Connect the dots...

(The author is the Founder and CEO of Money Avenues, a Wealth Management firm based in Chennai. Feedback can be sent to mailfpc@ yahoo.com)  


... for a bright financial future..

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Life is all about connecting the dots to arrive @ a better picture... Right from the Kolams and Rangolis which are made @ our homes... When the dots are scattered, the picture is incomplete. Only when the dots are connected do we get a complete picture...Financial planning is all about connecting the dots like in a Rangoli...


What are the dots do we need to connect to achieve our financial goals?


Dot 1. Save enough money and invest the right way.

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The fundamental is to start saving and mere saving is not sufficient, but doing the investing the right way is paramount.


Dot 2. Take EMI (Easy Monthly Investing) route:

Invest in a regular and regulated fashion. The set flow needs to be regular and periodic towards a goal which means no inconvenience to your regular cash flows.


Dot 3. Have enough life insurance.


Stakes are high for all of us; our family is dependent on us increasingly, the dreams are soaring, the aspirations are growing, priorities are changing fast. Having adequate life insurance to the fullest possible extent gives the financial security to the family in case of a misfortune. In simple terms, in one's absence, life insurance becomes a tool for financial security for the family. 

@ any point of time, one should have atleast a life cover of 10 times of the annual income. If one's annual income is 10 lacs, the cover should be 1 crore. And this proportion should be maintained as one grows up in the income levels. The rationale is, on one's absence, the family will have money equivalent to the next ten years of current income. Check if you have enough life insurance cover for your and your family's benefit. And it doesn't cost much. For eg., for a healthy male of 35 years, for a 50 lac life cover, one needs to pay approx Rs 13,125 per year. Which means Rs 36/day, which am sure is affordable for all of us. Break fast these days cost nothing less than Rs 50. 


Dot 4. Identify your financial goals.

Our goals drive us in our lives. Goals on our career, family, children etc., It's going to be complicated if we try to lead a goal less life.. Life becomes an anchor-less ship when we do not have financial goals. We are in a T20 kinda situation, wherein the changes are quite rapid; only proper planning can lead us to our goals in a reasonably faster way. As we are on the move, it's difficult for us to manage so many priorities affecting our life. Having SMART goals help us measure our success and gives scope for reinventing. SMART goals can be assisted by a good financial planner like Money Avenues. 


Dot 5. Work on financial priorities.

Prioritizing our financial needs is very important for having a better financial life. We need to figure out which are the financial tasks which are important and urgent to execute and plan accordingly.


Dot 6. Invest long term.

Wealth is created not just by earning, but by investing smartly. Wealth creation should be like that of our hobbies; we don't collect stamps/coins overnight, but over a long term we amass a huge collection. Same is the case with wealth creation. Attempting to create wealth over the short term can lead to peril. Try to simplify the outflow on a regular basis and create wealth over the long run by investing smartly. 10-20 years of hard work of wealthy people appear overnight success for many of us. But that's not the case. Billionaires have created wealth with just pennies in their wallets. Wealth creation is not rocket science, but just plain smart effort.


Dot 7. Make a financial plan.

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Whatever was discussed above would not make any meaningful progress unless you have a proper financial plan in place. But, with our given constraints in career and personal lives, it is better to outsource this job to a financial planner like Money Avenues, which does this function day in and day out. Because, mere planning is not sufficient; it has be backed by constant reviews and monitoring. After all our lives are fast changing, so as our financial priorities.


And when we connect the dots, we get an amazing floor paint/kolam/rangoli... Same is the case with our financial planning. Act now and plan your financial future...

(The author is the Founder and CEO of Money Avenues, a Wealth Management firm based in Chennai. Feedback can be sent to mailfpc@ yahoo.com)