Financial Goals - LESSON - 3

If you have done the exercise of converting your savings into investment,  do  this now:  Take out your fixed deposit receipt  (different banks call it by different names).  Look  at the total interest you’ll be getting on maturity.  If the period of your deposit is more than 9 years,  the  interest amount should be almost equal to your principal.  That fact alone should  encourage  you to save and invest more and more.  Easier said than done ?  Believe me,  it’s easier.  Here’s how:

In our country,  in the normal course, a salaried person  gets an annual increment.  These days,  it is a respectable amount  too!   You can definitely save a considerable  portion of that increment.  Try  putting  it into a monthly deposit scheme.  If you are a government or  a  PSU  employee, regular increase in dearness allowance takes care of price increase and  inflation.  So  you can think of saving the entire amount of increment. 

Apart  from  your annual increment,  you’ll be getting a Promotion,  which comes  with an added  blessing of a substantial increase in salary!   And, yes,  you guessed it right!  Save a  portion of it.

Then,  there’s  the regular wage revision.  You already know what to do with that!

In  Lesson One,   I mentioned   “comfort zone”.  This is a zone where you do not feel any  resistance  to doing the things which you’re  supposed  to  do or  which  you  routinely  do.   Any  little deviation  this way or that and  you’ll  feel heavens  have    fallen  down.

“ I always go to the corner restaurant.” (other restaurants make me feel    uncomfortable)

“ I always wear my black  T- shirt on Saturdays.” (otherwise I feel uncomfortable)

“ I always take a left turn at the Post Office.” (going straight on and then taking a left turn makes me feel uncomfortable)

 “ I always eat idly with sambar on Sunday mornings.”  (else, I cannot simply enjoy)

   ……………….. …………………

  And  here’s  the greatest of them all……

 “ I always spend my full salary.”

  “ what’s the point in saving a few hundreds?  It doesn’t come to much.”

  “ let them increase my salary.  Then I’ll think of saving.”

  “ I’ve never saved in my life.  Why should I save now?”

If you still  feel some resistance to start your savings,  do the following  exercise.  Do  it  now  before your enthusiasm dries up!

Take a paper and pencil.  Write down your dreams.  Make a list and number them.

Now, go back to the first dream.  Check if you can achieve this dream with your present level of income.  If  YES,  go to the second dream in your list.  However,  if your answer is  NO,  it means that you are missing your dream for want of money.   All you need  to do is to go to your  banker and open an account.  Your dream should be big enough  to prompt you to  save  money.   I  know,  this argument  looks  childish.  But, this is the easiest  way to grow your investment – unless,  of course,  you’ve  won a lottery  or some  such thing. 

Do you now feel like moving onto the next lesson ?