2nd innings .....

You can always make a beginning .....

2017-09-03T03:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings

It has been a memorable last few days in my life.
Firstly, my family members celebrated my birthday which was truly an emotional event.
I did not realize that they had planned so many things to make it a memorable event.
Time really flies before you start realizing that your near and dear ones are doing something for you which you have been doing for them till last few years.
This was followed by birthday celebrations of my son which was another memorable event.
In fact only a few days, less than a week, separate the two events and I look forward to it every year.
To tell you the truth these are the moments in our lives which give us inspiration and happiness.

And now I go back to my favorite subject of financial planning and securities.
Many of us, in fact most of us. born in 50's to 90's have not been exposed to any such planning as a result of which it becomes difficult for us to survive financially post retirement.
But "It’s never too late ...."
Let us make a beginning even now.

As we approach our retirement, the first and foremost need is to exercise control over household expenditure even though the income from employment continues to flow in. I do not mean to say that you start compromising on your lifestyle but try to do away with unnecessary expenditures which is left to your wisdom. As the number of dependents drop and there may not be any need for newer physical assets like a house and car because you might have already got it, expenses as a percentage of income should ideally drop. The fact of the matter is the in retirement the income literally stops but the spending continues.

If the acquired assets you use in retirement to generate income do not take care of the expenses that your household is used to, an inevitable compromise in the quality of life is bound to follow.

There are generally two types of expenses, mandatory and discretionary. Mandatory expenses are the ones that any household has to incur under any circumstances while the discretionary expenses are the ones purely driven by the lifestyle and leisure preferences. When income increases and more money is available after catering to mandatory expenses, there is a general tendency in the human beings to increase the discretionary expenses. However, when these expenses are habitually incurred, they create a lifestyle creep, or the forced conversion of the discretionary expenses into mandatory ones which one should be careful about. So one must be careful on spending habits. Credit cards usage are always a temptation to many and there is nothing wrong in it but remember you are in reality playing with your future.

Secondly, it is never too late to start saving for retirement. Some express remorse that they did not start early as mandated by retirement planners. They start worrying if it is too late already. What the advocates of early saving miss is the power of quantity. In fact the reality of many households is that large amounts are available to save only as one advances in age, and income.

The percentage of income that a household saves should progressively increase with time. Beginning with a 30% saving rate when you start earning, a household should ideally reach a 50% saving rate by the 50s and with increased incomes in the later years, set aside more towards retirement. If a household took 15 years to build its first million in assets, it will typically find itself able to build the second million in the next 10, and the third and more in the next five.

Thirdly, you must retire debts of all kind before retirement. A typical parent takes loans to provide best possible education to his children by way of sending them to the best schools and colleges. The children will soon graduate and start holding paying jobs that should enable them to repay the loan. The parent should seek a transfer of the loan to the child and relieve themselves of the debt.

Ideally, your retirement corpus should earn enough income to simply replace your salary income when you retire. However, not everyone has saved enough and even if they have, the corpus is not invested such that it can generate adequate income. Loan repayments burden the already fragile corpus and its earnings. It is a good idea to strive towards debt frees 50s as a financial goal.

Fourthly, begin to work towards your next career even as you continue to earn and thrive in the current job. It is not a good idea to begin seeking a job after retirement, when the networks, contacts, and connections have all served from the job you were doing earlier. Find out what you would like to do, and work towards securing it early. I have already discussed in detail on this aspect in my previous blog,

A well thought out plan of what you would do after retirement, and investment of time, money and energy in securing that pursuit, will help tide over the constraint of not having an adequate retirement corpus. Earning for a few years after retirement means is always good as you do not draw on your corpus and thus give it the ability to grow in value.

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And lastly, ensure that your assets are aligned to work best for you, post retirement. The textbook prescription is to have 30% in property, 30% in equity and 30% in fixed income. The balance 10% could be in cash and gold. The property is likely to be the one you live in. The equity will secure your retirement, growing in value and protecting you from inflation. The fixed income will deliver the income for your expenses.

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It is not impossible even at the age of around 50, to realign assets to the above ratio, provided you haven’t invested too much in real estate, have the determination and will power not to overspend, and are in the mind frame of building assets through aggressive saving and investing habits.

Cheers

My blogs can be viewed on

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kumarskumar.blogspot.com
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Taking Guard In Second Innings....

