TIPS TO MANAGE MONEY ON YOUR OWN

1. You know how much you earn, but don't know where all the money goes
Draw up a household budget and establish ground rules of spending.
2. You are living beyond your means and don't have any money left to invest
Prioritize your spending and allocate resources to your crucial goals.
3. You know how much premium you pay, but don't understand the policy
Read about its features and the extent of coverage for the stated eventualities.
4. You have made no provision for a contingency or an emergency
Buy adequate life and health insurance, keep 7-8 months' expenses in a liquid fund, write and keep an updated Will, and have an appropriate asset allocation.
5. You are not prepared for your retirement as you have not even thought about it
Estimate the cost of your retirement by determining your retirement age, assessing your life expectancy, knowing your risk profile, and identifying the most suitable investment option.
6. Your investments are not linked to your specific goals
Chalk out an investment road map by formulating specific plans to reach each of your financial goals.
7. Your financial paperwork is in a mess due to your laziness
Keep aside half an hour daily for clearing the backlog, update KYC and nominations, consolidate accounts and holdings, save and invest online, sign up with an online portfolio tracker, and go for online insurance.
8. You are confused about how long is long-term investment
Actually, long-term is infinite, more about attitude than number, and you should continue forever with expectations of reasonable returns and growth from your investment corpus through economic cycles, while making corrections and re-balancing the portfolio.
9. You are too afraid to invest without assurance of capital protection
Overcome your fear by separating out the risk that is avoidable, as it is an investing reality that there is no return without risk, and there is no rule in the book that will help you to make better predictable choices.
10. You understand the investment process but are undisciplined
Write down realistic goals, expected time frames, factor in inflation, identify the investible surplus, deliberately create it first before spending, automate investments through SIPs, etc.after formulating an asset allocation strategy.