Massive wealth is not the result of complex and witty moves but doing simple things right.
Mistakes are natural in life’s journey, and our financial journey is no different. However, it is crucial that we become aware of our mistakes and take corrective action. This way, they become our greatest learnings and serve us well.
FOOPS! is a collection of the 30 most common financial mistakes we make in our quest to create wealth. If we appreciate the impact these errors can have on our long-term wealth creation and take immediate action, each Foops moment is a potential game-changer.
What is going to be your Foops moment? How are you going to correct it? Learn from the national bestselling author of From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom and The Autobiography of a Stock.
Author BIO
MANOJ ARORA is a gold medalist in engineering from AMU, Aligarh. In his career spanning more than two decades, he has worked for Fortune 500 organisations across the globe including IBM, L&T and TCS. An IT-professional-turned-author, he has to his credit multiple bestsellers on dreams, parenting, money and happiness. Founder Trustee of Kalpavriksha—a tree plantation NGO, Manoj lives by his life’s mission to elevate the world around him.
To being a complete alien to finance, the book surely clarified a lot that was going on in my mind. The book gives you a thorough knowledge of what is each mistake, how is it done? A lot of moments that would make you think ‘omg’, but a lot more that would help you to avoid making one.
The author lists down 30 mistakes that are committed commonly. The book is structured in a way that even someone who is new to the term finance can understand. So it makes things simple and precise.
Though it does not compromise on the quality of the language. There are no technical jargons concerning finance but will definitely make you understand whatever mistake is being discussed.
The book will help you from not letting you make mistakes which you are about to and make you aware of mistakes which you have already done and help you take actions to correct it.
Mistakes which found my interest:
Under estimating the power of compounding. Getting swayed by the hype of NFOs and IPOs. Auto renewing fixed deposits Not prioritizing portfolio tracking. The glossary also helps you with major terms which can aid in making you understand the common terms used.
Gone are the days when men were the only earning members and the finance minister of the house. We now live in a period wherein men and women play an equal role in working to raise the standards of the family and also help provide a better lifestyle. So if both work hard the odds of leading a high-quality standard of living are guaranteed, once they earn, how to plan on the expenditure and investments is all together with a bigger subject that needs more knowledge.
We surpassed the period where men decide the expenses and allow the budget for household expenditure. The world we now live in wholeheartedly accepts or to put it better believe that women can handle finance equally or should I say much better.
The world of smartphones gives her easy access to buy a gold bond if she wants to invest in gold. Not only that gone are the days where it’s difficult to know how to make money or how to invest. All this is now available at her fingertips just by a click or by asking a query( thanks to Alexa and Siri). Shoot the query and within a blink of an eye, you get results and solutions. It’s now even easier to get certified in the financial sector with the wide range of courses available online through various learning portals. Women can not only equip themselves with knowledge but also start making money by investing and saving. Not to forget that life and medical insurances can also be applied with a click from an app.
The modern world truly opened doors wide for women of this age to explore the world of finances from the comfort of home.
Since women are much better to handle situations and multiple events happening they also forecast long-term plans and can make better investment plans to improve the quality of lifestyle and achieve future goals.
Here are the hows and why I urge women to start investing.
Future goals: Women always think ahead be it the five-year plan or a ten-year plan. They make the blueprints and work on achieving the goal. Improving the quality of lifestyle, acquiring properties, higher education, vacations, and whatnot. Ask her what she wishes for in the future you will get your answers in a jiffy and that too with proper planning and priorities sorted. This is ideally the goal most women have be it someone who works in the corporate or a housewife who helps manage the home.
Learning about investment: Online classes are not only for school-going kids these days but also for adults. Virtual learning opened doors to many fields including finance. Learning centers, youtube, and dedicated Facebook and what’s app groups are now becoming better options to kick start financial learning. Doing this will not only enable you to manage finance at home but could also open doors to various job opportunities which would mean extra income to save more.
Advisors: If managing it on your own is a situation that happens not to worry when you have experts in the field to guide you through the process of selection of investing in where and what. It is completely ok to not know the technicalities and how-tos of investing and take help from experts. As long as your goal is met, this is not something to be worried off.
But make sure to convey what your goal is and how you plan to achieve meaning the milestones that you would want to see before the final goal.
Being financially independent: Every woman working or no, married or single must be financially independent. Unforeseen events can happen anytime with no warning. This could be a recession, loss of property, theft, or even problems in the relationship. If you are financially independent there is nothing to worry off, as long as you can take care of the situation on your own and not sit and brood thinking that you are hopeless and need money.
Better investor: Studies on comparison between man and woman bring out results that women are willing to access risk, patiently learn the how-tos, and not expect quick outcomes. This slow but patient approach marks them separate as better investors than men. They don’t choose shortcuts but are willing to take the longer route to attain their goal.
The lockdown last year saw a lot of women giving wings to their entrepreneurial spirit and give it their best. Supporting them gave me a lot of happiness. Though I’d say that I gained no monetary benefit, the feeling of uplifting people definitely is something above money. But don’t let that die out your dreams.
So if you are someone who is still depending on your better half for finances, there is no much better time than now for you to make the decision. Take smaller steps, take the time to gain expertise, explore the opportunities, choose the best of what suits you, invest, save and live a carefree life and the life of your dreams. Be financially independent and make the world yours.
Saving is an important habit that can be cultivated over time. What matters is to get started and be cautious of how the money is spent.
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