2017-08-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

Hello friends

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi which is a very important festival for us in India.
It is also known as Vinayak Chaturthi that reveres God Ganesha. This festival celebrates him as the God of good beginnings, prosperity and obstacle remover. It lasts for 10 days.
So I also thought of making a beginning on another good topic which is on how to keep on working post retirement.
During professional career, all of us plan for our financial goals to cater to different phases of our lives and try to achieve them. It's a different matter all together whether post retirement needs are adequately taken care of in the calculations because most of us might not have been able to do it correctly. And especially in today's scenario when people do not have time for such planning it still becomes more difficult for them. In fact by the time you realize you are already there and ill prepared to lead a comfortable life post retirement.
There is a big difference in the month prior to retirement when you get you last pay cheque and the next month when you cease to get it. There is a sort of mental turmoil and you take time to adjust to the change scenario. But this can be faced with confidence and composure if you are well prepared for it by planning well in advance.
Also one would like to keep on working for few more years, say till the age of 65 to 70 years because it is not only a need in the current scenario but it also allows people not only to keep themselves engaged but also physically and mentally fit.
I for one found it very difficult to kill time post retirement though it was enjoyable for 2 to 3 months immediately after retirement.
With increased longevity more and more people are choosing to work after retirement. Whether by choice or not, one thing is clear - it requires a lot of patience, perseverance and careful planning to build the 2nd innings career. You may have to change your lifestyle, plan finances and acquire new skills and knowledge. Ideally most learning has to be done during earning years, especially the finances.If you want to work after retirement because you were not able to save enough during working life, the 2nd innings career can be an opportunity to make amends.
However, there is another school of thought that one should retire early and live out of passive earning which a small percentage achieve.
It is also true that a few people can get extension for a few years in private sector companies but this caters to a very small percentage. The best way is to prepare well in advance by giving due consideration to all available options. It also goes without saying that one can always take help of experienced people in this regards.
The following may be considered by those who would like to be in the first category :
1. Consultancy
2. Teaching
3. Professional speaking and writing
4. Get attached with an insurance company
5. Get attached to a mutual fund organisation
6. Make hobby your career, say photography, sports, review writer etc
7. Set up business on e commerce platform
8. Blog writing
9. Affiliate marketing
10. IT related activities, launch your own website
11. Child care
12. Equity market
13. Restaurant
14. Cab service
15. Proof reading and correcting
16. Copy - pasting
The above are a few areas which one can consider depending upon your expertise acquired in professional career but the important thing is to try to start learning about the same well in advance so that you are ready to undertake a smooth transition when the need arises. But one can add many more to the above list.
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Self employment is a little tricky.You need funds to set up your own business and also keep running your household. You can build the corpus required for the business with slightly higher exposure to equity but be a bit conservative on household expenses.
Whether you decide to extend your tenure in the current job or start a business or work part time in the field of your expertise or enter a new field, the key to success is to do something you love, albeit with enough resources to back the new beginning.
If someone has entrepreneurial capabilities he or she should never sit at home. All you need to do is to take the plunge and be passionate about your work and the rest will automatically fall in place.

Life is more beautiful, meaningful and productive when you choose to do something fruitful in the 2nd innings of your life.

Let us chase our dreams and make a career out of them.

Excited to be alive every single day

My blogs can be viewed on
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kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on twitter

1.

It's never too late ...

2017-08-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

It's a little over two weeks since I posted my last blog. This is because I have been travelling for celebration of a special family event which is held on yearly basis. It has been a memorable event and this is what we look for as we catch up with our age. I could see, feel and be a part of the happiness which swept all of us. Time flies...Isn't it ?

But I also observed the changes in our physical appearances, the health related issues and other things which all of us are confronted with one way or the other.

This brings us to a very important topic of healthcare for senior persons.

In this blog of mine I continue on my favourite but very important ongoing topic of financial planning and security. And this blog is to do with health insurance.

With no formal training in the earlier days and even now to a large extent for that matter, many of us are not equipped to lead a comfortable post retirement life when the basic needs are confined to day to day living and health care apart from other activities which may vary from person to person.

As we approach our retirement we are faced with possible monetary and emotional anxieties during impending retirement years. We are deeply concerned about funds for healthcare even though many of us may be having guaranteed pensions for life. We have to accept that old age comes with high probability of medical needs and here comes the health insurance into picture. Nobody wants to be dependent on their children for this need because they themselves have to look after their own selves and their families. Moreover social security is not available everywhere and hence most of us in India are on our own when it comes to health insurance.

But this is one part of the story. The other part relates to what we have to offer to such people.

It is not easy to get a fresh health insurance policy without a number of restrictions and exemptions and with affordable premiums. Also there are not enough insurance plans to cater to unexpected requirements. And to top it all there can be major ailments which may not have adequate protection in terms of insurance.

Though some changes have taken place in the last few years but there is still a lot to be done to help senior persons in their sunset years. What really is needed is to understand the real issues and bring in laws to make it convenient and with affordable premiums.

In many countries we can find insurance companies offering long term health care policies. The premiums are required to be paid during entire working life of a person enabling him or her a secured insurance cover post retirement. This is what can be introduced everywhere for the benefit of elderly human beings.

The best way forward in my opinion is to keep a check on our health right from the very beginning so that the requirement of medical care other than routine is minimized. Also let us decide not to switch over to total retired life immediately after retirement but get involved in mental and physical activity like yoga, walking, reading, travelling etc. which will certainly go a long way in keeping ourselves fit. In fact this must go on even till our last breath. This apart we must have suitable health insurance policy, renewed every year in time.

And above all we should be in constant touch with ever evolving world and use it to our advantage if need be.

It's never too late to make a beginning ...

Enjoy life till the last breath ...

My blogs can be viewed on
https://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

It's never too late ...

