Are you lost in the financial realm of things as you juggle household expenses, children’s school fees, medical bills and other miscellaneous demands on your pocket? If being a millionaire is atop your priority list in the coming year, it’s high time you took charge of your finances
Most people… go to work, get their paycheck, balance their checkbooks, and that’s it. On top of that, they wonder why they have money problems. Then, they think that more money will solve the problem. Few realise that it’s their lack of financial education that is the problem. The pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay bills… Their lives are then run forever by two emotions, fear and greed. Offer them more money, and they continue the cycle by also increasing their spending. This is what I call the Rat Race.”
Excerpt from the world-renowned book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by American businessman, Robert T. Kiyosaki.
Do you find yourself a part of the rat race that Kiyosaki describes? It’s a situation each one of us can relate to. As youngsters, we see our parents follow this deceitful cycle of working, earning, spending, working. We blindly follow the same as we grow up, all along with the genuine intention of breaking into the strata of the rich and successful. And as Kiyosaki points out, the problem doesn’t lie in the process but in the method.
Feel the money power
The first lesson you need to learn about and stay true to very strongly, is to learn to be financially independent. Kanchana TK, Executive Director, Vantage Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd., in charge of Health Insurance & Wellness, describes financial independence as, “A woman’s ability to spend without needing to ask for money. It also means the privilege that she enjoys to invest her money as per her ambitions and goals.” Being financially independent can be very liberating for a woman as your finances and your life are entirely under your control and, as Kanchana puts it, “on a psychological platform, it boosts confidence.” And what would one need to do to be financially free? “Given the virtual absence of any social security or pension benefits for the private sector, this would require regular savings and investments from the day one starts earning so that an adequate corpus that is ‘inflation proof’ can be created,” replies Monica Agrawal, Director, Corporate Initiatives & Business Development, Aviva India. To be financially independent is to be inflation-protected and who wouldn’t want that in an inflation-driven economy?
Get down to planning
Planning for your finances is as good as planning for a major chunk of your life and every individual shall have varying financial goals to set and achieve. Agrawal says, “While young, working women aspire to own a house or a car or simply a higher living standard, women in their 30s and 40s may additionally start saving for the education and marriage of their children. In addition to these, a woman also needs to ensure that her life and health are protected and insured as well.” Kanchana distinguishes short-term and long-term goals as those being desirable and aspirational respectively. “Short-term goals could include saving up for a vacation, buying new jewellery or joining a new course,” she adds.
Your investment checklist
When you decide to invest, this is what you need to look at before taking a final call:
- Nature of investment
- Time period
- Risk appetite
- Rate of inflation
- Past performance of the funds/insurance plan
Develop a millionaire mindset
In his book, The Millionaire Messenger, Brendon Burchard, founder of the Expert Academy, speaks of how you can be an expert in the field you desire and a millionaire messenger at that. The rules are simple. Apply them to day-to-day finances to help you develop a millionaire mindset.
1. Learning is a never-ending journey: Burchard talks of how one needs to use one’s life experience, message and voice to become a successful and confident expert. The same goes for becoming financially successful as well. You learn continuously from your life experiences to not repeat those steps that affected you adversely. For example, if investing in a particular sector didn’t prove to be beneficial, learn what went wrong; did you read the market wrong? did you check its past performance? Act on correcting your mistakes and you won’t put your financial foot wrong.
2. Go for it: This rule can be very simply derived from Burchard’s statement “If I don’t know it or have it, I will go learn it or create it.” This rule will help you save and invest with that much more vigour as you wish to acquire that which you don’t have. For example, if you say, ‘I don’t have a car’, then taking the correct financial steps such as investing in mutual funds and bonds and saving a part of your monthly income can definitely help you to achieve the unattainable.
3. Think big, dream big: Set yourself high financial targets; realistic but high. It may be to see your child enrolled in the best educational institution; the first step is to set yourself a target you believe in and are willing to work towards. The rest shall follow.
