Significance of Navratri in Financial Planning!

Hello Folks!

Are you all set for playing Garba for the next 9 days? Well, India is a multi cultural & colourful country. After Ganesh Chaturthi, here we are ready to welcome Goddess Durga. Navratri is another auspicious occasion worshiping nine incarnations of goddess Durga for nine days.

So here are few Financial Learnings from the significance of Navratri…

1. Self Discipline

We celebrate the Nine days of Navratri with great joy, by fasting & giving up our favourite meals. This requires self discipline & self control to give upon your temptations. Similarly, Financial Planning can be effective only by making small sacrifices for your future’s security. Your Financial Goals can be thus achieved with discipline.

2. Shubh Mahurat for Decision Making

We believe in God and his positive energies…! Don’t you think Festivals are the best time of the year to make a new beginning? Festivals are always a Shubh Mahurat for major decision making, especially the financial ones! Who knows…Investing during these times might prove lucky to you…!

3. Get rid of Bad Decisions

Well, each & every festival has got its own significance & is celebrated for the victory of good over evil. Make a point to clean out the burden of bad debts. Cleaning your portfolio is a tough task, but you must do it at once if your bad debts are impacting you negatively. Study your Portfolio properly & take actions to get rid of your bad stocks immediately.

Make sure that you work for making your Financial Position better day by day!

Let us worship the three Goddesses…Goddess Durga to help overcome obstacles, Goddess Lakshmi for peace & prosperity & Goddess Saraswati to gain knowledge!

Wish you & your family a very Happy & Prosperous Navratri!  

More Later…

 

 

 

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Changing Seasons…Adapting to changing Financial Times!

Hello Everyone!

We are in mid September now…time to say good bye to the monsoon! After a couple of months we will be enjoying the winter chills.

Some of you may like the summer, some may enjoy the rains while others love winter. But we cannot stick to one season…we cannot stop Seasons from coming & going!

Winter is cold, Summer is hot  while Monsoon is wet.

We cannot change the season but we surely can adapt & mould ourselves to face the Season. When Seasons change, we have to adapt to it. Similarly, we go through Seasons in our lives too!

So, when the Season of your Life changes, what do you do?

The Summer Season comes with a wave of relaxation. It is the time when you sit back & relax. It is this time when you actually enjoy yourself…redeem the points you have earned, reap the fruits of your whole year’s hardwork.

But after a certain time, you realize that Monsoon is not far…you can’t be on Vacation forever…you have to be prepared for the rainy day. The most crucial thing with the Summer Season is the Financial Year End & a fresh start of a New Year. Everyone needs to do a few things during this time…going through your Investments, rebalancing your Portfolio, adding onto your Portfolio & so on.

The Monsoon Season is the time to make sure that you are safe. Monsoon is sometimes pleasant while it turns out to be a disaster if it rains excess. You need to put everything right in place. Things are washed, flown away in the rains. Make sure that you swim towards the shore in case you feel you are flowing away. We have grown up hearing that we need to save for the Rainy Day. Make sure you have enough savings & investments for your Emergencies. It is mandatory that you create a separate fund for any calamity. Have a proper Insurance which suits your needs the best.

The Winter Season…India being a hot country, the cold of winter is a great relief for us. The mornings are sometimes very cold, but half an hour’s sunshine is enough to make us feel quite comfortable. Likewise, you may feel problems hovering around you but a glimpse of Sunshine is enough to show you the way out of it…! Times will come when your Investments may go down since they are subject to Market Risks…but the crunch is not forever! That is the reason it is said that you need to stay invested in Equity for a long time & then you see the desired results!

Remember, the seasons change whether we are ready or not. So why not adapt & change as the changing Seasons of our Life.  Life will be much more comfortable, manageable and enjoyable!

More Later…

 

This Independence Day become Financially Independent!

Without Moral & Intellectual Independence, there is no Anchor for National Independence…!

