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Have you had your financial health check-up?
Financial health check up is more important than a physical health checkup as financial problems could affect both physical health as well as mental health.
Here are some aspects that need your immediate attention.
1. Is your earnings more than your expenses? If you can’t increase your earnings, then the only option is to reduce your expenses.
2. Do you invest your savings intelligently? Your savings must earn you returns which are greater than the rate of inflation. If not, your savings will be eaten up by inflation.
3. What are your future commitments? Will your parents depend on you when they grow old? Are you going to fund your children’s higher education? Be realistic when you plan these commitments. Cost of higher education could double overnight.
4. Is salary your only earnings? If so, what have you done to increase your salary?
Have you invested in getting additional qualification, extra skills?
5. Do you know where you spend your money?
Lack of expenditure management is the number one cause of financial disaster. Remember the Chinese saying ‘It’s no use to have an umbrella when your shoes are leaking’.
6. What’s your financial IQ? Did your parents teach you financial lessons? Did your school and college give you any financial lessons? When it comes to your physical health, you always consult an expert doctor. When it comes to major decision concerning your financial health, do not hesitate to consult an expert. It’s worth the efforts and cost.
7. How much insurance do you have? Do you have insurance at all? We all think we’ll live forever. Man proposes; God disposes. The earlier you take insurance, the lower will be the premium. The thumb rule is to have a policy for an amount equal to your 12 month’s earnings.
Money ruins Matrimony
Next to infidelity and in-laws, its money that ruins matrimony. When I say money ruins matrimony, its not more money but less money. Seldom there is any argument about money, when the bank balance is healthy. Argument starts, when the bank balance falls below the danger mark.
Many marriages have ended even before they began because the concerned parents were not willing to reveal the true financial status of the families. Many families are debt-trapped because they borrowed heavily to finance a glittering wedding. Many young girls have turned into young widows because their parents married them to older men as they could not afford younger men.
Many marriages have gone sour because the wife did not approve her husband supporting his parents or the husband did not approve his wife supporting her parents. The debts accumulated by either partner before the marriage could also spoil the happiness in the marriage.
Addiction to shopping is another culprit that could destroy one’s marriage .Don’t buy things that you don’t need ,with money you don’t have to impress people who don’t matter” is the golden rule to follow if one of you is a compulsive shopper.
Many couples withhold financial information from each other, which is not a good practice. A joint account where partners deposit income and withdraw jointly can prevent many problems.
Financial problems affect men and women differently .Men resort to drinking, smoking and violent behavior. Women resort to crying or too much talking. Women also fell into depression, which leads to a fall in their libido, and in turn ruins their marriage.
Keeping your spouse informed about your financial position, consulting your spouse before making any major financial decisions, making efforts to increase your income and reduce unnecessary expenses, accepting and appreciating your spouse’s decision to support his or her parents are the four pillars that ensures that your matrimony is not ruined by money.
How genuine are discounts offered by discount shops?
No one will sell for a loss; except in distress. And never buy anything that is sold in distress because the things you buy are loaded with negative energy that will bring distress along with them.
It’s not uncommon to see that the prices in the discount shop are higher than the normal price in regular shops. The simple maths is that shops that offer a 50 percent discount have to raise their price by 100 percent. Its kind of a bait.’ Discount ‘is a word that attracts every shopper and sometimes people buy things they don’t need just because there is a discount.
Some shops offer a discount if you buy in bulk. If you buy on pair of shoes it will cost you one hundred dollars, whereas you can buy three pairs of shoes just for 200 dollars!. Simple logic. You buy wholesale; So you pay wholesale price. Do you really need three pairs of shoes?
Another reason for offering discounts could be obsoleteness. Old stocks or out of fashion stuff are offered for a discount to clear the shelves. Sometimes products which approach their expiry date or ‘best before’ date are offered a discount. It’s okay to buy this category provided you are going to consume them immediately.
Sometimes a genuine discount is offered on one product to attract people to the shop. The profit margin on other good’s sold in that shop will be higher than normal. The logic is no one will travel all the way to a particular shop for buying just one product.
At times a genuine discount is offered on cash purchases only due to cash flow problems faced by the shop keeper.But it is rare as nowadays it is easy to get banks finance your stock.
Remember the Chinese wisdom “Cheap things are not good; Good things are not cheap.” |
