from being dependent on others to do things for you. If you are a man reading this, do involve women in your house in a conversation about things you learn hereafter.

Women and savings are inseparable. Working women who have reached their thirties usually have a substantial amount of savings. Most women usually keep aside some savings for a goal. Their goal could be a branded watch, an expensive dress or perfume or a holiday to Paris and many more things.

While it’s all well and good to accumulate this money, the fact of the matter is that there needs to be a reliable investment plan set in place if you genuinely wish to meet your short-term goals and save for your future.

So, this demographic would naturally wish to find out all the types of investment sources that can provide them with excellent returns. In our opinion, the best kind of investment portfolio is a diversified one, and the following investment avenues will help you form a highly profitable and diversified investment portfolio.

Any amount can be invested in the following type of investments. Real Estate has not been included in the following list as it usually involves big investments. Only those investment options have been considered which are both liquid and the investor has the flexibility to invest any amount.

Fixed Deposit

If you wish to invest a lump-sum amount without having to worry about monthly payments, then investing in an Fixed Deposit (FD) is a great course of action for you to take. Of course, this isn’t the only benefit one can attach with fixed deposits – flexibility, stability, profitability and convenience are four descriptors that sum up why most people prefer to go for this avenue of investment.

Fixed Deposits can be done with banks as well as NBFCs. The interest rates offered by NBFC’s are slightly higher than the interest rate offered by Banks. Currently, the interest rates offered by most banks are in the range of 7% to 8% whereas offered by NBFC’s like Bajaj Finance is 8.75%. In case of fixed deposits for senior citizens, both banks as well as NBFCs offer 0.30% to 0.50% higher interest rates.

Recurring Deposit

Of course, most people tend to have a problem with procuring a lump-sum amount and investing it all in one go. This is where the concept of monthly payments come into play, something that is quite feasible with recurring deposits.

With a monthly mode of investment as opposed to a one-time one, recurring deposits pull down the barriers to entry that most people generally tend to face. While it’s true that the investment accrued might not be all that substantial when compared to its fixed counterpart, it must be said that a recurring deposit is an excellent course of action for you to take nevertheless – especially if convenience is a significant criterion of your investment planning.

Mutual Funds

The popularity of mutual funds has skyrocketed in today’s day-and-age, with a litany of financial organisations providing you with the option to go for this investment avenue. Why wouldn’t that be the case? Higher rates of interest and attractive benefits make this investment avenue a highly profitable one to opt for.

Of course, there’s a certain level of risk attached to a mutual fund investment, which mandates a fair bit of planning and comparative analyses before a concrete decision can be made. However, don’t fret – if you have your financial goals set, mutual fund investment returns will be more than enough to make up for this problem.

Systematic Investment Plan

A systematic investment plan is pretty much like a mutual fund, but with one key difference – instead of a one-time payment as is the case with a mutual fund investment, a SIP involves monthly payments.

So, in a way, one can compare the pros and cons of this investment versus a mutual fund in a similar manner to the debate between fixed and recurring deposits. It’s solely up to whether the investor is more comfortable with monthly instalments as opposed to a lump-sum investment.

Equity Funds

An equity fund is a unique form of mutual fund that involves you investing in stocks – hence, its alternate name being stock funds. This investment option is preferred mainly because of its high rate of return and potential profitability.

However, there’s a reason why we’ve used the word ‘potential’. An equity fund investment is highly volatile, meaning that there’s quite a bit of risk attached to this particular investment. Banking all your hopes – and money – on this financial instrument is not recommended in the slightest.

As a woman in your 30s, you might understandably be worried about your long-term finances. This would mandate the need for you to set up a well-thought-out investment portfolio that will go a long way in securing your financial future. Diversification is vital here – going for broke on just one investment avenue is generally not recommended… unless the option happens to be incredibly safe. Of course, this comes at the cost of relatively low returns.

Thus, to prevent this less-than-ideal fate from rearing its head, it’s highly recommended that you form a diversified investment portfolio, keeping everything you’ve read above in mind. This will ensure that your finances will be more than enough to secure your future in the long run.