Finances

Every body worries about money, whatever their circumstances. Money is the  currency of the world as without money we find it hard to navigate through life. There are all kinds of people-some who have lots of money, some who have small sums of money and some who have little or nothing.


Without money , a large part of life becomes very difficult as most experiences and opportunities cost money - education, a house, marriage, children, a vacation, a car, furniture, etc. Even friends and family can be kept happy and close when we have money to spend on them. But, like everything else money is available to those who know how to get money and look after money.


It all begins with belief. The more you believe that money is in your life and you can get it, the more money will flow into your life. The more you believe that money is tight, 'doesn't grow on trees' , 'not easy to come by' , it wont be easy to get money.


Next, once you have money, how you spend money will determine, how much money you will have to spend it over time. If you are a spendthrift, you will spend money like theres no tomorrow when you have money and then groan and moan when the money is all finished. If you are careful, you will save some of your money and spend some of it. If you are too stingy, then you will never enjoy the benefits of having money and will save all of it , no matter how much you have.


Now, financial discipline is learned from our parents or our immediate environment- our extended family, friends and colleagues. I too learnt about money from my family. I always saw and heard my dad talk about financial problems - a snot having enough money.  Its not that we did not have much money but w e were always made to be very careful with money- spending things carefully and calculating the cost of everything. Yet we mixed with very affluent people, went for  long vacations, went to good schools, ate good food and lived well.


But whenever there were set backs, there would be a pall of gloom in the house and we had to cut back on many things- going out, newspapers, long phone conversations, good clothes, etc. Essentially on the frills. and there would be fights at home, which would turn the environment ugly. So, I came to associate money or lack of it with fear and unhappiness. Somewhere, I also developed a fear of dealing with money also.

So, though I had a bank account as a kid, my dad dealt with it and later when I started earning, my brother started looking after my finances. Its not as if I was a total idiot ; I would buy some shares and stuff but I would still let my brother handle it and after my marriage , my husband took care of  most of the stuff for me.

When I started living alone, I took care of the stuff but only to the extent of doing whatever was necessary for  paying my taxes. Whatever papers came for me, I would put aside without looking at them . So, papers had just piled up over the years. I did not know when my fixed deposits or other investments would mature. I did not invest my money properly so lost out on many opportunities over the years. My brother panicked during a bad market phase and sold off some of my blue chip shares and that was a terrible mistake. I had an ongoing problem with my husband and he did not sign some papers and so I lost a huge some of money.

Not only that. When you send a message to the world that you are not in control of your money, the world takes control. So that's what happened. I got bad and sometimes downright fraudulent advise from my bankers, insurance brokers and tax advisers.  People I asked to help me out of this mess wanted their own pound of flesh. It was a sordid mess. I got  more frightened as I felt I had no way out.  I thought I would end up penny pinching and griping about every penny I spent.

But, NO! A big No. I decided somewhere along the way, to take things into my own hands. I started with what I could do. I tried to reduce the number of bank accounts that I had. I tried to put together a picture of my finances. I tried to leaf through my financial papers. I started making piles of different  things- bank, insurance, FDs, shares ,etc. 

 But no ! A big NO! One thing that I learnt from my parents especially my father was to save and spend cautiously. This stood me in good stead. I  therefore didn't have to worry about where money would come from as I knew that I had enough . But I also noticed a trend. Like my dad , I did get antsy and worried what would happen in the future. would I have enough money to live comfortably , the rest of my days or would inflation eat it all up ? 

Things were also getting more expensive. Costs were going up all round. I knew I had to do something. I decided somewhere along the way, that I was no longer going to wait . I would take the matter into my own hands.  I started with what I could do. I decided to make sense of what I had. I made separate piles of  all my fiscal papers. I started tackling things one by one and as I did that , I found my fears slowly melting away. I was able to make sense of most of the stuff.

 I slowly started being able to take care of my finances and ask good and sometimes smart questions of my bankers, insurance brokers , tax advisers , etc. They too would respond more positively and I started to get more money in terms of better deals, better interest rates , better refunds , etc. I was able to follow up on many things and that brought in more money. By selling off or closing useless accounts or deals , I was able to reduce my paperwork and portfolio. So, I am now in better shape financially and getting even better everyday.

Another thing I have consciously done is to think in terms of more money and dream bigger than what I would be able to think a few years earlier. I think having a goal in mid helps a sit sets you on a path. You can always revise your goal along the way , if you feel this is easily achievable.

So, from something which started out as a huge problem in my life and that which gave me sleepless nights, it has actually become a real blessing in my life as it is helping me come to terms with what I have and help me to have more so that I am better off and comfortable. Another benefit is that I discovered that the money I have could give me decent returns, if I managed it well and spare me the  sleepless nights!!