Learn from the shining examples
These are women who are known for their professional excellence and are among the growing clan of highly successful, financially independent women in the nation. Take inspiration from them and work towards being rich and secure and attain true financial freedom.
Anuja Lath
Who: CEO of RedAlkemi, a Search Engine Optimisation expert and CEO of IndianArtCollectors, a unique initiative to promote Indian artists online.
Claim to Fame: Anuja Lath can be seen as a pioneer as far as optimising the online medium for financial gains is concerned. Two decades before the internet could truly be known for its communicative powers, Anuja co-founded Pugmarks Design Studio, a visual communications company in1986. In 1996, she
co-founded Pugmarks InterWeb (P) Ltd, tapping the vast potential of the Internet and leading it to become one of the largest web solutions, online marketing and web hosting company in India. In 2002, she co-founded RedAlkemi to offer web solutions to a global customer base. She is also an avid art lover and this led her to establish the IndianArtCollectorsTM, a meeting ground for keen artists.
Practical financial tips: “Save money and invest it in the right places. Cash liquidity is important, since sometimes you need money suddenly, and it’s a secure feeling to have some handy. Put your money in the hands of trusted professionals. Stay on top of your investments, and make sure you know where your money is going and what returns you’re getting.”
Money mantra: Live within your means, depend on your own hard-earned money and you will always be happy and sleep well.
Grishma Shah
Who: Head of the image management team at Percept Talent Management.
Claim to Fame: At a very young age, Grishma Shah has gone on to achieve great success. She has carved a niche for herself in image and brand management and it is a profession dear to her heart. “Five years down the line, I shall hopefully be doing my PhD in celebrity management, teaching and sharing thoughts on this niche field, as to what goes into creating a celebrity. She has managed talents from across genres Neil Nitin Mukesh, Priyanka Chopra, Hard Kaur, Anushka Shankar, Amrita Rao, Vir Das, Gauhar Khan, Gagan Narang, Aman and Ayaan Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan to name a few and all of this at 27 years
of age!
Practical finance tips: “Invest in the right places; save more and spend carefully.”
Money mantra: Work hard, follow your heart; dream big.
Natasha Mudhar
Who: CEO and owner of
Sterling Media
Claim to Fame: Natasha Mudhar is a successful media entrepreneur. In her late 20s now, Natasha has recently won an award for being the best international media entrepreneur at the event, ‘The Asian Who’s Who’. Taking forward the legacy of her mother, Teji Singh, who started the company 20 years ago, Natasha believes in the following principles being a risk-taker, launching inspiring initiatives and taking up challenges.
Practical finance tips: “Be proactive about your expenditures and investments. Learn the basics of financing budgeting, cash flow, taxation, etc. so that you have a sense of your own financial control and are able to address any sticky moments competently.”
Money mantra: Pre-pone your investments whether it’s financial or intellectual capital and postpone your expenses. Careful long-term planning is the key, so you have a goal to work towards.
The best finance guide by Monica Agrawal
Best investment options: The investment options ought to be need-driven and appropriately classified into three buckets: Short Term (like a holiday), Medium Term (like buying a house) and Long Term (like Children’s Education or Marriage). While bank deposits are a good option for the short term, for the medium to long term, investments need to be broad based depending upon the risk appetite. However, irrespective of these varied investment options, each and every woman needs to have a pure term cover, even if not working. Any loss of life, directly or indirectly, leads to a loss of income for the family. Term
plans are the cheapest way to compensate for this.
Retirement plan a must: It is essential for all women to plan for their retirement. Women, especially those who are working, need to do this so that they are able to maintain their own standard of living without being dependent on children or anyone else. Apart from the provident fund for working women, which will give them a lump sum of money on retirement, they should also invest in retirement plans offered by life insurers and mutual funds. Stay-at-home mothers should also explore investing money regularly as early as possible in retirement plans.
Thumbs up to health insurance: For women, it is not until they have children that they realise the importance of their own health.
