‘Too safe is risky’: CA dismisses money myth, says safe investing could be a wealth trap

Fixed deposits (FDs), long considered the safest investment option by millions of Indian households, may actually be eroding wealth instead of protecting it, warned Chartered Accountant Nitin Kaushik in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

Calling FDs “the biggest money myth in India,” Kaushik argued that while deposits appear stable, their real returns fail to keep pace with inflation and lifestyle costs. 

“On paper, an FD looks safe. In 2010, if you put ₹10 lakh in FD at 7%, today you’d have ₹20 lakh. But compare that with real life — petrol prices have tripled, education costs have gone up 4-5x, and housing has multiplied 3-5x. Your FD doubled, but your lifestyle expenses tripled. That’s not safety, that’s slow erosion in disguise,” Kaushik wrote. 

He contrasted FDs with other asset classes: 

• Gold would have yielded around ₹40 lakh, 
• The Nifty 50 index over ₹50 lakh, 
• Real estate anywhere between ₹30–50 lakh, depending on the city. 

According to Kaushik, the real risk isn’t about “losing money” but losing purchasing power. “FDs never show red, so you feel secure. But behind the scenes, inflation eats your returns,” he said, adding that banks often benefit the most by lending depositors’ money at much higher rates. 

Kaushik advised that fixed deposits should only be used for short-term liquidity. For long-term wealth creation, he recommended equities, mutual funds, and real assets — along with diversification as the core strategy. 

“True financial safety doesn’t mean fixed returns. It means beating inflation and keeping your money’s future intact. Being too safe is often the riskiest financial decision you can make,” he concluded.