This Diwali Bring Some Money Happiness

Normally in Diwali most of us get bonus from employer. This makes our income gets a  boost, but on the other, there are enough demands like  buying gold, new clothes, lights, firecrackers and fancy gifts etc  which leads to overspending then the bonus we got. Online portals, Diwali offers further leads to overspending. In this scenario Good Money habits can stop us from going overboard. Let us start some good habits from this Diwali:

1. Dhanteras: Organize the things

As all of us organize the things before Diwali, Similarly we can create a financial inventory of accounts, credit cards, and assets. This can be done in a simple spreadsheet.  We should also consolidate bank accounts and close the credit cards which are not required. We need to insure the valuables like home, gold and  Re-evaluate life and health insurance covers. On this auspicious day we all buy something new, this time let’s make a good investment which can be good for our future.

 

2. Narak Chaudas : Remove the Impurities

On Narak Chaudas (नरक चौदस) people take speacial bath to remove all impurities from their body. Similarly we can take few actions to remove impurities from our Financial LIfe like repaying excess loans and work on improving credit score? Loans like credit card loans and personal loans not only add stress to an individual's life but reduce credit score thus limiting our ability to get the loan which we may really need - ex: a home loan. Also we should review and clean-up your Investment portfolio. We can identify the non-performing investment schemes and discard them appropriately.

 

3. Diwali: Play Safe and Manage the Risk

We all enjoy fireworks, but it requires to take precautions to keep us safe. Similarly, while taking risk on investments or money matter safety net should be applied. Most investments are made in an ad-hoc manner and hence ends up having investments which do not suit one's risk profile or are underperforming. We can spend some money to hire a professional who can help us to make investments based on our specific goals/requirements.

4. The New Year Day

This time on the New Year, let’s take a pledge that I will save more and ensure that I follow my financial plan and work towards financial freedom.

 

5. Bhai Dooj: Let’s Gift something different

We all give some gifts to our sisters on Bhai dooj Let’s give something different this time. What about a monthly SIP or a financial education course which would help the siblings manage their money better?

 

Let’s make this Diwali a truly happier and more prosperous by following a few good money steps and secure our financial life.

Lessons and Life after COVID-19

Today the whole world is facing a unique challenge due to COVID19 virus. Just three months back If someone has told us that the whole world will stop and people will be afraid of meeting other persons, we would have been laughing on them, but today it is the truth. But every dark side has brighter side too, so let’s look at what we can learn from this crisis and how the life would be after we sail through this challenge.

1) Always act before it is too late. Starting the lockdown early is perhaps the biggest lesson for controlling the spread of the virus. Start your investment journey early to control poverty and create wealth.

2) Even if ‘Risk’ looms large (next to your home) don’t go out, just stay put. Even if market volatility troubles you, don’t sell Just stay put.

3) You may be Rich but if you are Careless, Complacent and over confident the Virus or the Market will smash your ego and leave you in tatters.

4) Self-control and Resolve (सय्यम और संकल्प) are the key to reach your goals of defeating the Virus as well as Poverty.

5) Doing nothing is an important strategy to keep the virus away and keep your healthy. Similarly in Investment also sometimes Doing nothing is the best strategy.

6) Nature does not discriminate, whether it is the battle of health or wealth. Every community and Religion has Equal Opportunities to create wealth as well as catch the virus.

7) Compounding is the 8th wonder of the world and provides huge gain in wealth creation but huge pain by virus spread/creation.

8) Breaking the Chain is the only way to stall the virus. In investing too breaking the chain of SIPs will stall wealth creation.

9) First worry about life, then the world (जान है तो जहान है). In Investment also first focus on Safety, Liquidity and then on Returns.

10) Politics is the biggest enemy during these times. Like wise Speculation is the biggest enemy of investing. Like Politics Keep Speculation at bay.

11) Hygenie and Social Distance are important points to fight virus similarly porfolio hygine(simple and clean portfolio) and keeping distance from risky instruments is good for wealth.

12) Our immune system is the best protection against the virus. In wealth creation immune system comprising of Habits, Actions, Perseverance, Patience and Yearning for your goals (HAPPY) is best for wealth creating and thereby protection against inflation.

And finally I end with a small story. Once an 80 year old man came out of ICU and doctors told him that he is alright now and this a bill of Rs. 10 lakhs for 10 days in hospital. The old man cried, seeing the old man crying doctor said don’t worry if you don’t have money we will waive it off. For this the man says No, I am not crying for the bill I can pay all dues. I am crying because I have been breathing God’s Air for 80 years and never paid for it and now it takes 1 lakh per day in a hospital to use ventilator, Do you know how much I owe to God. I never thanked God for that.

When we breathe air freely we never take it seriously but when we go to hospital breathing oxygen costs money.

When we change the way to look at the things, the things we look at CHANGE. Gratitude is a strong, powerful and empowering emotion, we should be more grateful for the things we get in life.

Gratitude improves our immune system and makes us strong on the other hand stress makes us weak.

WHEN WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE THINGS IN OUR LIFE, WE WILL HAVE MORE THINGS TO BE GRATEFUL FOR.
Be Healthy and Safe !!

Want to live happily and in Abundance: Differentiate between NEED and WANTS

We all want to be wealthy and live happily, but the urge to splurge is something that is the biggest hurdle for long term wealth creation. For our better and secure future we all need to save regularly and enough so that we can live comfortably when we are not earning. The trick to investing, saving money, and reaching your financial goals is to make sure we are wisely balancing our long-term needs and short-term wants to allow us to live well, but frugally, and find joy and satisfaction in life.

So how to differentiate between need and wants?

Double chocolate chip ice cream? It's a food, so can mark it as a need. That designer T-shirt that fits you perfectly? Well, you need more shirts, so why shouldn’t it count as a need, too. Well It's easy to mix up wants and needs, break your budget, and lose sight. So what should we do ?

The basic definition of need is “Something which we have to have”; Like home, food & water(to maintain health), clothes (to remain comfortable and appropriately dressed), Basic health and hygiene items,

Want is “Something which we would like to have”  Everything that goes beyond the things mentioned above like - a big house, name-brand clothes, fancy foods and drinks, and a new car—is a want.

BASIS	NEEDS	WANTS
Meaning	Needs refers to an individual's basic requirement that must be fulfilled, in order to survive.	Wants are described as the goods and services, which an individual like to have, as a part of his caprices.
Nature	Limited	Unlimited
What is it?	Something you must have.	Something you wish to have.
Represents	Necessity	Desire
Survival	Essential	Inessential
Change	May remain constant over time.	May change over time.
Non-fulfillment	May result in onset of disease or even death.	May result in disappointment.

Simply put, needs are the things which are essential for one's survival while wants are those things which make one happy but are not essential for survival.

So to live a rich life first we need to distinguish between needs and wants and second rule is to apply that knowledge in our daily life.

There is one good way to identify need and wants; if we want to buy something take 2-3 weeks’ time before actually buying that item. Over this intervening period, if you are able to carry on with your life comfortably, then the thing you were eyeing was not a 'need' but a 'want'.

Have a budget, and come up with a plan, and act on it. Even if it takes long time, just working toward a goal is empowering. It makes us feel capable, instead of deprived; it makes it easier to tune out all those things we don't need, and it puts ourselves in charge of where we will go next.

Take time to reflect on all the ways that we have been blessed. Then, decide what's really important to, and go after it. Once we become better at differentiating between wants and needs, we will probably see that we have been able to fulfill more of our wants over the years than we realized. And that can be a major turning point.