* II धन कनक वस्थु वाहना समृद्धि प्राप्तिरस्तु II *
HAPPY DIWALI- “The Festival of Lights & Financial Enlightenment”
Diwali/Deepawali is one of the most popular Indian festivals celebrated with pomp and splendor all over the country and by Indians world over. The Goddess of Wealth is worshiped on this festival. It is an important occasion for many reasons like the importance of human bonding, celebrations in family, reunions of friends and relatives, etc.
Since ages deepawali has been an occasion not only for a traditional reason, but also for its significance to collate all the financial information. This tradition is not just limited to families, but it also has an encompassing influence all across the country in businesses as well. Muhurat Trading, a special occasion for the stock markets all over the country, is observed on Diwali.
The following are some of the key-learning’s for an effective and efficient Money-Management which would Enlighten everyone
1) Financial Enlightenment–
Come diwali, come the lights all over. Diwali is celebrated on a new-moon day and the lightening of lamps indicates the destruction of darkness and evil. Similarly, one of the key-learning’s on this wonderful occasion is to identify and eliminate the financial mistakes committed in the past be it availing high cost debt, wrong financial products purchase like endowment, ULIPs, etc.
This exercise of identifying and rectifying past financial mistakes can be a difficult ordeal. Hence it is highly recommended to avail the assistance and guidance of a comprehensive Financial Planner who will not only help one to identify the financial mistakes but also help one understand why some financial decisions are deemed mistakes. A Certified Financial Planner will also help one take corrective measures so as to ensure the same financial mistakes are not committed henceforth.
2) Non-Committed Expenses/Over Spending:-
A Celebration is a get-together of family, friends, relatives etc. Diwali, is also an occasion to splurge astonishing amounts of money on sweets, flowers, decoration, celebrations, food, firecrackers etc.
Everybody aspires for a good time, and spending for the same is human. But one should never forget that celebrating a festival or an occasion should never be a onetime affair but should be done every year. Meaning although spending now can add to the celebration, it may adversely impact the saving potential thereby resulting in weak financial planning habits which in turn may compromise the financial goals in the future.
The best financial practice on this front is to allocate a budget for non-committed or discretionary expenses such as a festival, occasion or a celebration every month/year (≤ 20% of overall expenses pm/annum) and comply by the budget. Strict adherence to the budget negates the possibility of overspending thereby enhancing surplus which in turn leads to a higher likelihood of achieving the envisioned Financial Goals like children’s higher education, house purchase, etc.
3) “Insuring Lives-Ensuring Happiness”:-
Incidents of fire mishaps occur more during diwali than other days. This is especially involving children. Children tend to get carried away with the festive atmosphere and forget the safety precautions as advised by parents and elders which may lead to accidents in which they may get hurt. Worse still the injured children may require hospitalization, spoiling the entire festive atmosphere too. These mishaps lead to additional financial burden by way of medical expenditure.
The best way to nullify/mitigate such risks is to avail adequate Insurance covers for self and family to tackle the Pure Risks like:
- Life risk (Life insurance policy-Term Assurance)
- Disability risk (Personal Accident Policy)
- Health Risk (Mediclaim /Health Insurance Policy)
- Critical illness Risk (Critical illness policy)
- Property damage risk(Home Insurance/Standard Fire & Special Perils Policy)
★★★★NOTE:- It is highly recommended that the aforementioned risk covers be availed in consultation with a Comprehensive and Expert Financial Planners for making a financially prudent decision for Risk Identification, Control and mitigation.
Hence, the parents/elders in the family should always keep a tab on the children in ensuring a safe and secure celebration. A first aid kit at disposal is advisable. Adhering to such safe practices reduces the risk of any untoward incidents leading to a happy, safe and prosperous celebration of Diwali.
4) Gift a Financial Plan:
Diwali is the time for reassessment of the Money-Management. Hence , it is an ideal time for everybody to consolidate all the aspects of one’s Personal Finances and the best way to get it done would be under the guidance of a comprehensive financial planner, who would be experienced in carrying out a Comprehensive 360° Personal Financial Planning session including cash-flow analysis, identification and prioritization of envisioned financial goals like child future educational expenses , children’s marriage expenses, retirement income needs etc. and finally chalking out a customized best-fit financial planning solution leading to an effective and efficient Personal Finance Management.
Hence, the best way to celebrate Diwali is to gift a PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLAN to your loved ones like family and friends.
5) CLEANLINESS IS GODLINESS:-
The very next day after the diwali celebrations, we realize that a lot of money has been blown away by way of overspending. The roads are a classic example- post diwali each year, we have seen the cart loads of fire crackers waste, garbage, etc scattered across all over the roads. And it is nothing short of hell on earth for the people cleaning the roads.
Hence one of the key-learning’s for everybody- the parents, the elders in the family and the children- is that celebrating diwali is great, but celebrating it the right way is all the more important. Before the celebrations install a garbage bin for each family or apartment and advise the children to pile up the waste and dispose it in the garbage bin after the celebrations. It would be one of the great lessons to teach children. It contributes to the society as a whole and also the government’s initiative of the “SWACHH BHARAT”. This is “CLEANLINESS IS GODLINESS” in its true spirit. This will also contribute to the Government measures to reduce unproductive public expenditure too.
