If you have a surplus of ₹5,000 or ₹10,000 sitting in your bank account at the end of the month, the pressure to make it "work" is intense. Financial media endlessly celebrates the compounding power of equity Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). Charts show small monthly contributions transforming into multi-crore retirement pots, while traditional savings accounts are dismissed as wealth destroyers losing ground to inflation. This messaging leads many beginners to ask a straightforward question: Should you build an emergency fund before starting SIPs, or can you dive straight into investing...