Financial planning is a step-by-step approach to meet one’s life goals. A financial plan acts as a guide as you go through life’s journey. Essentially, it helps you be in control of your income, expenses and investments such that you can manage your money and achieve your goals.
If you take a closer look at the above examples, you’ll find that there is one factor that connects all of them: money. You need to have an adequate amount of money to fulfil your goals and desires. More importantly, you need to have money at the right point in time.
For example, if you want to build up a corpus of Rs. 10 lakh for your daughter’s college education through investments, you need to grow this amount by the time she turns 18. Not a year later. This is where financial planning becomes essential.
What are Benefits of financial planning?
There are numerous practical benefits to financial planning. It helps you to:
Increase your savings It may be possible to save money without having a financial plan. But it may not be the most efficient way to go about it. When you create a financial plan, you get a good deal of insight into your income and expenses. You can track and cut down your costs consciously. This automatically increases your savings in the long run.
Enjoy a better standard of living Most people assume that they would have to sacrifice their standard of living if their monthly bills and EMI repayments are to be addressed. On the contrary, with a good financial plan, you would not need to compromise your lifestyle. It is possible to achieve your goals while living in relative comfort.
Be prepared for emergencies Creating an emergency fund is a critical aspect of financial planning. Here, you need to ensure that you have a fund that is equal to at least 6 months of your monthly salary. This way, you don’t have to worry about procuring funds in case of a family emergency or a job loss. The emergency fund can help you pay for varied expenses on time.
Attain peace of mind With adequate funds at hand, you can cover your monthly expenses, invest for your future goals and splurge a little for yourself and your family, without worry. Financial planning helps you manage your money efficiently and enjoy peace of mind. Don’t worry if you have not yet reached this stage. If you are on the path of financial planning, the destination of financial peace is not very far away.
Financial planning for life goals
The importance of personal financial planning in India cannot be ignored. It is not just about increasing your savings and reducing your expenses. Financial planning is a lot more than that. This includes achieving your future goals, such as:
Wealth creation The rise in the price of everyday items means that if you want to maintain or increase your current standard of living in the future, you need to create a sufficient corpus of wealth. You may also want to purchase a better car or a new house in the future. All this requires money, and it merely highlights the importance of wealth creation. It is possible to achieve these goals by carefully investing your money in the right avenues. Equity mutual funds can be a suitable option for long term goals. These funds could help the investor to accumulate wealth in the long run.
Retirement planning Your retirement may be 25 or 30 years in the future. But that does not mean you plan for it when you retire. To enjoy a happy and comfortable retired life, you need to start building your safety net right now. Planning at an early stage in life can help secure your future against financial uncertainties. Also, you invest lesser amounts if you start early and gain from the power of compounding which helps to build a large enough corpus over the 25-30 year period.
Child’s education Education has become very expensive, not only in India but across the world. And in future, this cost is only going to rise. This is why it is necessary to start planning from the moment your child is born. Calculate how much you wish to earn and start investing in long-term investment avenues that can help you achieve this goal. You can approach a financial advisor for advice if you are not sure how to proceed further.
Saving tax Every year, you are probably paying a substantial amount as tax. But you can now lower your tax outgo legally. The Indian Income Tax Act provides various provisions for people to reduce their tax outgo. By planning your taxes in advance, you can identify the best avenues to invest your money and reduce your taxable income. Mutual funds provide a tax efficient avenue for investing for your life goals.