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What’s the Most Valuable Asset to Build Wealth? Hint: It’s You!

Can you guess what the best asset is for building wealth? It’s not money, gold, or property—it’s you! In The Book of Wealth, Mark Mobius reveals the secrets to true prosperity by emphasizing the importance of investing in your skills, education, and attitude. By focusing on personal development, you can unlock boundless potential and set the stage for lasting success. Ready to transform your future and achieve greatness? Start by investing in yourself!

 

 

The Book of Wealth
The Book of Wealth || Mark Mobius

***

In order to be wealthy, you need to have assets. Assets can be money, gold and other precious metals, property, stocks, bonds, art, jewellery and many other things. But many people forget the most important asset: themselves.

 

So, the first step towards fortune begins with investing in your best asset—you. Your earning power will depend on how well you have trained and educated yourself. If you want to earn money as a health trainer, it is vital for you to develop your own body so you can demonstrate to others how good you look, which will attract customers to you. If you want to earn money as a carpenter, you must try your best to learn from the most skilled experts so you can demand the highest appreciation and income.

 

When you realize that you are your best investment, you will begin to make conscious decisions to focus on your development and well-being. You will begin to see that your success in becoming wealthy will depend on the foundation you have built in your own education, experience, social status and influence.

 

You, like others, are a unique individual, and you, like others, have boundless potential that can be unlocked by investing in your skills, education and health. A critical aspect of this is self-empowerment, where you control your destiny and become less reliant on external factors. You become more self-sufficient, which boosts your confidence and resilience.

 

An important aspect of this is gaining knowledge and expanding your horizons, beyond your current community and into the ever-changing world. This will enhance your ability to innovate and find new paths to success. A key item of self-development is setting high goals. You must dream of great things and aspire to what you normally would not imagine you can achieve. This way, you will both consciously and unconsciously take proactive steps towards reaching your dreams. Amazon’s growth is an example of this.

 

When you are considered for a job or have been hired to do a job, the people you work for and with will evaluate you and consider what you bring to the task at hand. In addition to your education and experience, people will consider your attitude. If you have a bad attitude, it can pull energy out of the workplace. That bad attitude will be like a poison pill and damage the work environment and the group objectives. A good and positive attitude can penetrate a group and organization, leading to success for all concerned and contributing to your individual success too. Always remember what Zig Ziglar said: ‘Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.’ It is about your positivity: How do you react when things get challenging or tough?

 

What will contribute to and create a good attitude for you? First, you need to be grateful for the opportunities you get for success. Second, you must be optimistic in the face of risks and danger. Someone once said, ‘The world belongs to optimists.’

 

***

Get your copy of The Book of Wealth by Mark Mobius on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

Set Up Your Personal Finance Game Like a Pro with these ACTION-able Insights!

Ready to level up your personal finance game? Discover how to become a financial pro with ACTION by Vivek Mashrani and Anand Venkitachalam! Dive into this exclusive excerpt for actionable tips on assessing your finances, setting smart goals, and crafting a budget like a boss. Get set to take control of your financial future today!

 

Action
Action || Vivek Mashrani, Anand Venkitachalam

***

Financial planning is a systematic approach to using money wisely so as to achieve your life goals. The process includes an in-depth examination of your current financial status, the setting and prioritization of goals, the formulation of an action plan to reach these objectives, regular review of your progress towards this plan on an ongoing basis and then updating your plan as necessary. Timelines play an integral part in financial planning, as they dictate what investment options are available, your risk tolerance levels and your overall strategic decisions. Understanding your financial situation At the foundation of financial planning lies your understanding of your current financial status—knowledge of your income, expenses, assets, liabilities, risk tolerance, etc., as described earlier. Now that you understand your financial status and have a clear picture of your life goal, aligning with your financial goals should become part of your daily routine. To create an efficient personal finance goal-setting process, follow these steps.

 

1. Evaluate your financial situation
Evaluate the details of your monthly income and expenses by factoring in all sources (salary, rental income, etc.) against all expenses such as rent, groceries and transportation. Additionally, consider your assets (real estate, stocks, mutual funds, etc.) against your liabilities (home loan, personal loan, credit card debt, etc.). You can calculate your net worth from this, as described earlier.

 

2. Establish your financial goals
Reflect upon what financial milestones you wish to reach—for example, purchase of a home, saving for college tuition expenses for your children, planning an efficient retirement portfolio or an overseas trip.

