India, unlike many developed countries of the west, is more savings friendly. By being savings friendly we yearn to save more out of our disposable income, irrespective of the level of our earnings. Warren Buffet advocates that one should focus on savings first and then whatever is left should be spent.
I get reminded of previous generation mom when someone advises me to re balance my investment portfolio. I feel like my mom telling me to take oil bath on all Fridays. When everything is going fine, why I should re balance my portfolio? one of my client asked me with a smile in his face. I reciprocated his smile and explained him why it is necessary to re balance his portfolio periodically.
How many times have you asked yourself Will the insurance company for which I am paying premiums regularly will settle the claims or reject the claims in case of any mishappening to me? Will my family get the claim benefits or not?
What do we do to show our love to our loved ones? We buy property, gold, vehicles etc. Then to secure or protect that love we keep insuring that property, gold and vehicles too. Not only that we cover our lives too! However,if you are a bread-earner of the family then you miss insuring the very important entity of the family – that is you!
How bad is bad? Or for that matter how much sugar is there in sweetness, really? Perhaps we rarely stop to think. Bad or good are more or less absolute to us, and we often refrain from probing further into their causes. Personal health is one area however, which we do not leave to chance. So why should we not do the same about our financial and economic health?
However, other than writing and registering a Will, there are other ways to pass on the wealth without any hassles is by having joint accounts with the person whom you want to pass on the wealth (namely, one’s spouse). Joint accounts are more hassle free even compared to a Will.
I received a call recently from a close friend of mine in a hurried voice saying that someone had purchased a jewelry from a famous jewelers in Bangalore for Rs.1,15,000 using his credit card. That too, when he is having his card safely in his purse. I consoled him and asked him to talk to the bank immediately. Even though he was not charged by the bank after they confirmed that the purchase was not done by him, the mental torture he undergone was unbearable.
An Indian living abroad doing a service, running a business or pursuing any vocation is a non-resident Indian. It is estimated there are over 25 million NRIs spread across the globe. With this huge Diaspora, banking needs for transfer of funds, savings, investments and repatriation of NRIs have also expanded.
When we come to this life – parent provide a cover from unseen dangers. A tree –provides a cover from wind and water. Whereas water protects us, further from fire. Therefore, by the law of nature somewhere, someone is always protecting other.
Risk management plan is an integral part of any financial plan. Creating a financial plan without risk management plan is like starting a journey without doing any preparation for the vehicle such as checking the stepney, break oil level and other conditions of the vehicle. Not doing all these can make your journey towards a destination halt in between.
