Know Your Money

Short of money??
Its been 4 years I have been working in IT firm and the good part is that my pay has been doubled from where I started. But the bad news is that my condition is still the same:  'Hand to mouth'.

Will it ever improve?
That's a big question and my answer to it is 'Yes! It will'. I am so confident about this 'Yes' because I am financially literate. I have been planning my finances, savings, investments from the day 1 of my job.

Are you financially literate?

Most of you are not. It does not need an MBA or CA or some certifications to understand financial topics. Most of you are earning well and leading a well to do life but have you planned for your future?
Do you have job security? Are you sure you'll never get critical illness? Do you have a back-up plan?

People around me are earning well. My peers who started their career at the same time as I did are now earning 2-3 times more than me.
Where am I. What am I doing with my my life.
There is a lot of money in this world. Only I don't have it.

Sometimes I envy those who started their career with me but are living a much better life, owning a car, having well-to-do status. But the very next thought that comes to my mind is ' I'll be in a better position than them 10 years down the line because I have planned my future. Others too have planned it but their planning is solely based on their savings and insurance. I've planned it with investments.

Saving vs Investments

Though its often used interchangeably but both are different. Saving means putting aside a part of your income you are not using now so that you can use it in emergency or for buying something in future while investment means buying assets like stocks, bonds, mutual funds or real state with the expectation that your investment will make money for you.

There is a lot to be explained about investment like assets, liabilities, emergency fund, financial freedom, balance sheet, networth, liquidity, insurance, FD, RD, money myths, financial misconceptions, etc etc... It's an unending list. But I will keep this article open ended for you to explore whether you really Know Your Money !!