 

3. Establish SMART financial goals
Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound to help ensure they will actually happen. Rather than setting generic retirement savings goals, such as ‘I want to save for retirement,’ make your goals specific—for example, ‘I plan to save Rs 2 crore by age sixty.’

 

4. Categorize your goals based on your time horizon for them
Classify your goals based on their expected dates of achievement to more efficiently allocate and prioritize resources towards meeting all your financial objectives. This exercise helps set clearer priorities when prioritizing finances for long-term objectives.

 

5. Prioritize your goals
Ranking your goals from ‘P1’ to ‘Pn’ is the easiest and simplest way to identify which ones are of highest priority to you, P1 being given top billing and Pn receiving no consideration at all. Establishing your priorities allows you to direct your effort, time and financial resources towards those goals which align best with your values and aspirations. Making more informed decisions regarding where your income, savings and investments go can also ensure that progress is being made towards your more important financial objectives.

 

6. Estimate the savings needs for each goal
Estimating the total investments required on your part for each of your goals and breaking up those investments into manageable savings targets require the consideration of factors like the time horizons you have in mind, the inflation rates and any associated costs. Using those figures, you can then set realistic savings goals for the allocation of funds for each of your objectives.

 

7. Allocate savings and assets according to priority
This involves matching up financial resources with each goal’s importance and time horizon. Prioritized goals, such as emergency funds or near-term objectives, often necessitate more conservative savings instruments, like savings accounts or short-term deposits. Medium-term goals could benefit from an array of savings and moderate-risk investments; long-term ones may require higher-risk vehicles like stocks or mutual funds to drive potential growth. By pairing savings and investment instruments with each goal, you can optimize your financial resources while increasing the probability of their fulfilment. Furthermore, this exercise will also assist with identifying lowpriority goals which need to be abandoned or postponed.

 

8. Establish a budget
A budget involves making a careful inventory of both your income and expenditure in order to craft an account that aligns with your financial goals, tracks your spending habits and savings, where applicable, and also allocates your savings to investments related to those goals. A good budget enables you to prioritize your financial goals while controlling your spending habits so as to stay within your means. The purpose of the budget is to ensure financial stability and prosperity for years to come.

 

9. Monitor your progress
Regularly assess your financial health using online tools or apps which sync up with your bank accounts to get an accurate picture of where you stand.

 

10. Review and alter your goals
As life circumstances shift, so must your goals. Marriage, children, health issues, job changes or income adjustments all may necessitate modifications to your financial goals. Financial planning should not be seen as a one-time activity. It is an ongoing journey. Your plan must adapt to your life changes and the shifts in your financial situation. Seeking advice from financial advisers may also prove helpful.

***

Get your copy of ACTION by Vivek Mashrani and Anand Venkitachalam wherever books are sold.

Why Saving Money Isn’t Sexy, but Absolutely Necessary

Ever wondered why saving money feels like a snooze-fest? Ankur Warikoo’s Make Epic Money has the answer!
In this no-nonsense guide, Warikoo breaks through the boredom, offering a blueprint to make your savings hustle just as hard as you do.

Get ready for a learning experience that’s not just about saving but about discovering the power to walk away from the mundane and live life on your own epic terms!

 

Make Epic Money
Make Epic Money || Ankur Warikoo

 

“Life will throw everything but the kitchen sink in your path, and then it will throw
the kitchen sink. It’s your job to avoid the obstacles.”
– Andre Agassi, Open

 

Saving isn’t sexy.
We should save. We get it.
For the future, for our marriage, for our kids, for retirement.
Blah, Blah, blah. Heard it all before.

 

Yet, we don’t.
Because saving isn’t sexy. Or fun. Or exciting.
It’s boring.

 

The future seems so far off.
Our goals seem so far off.
“Retirement? I haven’t even started earning properly yet!”

 

AND we’re not making enough money…
AND we’ll miss out on life…
Our friends are putting up reels of sundowners in Goa.

Why should WE save?
So, we postpone saving.
We’ll start tomorrow. Next month. Next year.
Just not today.

 

But we should save.
Because. Life. Is. Crazy.
Almost like a Bollywood movie.
One moment, we’re happily dancing around a tree. Next moment, we’re hit by a flying coconut.
Plot twists and drama.
Just not as entertaining when it happens to us.

