Financial Freedom

Simple Mantras to Secure Financial Freedom
May 29, 2008

“A successful investor is not one who never loses, but who stays invested in the market.”

Contrary to popular belief, one does not have to earn a lot of money to become wealthy. Here are some simple Mantras to secure your financial freedom!

Don't procrastinate on wealth creation - Many people procrastinate on saving money. They always wait for the next year, next increment, next bonus to start savings and then the cycle repeats again. You do not need to start investing large amounts, start small. Even a years delay makes a huge difference as wealth compounds with time.

Pre pone Investments, Postpone expenses - Set targets on how much you want to invest and invest it as soon as you get the money. Do not spend first and save (whatever is left) later.

You do not need crores - It’s a myth that you need lots of money to start investing. Even small amounts over time become large due to the magic of compounding.

Go for the long term - Especially in Equity it is important to invest for the long term. They give the best returns in the long term. For short term look at debt.

Invest Regularly - This is very important. You can invest in SIP’s which average out your risk. For eg. investing 10,000 rupees a month would yield 1 crore in 15 years at a annual rate of 20%.

Don’t link your lifestyle to stock market - When the stock market is rising, our notional wealth increases. Soon we start believing that growth of our wealth is real and long term. This false state of suddenly feeling wealthy leads to change in lifestyle. One of the perils of increasing expenses on your lifestyle during stock market boom is that we get used to comforts and luxuries in life. When economic situation turns bad we will then struggle to curtail our expenses. In fact in reality while markets are rising, we should control our expenses and let our wealth grow. On the other hand when equity markets are down, our wealth is not growing in real terms. Things are also cheaper generally during such periods.

Ignore Rumors - If you are confident about the company you have invested in, leave it. Ignore rumors.

Research & Learn - Learn about budgeting, credit, and debt. Learn how credit cards work! If you get into debt early it can sabotage your progress. Whenever you buy a stock or fund, don’t do it on a tip or whim, but do solid research to back up your buy. Investing can be very interesting and rewarding!