– David Ben – Gurion

So it is the 70^th Independence Day tomorrow.

Well, Independence is not about being independent on a national level. It is extremely important to be morally & financially independent than anything else!

As we Indians, gear up for our 70^th Independence Day, its great time to look at your own Financial Situation & make sure that you are on the road to Financial Independence as well…!

Many individuals think that you have to be rich or earn a hefty salary to be financially independent. But it is not only about your Assets, your Expenses are equally important. You need to strike a balance between your Income & Expenses.

Every Individual be it a Working Man, Working Woman, Housewife or a Retiree…they have to be Self Sufficient.

Let us go through some points which depict the importance of being Financially Independent…

1. Extra Spending Money

These days, it is difficult to survive with a single income source. You need an extra source to spend on something really nice…to spend on the things which you crave for!

2. Spend more time for yourself & family

 We end up working hard all our lives, leaving behind our passions. Spend more time with your friends & family, for your Passion.

3. Live on your Own Terms

If you are strong enough to bear your Expenses, then you don’t need to depend on anyone else to get your things done. You can thus live your Life happily on your own terms… do whatever & however you want!

4. Life after Retirement

You are going to retire at some point of your life & you know what…Financial Independence is important because Job Security is just an illusion! Thus this is certainly one of the key attributes of being Self Sufficient.

Thus, strive to be strong enough to live your life the way you want!

More later…

 

 

Festive Season Begins…Plan your Budget Wisely!

India is a country of Festivals…! With beginning of Shravan Month the chain of Indian Festivals begin which continues till the end of the Calendar Year. The festive season in India is a sheer period with emphasis on Food, Décor, Gifts, Social Visits and so on.

While it is a time for happiness & cheer, it can be draining your pocket too! It is possible that you may go out of your way while spending. So is there a way to keep an eye on your Spending…?

Tip 1: Start with a Budget

Plan a Budget before you start shopping for this Season. I am sure, most of us draw out a rough estimate of the Spending but a detailed Budget is much better. With a rough Budget, there are chances of potentially spending more & it is tough to track your Expenses!

Tip 2: Avail the Festival Discounts

Many Stores put up Festive Sales which brings in offers on shopping of Clothes, Decors & so on. Moreover, these days Online Shopping has gained lot of importance. You can get attractive Discounts, Offers & Season Sales. So why not avail these discounts?!

Tip 3: Purchase what you need

Take a stock of what you already have & what you want to purchase before you make your Wish List. Many-a-times we end up shopping for the items which we already have unnecessarily adding onto our Expenses.

Tip 4: Know when to Stop

‘Cut your Coat according to your Cloth’…is a famous Proverb. It is extremely important to know your limits & put a brake on your Expenses after those limits. Shopping on Credit is not a great idea…so you should know where to stop!

More Later…

Rain Water Harvesting & Investing!

Hello Folks!

It is mid-July & it is been raining from a pretty long time. It feels so good when the rain showers hit the heated ground. The Weather is so mesmerizing when there are light showers & drizzles, but it turns out to be a problem when it rains heavily!

But no matter what…it should rain!

Have you heard about Rain Water Harvesting?

The Rain Water is collected in Natural Reservoirs & Tanks so that we can survive on it for the next 8 months till it rains again!

Similarly, invest while you have money in your hand because you cannot predict what is in store for you in the future!

The Rain Water is collected throughout 4 months of Monsoon & thus a large reservoir of Water is created so that we can use the water comfortably over the next few months.

Likewise, you can invest little by little so that over the years a large fund is created which can help you to achieve your goal.

The goal of Rain Water Harvesting is to avoid the shortage of Water & the goal of Investing systematically & regularly is to fulfill your dreams.

Calamity can strike you anywhere anytime…it is better to be prepared for the best!

Therefore, make sure you do these things:

• Link a goal with your fund

Your goals & priorities change as you make transitions in your life. It is very important that you link your goals with your Investments.