 

Medical emergencies. Job losses.
Lawsuits. Unexpected death in the family.
All horrible things to think about.
We hope (fingers crossed) they’ll never happen.
But we know that they might.
The absolute last thing we want to worry about in such times is whether we have sufficient funds to cover
us, and see us through.

 

Savings give you the ultimate F*** You Power
The power to walk away from a job you hate.
The power to handle a medical emergency without depleting your reserves.
The power to get a better interest rate on a loan.
The power to move into your own place.
The power to live life on your terms.

 

You don’t have to give up what you love.
Saving does not equal stopping spending. Sitting at home. Being miserable.
Once you’ve decided how much you want to save, spend the rest on whatever you want.
With no guilt.

 

Here are 13 tips to help you save more
→ Budget – boring but effective!
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
Minimum 20% of your income has to be saved, every month/year.

 

→ Automate your savings
If we have money in the bank, we tend to spend it.
It’s not always easy to do the right thing.
So, make the right thing easy!

Automate!

Sign up for as much EPF deduction as you can, so it never reaches you.
Do monthly SIPs (and don’t stop them!).
Open a separate investment account.
As soon as your salary hits, sweep your investment amount to that account.
Park your emergency fund, your SIP instalments, your lump sum investments in the new account.

 

→ 30-day rule
If you really want to buy something big, wait for 30 days.
Chances are you’ll decide you won’t need it.

 

→ Try a fortnightly money ‘fast’
Once a week or fortnight, don’t spend on anything. Anything.
Spoiler: This will require some advance preparation.
Food? Take food from home.
Ride to work? Carpool.
Coffee? Your office coffee machine was made for this non-spending day.

 

→ Choose debit/UPI over credit cards
Debit/UPI is money you actually have.
Credit cards give you the illusion of money that you may not actually have.
If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it. Ha!
The best part? It’s free (a lot of places still charge a surcharge on credit cards)!

 

→ Use credit cards, ONLY if you have 100% of the money
Credit cards can be a good thing:
● 30 to 45 days of an interest-free loan.
● Improved credit rating (if you make the full payment every month)
● Rewards and vouchers – who doesn’t want those?
But ONLY IF you have the full amount.

 

→ Make shopping lists and stick to them
It’s a fact – a list makes us stick to it.
Do this even if you’re buying online.

 

→ Rent, if you’re not a frequent user
Nowadays, everything is on rent – be it cars, gadgets or gowns!
So, don’t buy things you won’t use frequently.
In our parents’ time, renting was shocking.
Today, the mantra is ‘reduce, reuse’. Do that.
P.S. I rent my camera lens. The ones I like are insanely expensive and I pay peanuts to use them for 7
days a year at most!

 

→ Buy bigger sizes
Bigger sizes tend to be cheaper, per unit.
If you have the storage space, buy larger packs, particularly non-perishable items.

 

→ Use deal/discount sites
Use deals and discount sites as much as you can. There’s no shame in it.
It just means that you respect your money.
Your money will start to respect you back.

 

→ Pay off your loans faster
Just because you have a 25-year home loan, doesn’t mean you take 25 years to repay it.
Repayment initially goes more towards the interest and less towards repaying the principal.
Repay early, save!

E.g: Pay 1 extra EMI/year (13 instead of 12). Increase that EMI by 10% every year.
A 25-year loan reduces to 10 years. And you save 60% on your interest amount!

 

→ Buy life insurance when you’re young.
You pay a lower premium and get longer coverage.
Why wouldn’t you save on something so fundamental?
E.g., If you buy insurance when you’re 25 till you’re 65, you get 40 years of cover and STILL end up
paying a lesser premium, than if you were to buy the same cover at age 35 (and only get cover for 30
years).

 

→ Shop online in incognito mode
Prices keep increasing when you keep searching for items online – flight tickets, hotels or even products.
Switch to incognito mode.
You’ll get a price that is given to a new user.
This is usually the lowest price, because they want the new user to convert.

 

This can’t work on apps, so do your buying on your desktop or laptop.
Disclaimer: I have no way to prove this.
—————-
Use these hacks as a smart way to save more money, without compromising on your desires and needs.

 

Save as a gift to your future self:
The gift of security.
The ability to meet your life-goals.
A safety net for unpredictability.
Freedom to live life on your own terms.

 

But.

 

DON’T go through life focusing only on a savings mindset.
There’s a limit to how much you can save.
But remember there’s no limit on how much you can earn.
Keep finding ways to increase your income.
That will help you build wealth much faster than saving will.

