MONEY & PERSONAL FINANCE RESOLUTIONS FOR THE YEAR 2023!

Happy new year all of you!

When some are openly discussing about their resolutions for new year, some are keeping it to themselves, but almost everyone is making new resolutions with new hopes & determination!

Well, almost all of the resolutions that we set, need strong will power, perseverance to hold on to it no matter what! It depends on how much we put our mind & heart into it!

Our money & personal finance too needs some resolutions that can bring change to our life & give it a new meaning!

When we set them, put our mind & heart, we can achieve them too!

Giving some new resolutions ideas for our money & personal finance for the year 2023!

1. KEEP RECORDS OF YOUR MONEY & PERSONAL FINANCE!

Yes! Keeping a record means, writing down all aspects of your personal finance; like-

• Your cashflows i.e. income & expenses on daily or weekly basis
• Assets
• Loans given & taken. If taken then their rate of interest, amount of EMI, details of loan provider etc
• Investments made. Here, amount of investment, current value, nomination in each investment, date of maturity etc
• Details of all bank accounts, nomination etc

Apart from the above, if you any things to mention wrt your money, then you should mention & keep them updated.

How to keep this record?

You can simply start writing a diary, keep it updated.

Or, you can create on excel sheet file. Today, there are some apps also which enable us to maintain it. Check & verify them if authentic before using.

When you start maintaining this, please follow the below-

• Be disciplined:

When you start the exercise, then please do not stop in between. Continue with the same no matter what.

• Involve your spouse & grown-up children:

IN this exercise, involve your spouse. IF you have grown up children, then get them in. This will give them a sense of belonging, you can talk freely about spending patterns, lifestyle expenses, returns that particular investment is generating.

They will have a better knowledge of the ‘money scenario’ of the family.

• Review & analyze:

Don’t just write & maintain, but review your data regularly. You will come to know about your spending habits, maturity dates of any loan or investment in advance, you can better judge your market linked investments so that you can make suitable changes.

This resolution will give you three superb outcomes!

1. CLARITY:

Clarity on all aspects of your personal finance will lead you to ‘BE PRECISE’ & ‘BE MINDFUL’ while investing & spending.

• KNOWLEDGE:

It will enable you to take control of your ‘own money & finances’.

• AWARENESS:

Not only YOU, but also your FAMILY MEMBERS become aware of all money matters of the family, how to change their behavior & mindset towards investments & spending.

2. READ & LEARN MORE ON PERSONAL FINANCE:

Knowledge is true power & learning never stops!

Whether you are earning money or not, you must know basics about money, banking transactions, taxes, available options for investment & their features etc.

How to learn?

• Start reading blogs, newspapers, articles. Watch videos, listen to podcasts. Please note that, watch, read & listen only that material & source which is verified & provides authentic information only. Stay away from the source which can misguide you about money.
• Note all important points you come across. IF any doubt, then ask & discuss with any relevant expert who can explain & give unbiased opinion.
• Have discussion around what you got to know about, in your circle of people & family. Impart knowledge that you have received. T

You will get three benefits:

1. You will be able to make ‘INFORMED DECISIONS’ before making any investment.
2. You will be away from all the mis selling & investing in wrong & unsuitable investment options.
3. This way, you will initiate & contribute towards ‘financial awareness’ from your end.

3. Go for effective debt management:

Just because its easily available, it may not go easy on your cashflows!

Short term loans which you have taken for your own personal use, e.g. to buy an expensive gadget o if you have used credit card for your travelling expenses. Be it for any reason, try to reduce or totally pay-off such debts this new year.

How to go for it?

1. MAKE A LIST of all your credit card dues, personal loans, short term loans etc. Put details of their EMI, date of maturity, rate of interest etc.
2. Select the loans which have high interest rate & nearing maturity.
3. Try to pay extra EMI or totally pay off the dues.

Make this a target for new year.

Why it is important?

1. It helps to free up your cashflow to spend on really important things or to invest suitably.
2. If you pay off any loans early, it also marks GOOD ON YOUR CREDIT SCORE.
3. Paying EMIs on such personal loans or credit card dues, eats away your potential to save more money for future goals & emergencies. You reduce the gap with this.

What is the solution?

1. PREPARE A BUDGET & stick to it.
2. BE MINDFUL while spending & STAY AWAY from LIFESTYLE INFLATION
3. PLAN FOR YOUR BIG EXPENSES IN ADVANCE & avoid taking loan for the same.

4. BE PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES & TO PROTECT YOUR WEALTH & LOVED ONES:

Emergencies never ask our permission before coming!

A sudden job loss, pay cuts, losses in business, delayed salaries can jeopardize our life & finances.

What is the solution then?

Prepare your emergency fund!

How?

Count on your monthly household expenses such as medical expenses, children education expenses, mandatory travelling expenses, grocery, utility bills etc.

Count the corpus which is equivalent to 12 to 18 times of the monthly household expenses that you just counted.

Where to invest this corpus?

1. If you already have investments made in bank FDs, short term debt funds then list them out. Assign all of them towards this goal. The amount which falls short, you can start investing monthly.
2. If you do not have any such investment & need to invest from scratch, then please start investing monthly, with best possible amount via recurring deposit. You can also start SIP in any suitable debt liquid fund.
3. Here, please keep a target to create this corpus soon as possible.

To protect your wealth & loved ones, apply for Suitable Insurance!

Term Insurance:

If you are striving hard to give your family ‘financial independence’ they need, then its your duty to keep it intact, even after you!

Term insurance is the only type of insurance which serves the purpose of taking life insurance.

Here, insurance policy holder pays premium for selected term of the policy for chosen sum assured.

If policy holder survives the term, then he/she gets nothing in return. But, if unfortunately, he/she doesn’t survive, then sum assured is paid back to the nominee of the policy.

Though there are methods & calculations to arrive at suitable sum assured for a person, You can opt for a sum assured which is at least 10 or 15 times of your annual income.

Health insurance policy:

Medical treatments never come easy on a pocket!

When a person should focus on speedy recovery, he/she should not worry about paying medical bills!

For you & your family, health insurance is a must. For hospitalization expenses, medical bills, treatments, money required is taken care off by your health insurance policy.

Please opt for PERSONAL FAMILY FLOATER HEALTH INSURANCE POLIYC for a sum assured which is sufficient as per your age & health history.

5. INCREASE YOUR SAVINGS RATE & STAY AWAY FROM LIFESTYLE INFLATION:

We have limited sources of income & multiple ways to spend our money on. Rising inflation add to our worry too.

So, the solution to this?

Try to increase savings rate & stay away from lifestyle inflation this year.

How?

Plan your big expenses in advance:

This will help you to start investing monthly before the purchase so that you can buy on time; that too without any loan!

Be mindful while spending:

Before shopping for anything, ask one question to your mind, “is it really required’?

Reduce giving attention to all online sales, big discount offers.

Be content:

There is no limit & end to the greed one can have.

Its better to be content with what you have. New products, trends, varieties will keep on coming, but that doesn’t mean, you should have them all.

Personal finance & money management is simple! We often complicate it with our behavior, outlook, greed & thoughts. When things like economic changes, market performance, political changes are not in control, we can surely take charge of the above!

Keep it simple!