Whoa it was Dussehra yesterday, the festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. As kids we used to make Ravana and then kill it just to relive the memories of the day and to remind ourselves that no matter what happens good things always win over bad
You must be wondering why am I writing all this as all of us know it pretty well already. In today’s world though Ravana does not exist but it does exists in form of poverty, illiteracy or otherwise. One of the most subtle forms in which it can impact us is through our bad financial habits. Deep inside us, we all know that those habits are not right but unfortunately we fail to control them. This Dusherra lets recognize those habits and defeat them every time they try to take over our minds.
1. Spending money without tracking
“Yes, you are right we should keep a track of things we spend on but……” heard this sentence many a times. Just because you thought you would do it later, skipping the tracking of your expenses became a habit.
2. Impulsive buying
Lucrative deals, heavy discounts, attractive advertisements etc., all creates an impulse to buy things that we never even planned. Just because you went with the flow; priorities changed, spending plan changed and now you fall short of money to buy things that you actually needed.
3. Using Credit Card when cash strapped
Credit Cards are the life saviors in times when the real money gets over. Once you fall for this habit, it can be too costly. It did help you in tough times but it made you debt ridden too.
4. Putting off your insurance
There is a famous quote “we all hate insurance until we need it”. Insurance is just an expense, hence many of us don’t prefer to buy it adequately because we think we do not need it. One mishap can make you compromise on one of your most important financial goals viz. your retirement or kids’ higher education or their wedding etc. which can be devastating.
5. Paying too much attention to sensational investing headlines
This is one of the worst but unfortunately headlines sell. If you panic and change your financial plan you might ruin your financial future. Headlines come and go, but it’s the plan that’s going to be there with you till the goal arrives. Be an informed investor to know what’s right for you and not for the media i.e. the people around you.
It’s about crossing the line, it all started at here on dussehra. So let’s not cross the line that can ruin our financial well-being.