• Save for the Rainy Day

You never know what will happen tomorrow, you never know when you will require huge Cash Flow. Thus, it is better to keep an Emergency Fund ready to meet the crisis.

• Invest through SIP

Make it a point to contribute little by little so that you create a big chunk later on. It gives you a plus point of Compounding. Moreover, over the years you can build a large corpus…After all, Rome was not built in a day…!

More Later!

The 2nd Innings of your Life!

It’s a Monday morning but you are in no hurry to get ready and rush to the office instead you are sitting in the balcony of your house reading the newspaper and sipping the coffee! Wow… this sounds so good!

So what do you call a person who is happy on a Monday Morning…?

Retired…!

And from here your second innings…that is after Retirement Life starts.

Retirement is a phase of your Life wherein you stop working & start Living your Life!

The best Retirement Plan you can have for a Happy & Prosperous Retired Life is don’t be a burden on others!

Retirement is that phase of your Life where you can Live your Life on your own terms…then why to compromise?

But…

The big question which bothers everyone is: “How much money do I need when I retire?”

You need to check on certain factors before you plan your Retirement Funds.

1) Decide the age at which you want to retire.

Decide the age at which you want to retire so that it gives a clear picture of the time span you have to raise the funds. It will also help you to set a Measurable Goal which you can achieve systematically.

2) Set your Goals

You have different set of Goals at different Stage of your Life. Your Goals change with the transitions of your Life. Typically, after Post Retirement you might have goals like building a Dream House, an International Trip & so on. Allocate Funds to achieve your Goals.

3) Decide the Annual Income you will require after your Retirement.

Can you compromise with your Standard of Living after Retirement & come one step down…? No! We can’t! That is the reason you need to make your Budget. Moreover, you need to put aside funds for Medical Emergencies.

4) Keep a check on the Inflation rates and your Savings.

Inflation is rising on a remarkable pace. In order to sustain, it is important to keep up with the inflation. See to it that your Investments give you returns which can beat Inflation.

5) If you have a pension plan then obtain an estimate of it.

In case if you have a Pension Plan, make a note of getting an estimate of it so that you come to know how much corpus you will be getting later.

So you have got to make the arrangements for your 2nd Innings, why to depend on anyone else?

Have a Happy Retired Life….!

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Higher Education – A Need!

Hello Everyone!

The 10^th board exam results are just out…Congratulations to all the students who have passed with flying colours!

I know the question which is bothering the children as well as their parents is…‘What Next?’

Indian parents have very high expectations about their children’s education and careers. In today’s competitive world, the need for strong & quality education is increasing. With India’s prospering young population, the excellence in education is a determining factor in the race for better careers today and it will keep on increasing in the future.

However Education, especially quality education doesn’t come cheap and it is also something that parents hate compromising on! A child’s school costs alone have reached sizeable amount. Now-a-days, access to higher education is easier, with good colleges in India and foreign universities wooing students.

In today’s date, the cost of Higher Education from a recognized institution is reaching new heights.

In order to give a good start to the child’s future, it is important to plan for such a big financial goal before hand.

Thus, parents must plan and start saving early to build a corpus for their children’s higher studies. And, while it is an important financial goal, it should be prioritized properly. Below are some points, you should take care of while building your corpus.

• Invest Systematically

It is not possible to build such a huge corpus in a day or two. Hence, it is very important to save & invest in regular intervals.

• Account for Inflation

We experience Inflation in our day to day life. The education fees will also go up as time passes. The returns from your investments should beat the rate of increase in the cost of education. If a course needs 15 lakhs in today’s date then it is quite possible to reach about 20 lakhs in next 5 – 7 years.

• Invest upon Time

You must make investments on the basis of the time horizon. Your Investment options may change depending upon the number of years you want to stay invested.

Make sure that your children’s dreams come true & finance doesn’t turn out to be an obstacle in achieving their goals. Best of Luck!

More Later…