 

***

Want to manage your hard-earned money like a pro?

Get your copy of Make Epic Money by Ankur Warikoo wherever books are sold.

Learn the Power of Financial Planning with Abhijeet Kolapkar

Are you tired of financial uncertainty? Dive into Abhijeet Kolapkar‘s groundbreaking book, Money Works where he demystifies the art of financial planning. With a checklist that lays out practical steps, this excerpt hints at the transformational journey from money worries to money mastery.

Money Works
Money Works || Abhijeet Kolapkar

***

What Experience Reveals

Most of us live simple and straightforward lives; 90 per cent of our lives follow a pattern—school, college, job, marriage, life after marriage and retirement. We try hard to plan our lives. For example, in our twenties, we plan to finish our studies, buy a home by age twenty-seven, a car by age twenty-nine, and so on.

 

  • Our dreams need to be converted into goals to bring them to life. Pre-planning and execution are essential to achieve these goals.Also, backing our dreams with financial planning is important.

 

  • Most of us realize the importance of financial planning only as we cross our forties; however if we had realized the need for it in our twenties, a lot of our issues of the present might never have surfaced.

 

‘We do plan our finances but that does not last long.’

‘Is financial planning really necessary?’

‘Financial planning is not as easy as it seems.’

 

We hear such statements about financial planning.
Financial planning is clearly not unnecessary, and it is actually neither difficult nor impossible. It is a simple and straightforward process. What is really needed is to do it with the right intention and make sure you are proceeding with diligence.

 

Checklist for Successful Financial Planning

1. Plan your finances as early as possible: Delaying financial planning is injurious to your long-term financial health. Don’t start financial planning when emergencies arise.

 

2. Stay away from an extravagant lifestyle: Never celebrate by taking loans. Remember this line.

 

3. Avoid overuse of credit cards: One should use a credit card only when it is absolutely necessary. Using it just to avail of offers should be avoided.

 

4. Avoid comparing your situation with others: Know your limits. Instead of looking at what others are buying, think about whether those items are necessary and affordable for you. Understand your situation before spending.

 

5. Prioritize savings over spending: Expensive cars, gadgets and lifestyle choices may make you look rich, but will not make you a rich person. Prioritize saving and investing your earnings.

 

6. Save at least 5–10 per cent of your earnings every month: The first step in financial planning is to save every month and invest it to provide for emergencies.

 

7. Avoid financial investments you don’t understand: It is best to stay away from the type of investments you have no clue about.  In case you still want to go ahead, do so with the help of a financial adviser. Practise caution while investing.

 

8. Buying an insurance cover is a must: Insurance is not an investment but a productive tool to financially cover yourself or your family members in emergencies. That is why everyone should get health insurance, accident insurance and term insurance.

 

9. Invest for the long term: To get the benefit of compounding, invest a major portion of your savings in long-term options.

 

10. Regularly re-evaluate and review your financial strategies: You may have planned a robust financial strategy but failed to implement it or made a few wrong financial decisions. To understand this, you need to frequently review your financial strategies.

 

○ Re-evaluation: The goals based on which we decided on our investments in the past may change. For example, you may feel that saving money for your children’s higher education is more important than buying an expensive car, which was your earlier goal.

○ Review: We can re-prioritize our goals based on our current needs, after periodical reviews.

 

11. Discuss your strategy with your partner: Have a healthy discussion with your partner about your financial goals. Whether your partner is an earning member or not, you should consider their point of view as well.

 

12. Be ready for change: Life is full of surprises—be prepared, mentally and financially, to face any unexpected situations that may arise.

 

13. Read up on financial matters: You should regularly engage with financial newspapers, magazines, blogs and social media pages. Also, you should have books on the subject handy in your personal library.

 

14. Don’t be an emotional fool! Many a time we make decisions based on our emotions, which may lead to financial losses.  Hence, you should stay away from overconfidence, lack of confidence, haste, work, anger, greed, lust, jealousy, etc., while making your financial decisions.

 

15. Self-confidence is essential: No one can play your part better than you. That is why you need to study the subject of finance in depth and make the right decisions to get the most out of your wealth.

 

With this checklist, you can start financial planning based on the goals you want to achieve

***

Get your copy of Money Works by Abhijeet Kolapkar wherever books are sold.

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