2017-08-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

But I also observed the changes in our physical appearances, the health related issues and other things which all of us are confronted with one way or the other.

This brings us to a very important topic of healthcare for senior persons.

In this blog of mine I continue on my favourite but very important ongoing topic of financial planning and security. And this blog is to do with health insurance.

But this is one part of the story. The other part relates to what we have to offer to such people.

And above all we should be in constant touch with ever evolving world and use it to our advantage if need be.

It's never too late to make a beginning ...

Enjoy life till the last breath ...

My blogs can be viewed on
https://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

The Power Of Emotional Intelligence....

2017-07-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

Hello friends

In today's world Financial Management is a key aspect of our lives and I always love to share my experiences on this subject. In fact this is what I have done in my last few blogs. But today I would like to dwell upon another important subject which impacts life of our younger generation.
It is Emotional Intelligence.
In simple words it is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and emphatically. For most people, emotional intelligence is more important than one's intelligence in attaining success in their lives and careers. As individuals our success and the success of the profession today depend on our ability to read other people's signals and react appropriately to them. Hence it is imperative for us to develop the mature emotional intelligence skills required to better understand, empathize and negotiate with other people, particularly because the economy has become more global. Otherwise success will elude us in our lives and careers.

There are five categories of emotional intelligence :
1. Self awareness - This is the ability to recognize an emotion as it happens. Developing self awareness requires requires tuning in to your true feelings. If you evaluate your emotions you can manage them.
2.Self regulation - You often have little control over when you experience emotions. But there are number of techniques to alleviate negative emotions such as anger, anxiety or depression. a few of these techniques involve recasting a situation in a more positive light, taking along walk or meditation or prayer.
3.Motivation - To motivate yourself for any achievement require clear goals and a positive attitude. Although you may have a predisposition to either a negative or positive attitude, you can with effort and practice, learn to think more positively.
4.Empathy - The ability to recognize how people feel is important to success in your life and career. The more skillful you are at discerning the feelings behind others' signals the better you can control the signals you send them.
5.Social skills - The development of good interpersonal skills tantamount to success in your life and career. In today's always connected world, everyone has immediate access to technical knowledge. Thus people skills are even more important now because you must possess a high emotional intelligence to better understand, empathize and negotiate with others in a global economy.
But the million dollar question is are we really aware of it ? Are we inculcating this trait in our children ? In fact do we ourselves realize the importance of it ? Is there any opportunity for a formal training on it ? Unfortunately the answer in most of the cases will be a NO. Let's try to understand a more about it.
Emotional intelligence plays an important role in developing social skills and creating healthy classroom environment through positive interpersonal relationships between teachers and students. It can facilitate the process of learning through harnessing the energy of positive emotions and controlling the adverse effects of negative emotions.
It is highly beneficial in the areas of education, work and mental health. There are research evidences which prove that the success in varied life situations and academic achievement depends largely on emotional intelligence. Being high in emotional intelligence is more important than being high in academic abilities.
School and college education is a phase in life which shapes up a personality and it is important for us to understand the psychological development of students during this age. The current indicator of intelligence for any student is measured by the academic performance and it becomes difficult to know if the performance of the student in academics is driven by any other factor or not. Academic achievement is the extent to which students acquire the knowledge, skills and proficiency that is taught to them.
Emotional intelligence can be classified as the ability to perceive and express emotion and thoughts of self as well as others. In simple words, emotional intelligence can be understood if an individual fits into the dimensions life self - regard where he or she can accurately perceive, understand and accept oneself, interpersonal relationship where a person is able to establish mutually satisfying relationships and relate well with others, a person who can control impulse, solve problems of a personal or inter personal nature, is aware of his or her emotions, is flexible enough to adapt and adjusts one's feelings and thinking to new situations, can introspect, can mange stress, and is assertive in effectively and constructively expressing one's emotion and can empathize with others.
In the present educational set up where students are expected to perform multiple roles with efficacy and effectiveness, it is imperative to develop in them the right attitude and emotional intelligence towards the complexities of life which are unknown and they must not be taken by surprise when confronted with.
The students actually play no active role in the attainment of knowledge. Their entire education is passive and mechanical. To create confident students and to assure certainty of successful academic achievement , it is very important to develop their personality with emotional intelligence including stress handling traits. It would not only make them competent but also they will be able to analyse the reasons of failure and initiate corrective action as required..
Emotional intelligence is considered as a successful predictor of academic achievement. It has been claimed by the researchers that emotional intelligence predicts achievement at schools, colleges and universities.
It is also found that emotional intelligence abilities lead to superior performance even in the most intellectual careers. As a measured construct, emotional intelligence is predictive of academic achievement as well as success in the workplace.
It is also seen that relatively high anxiety improves performance on simple and well practiced tasks but lowers performance on new or difficult tasks.
By understanding emotions and how to control them, they will be able to express own feelings and others' feelings better. This will help to interact and communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships, both at work and in their personal life.
The need of the hour is to formalize and impart a well structured training on emotional intelligence by including it in the curriculum. But most importantly the onus lies on the parents to demonstrate it to their children on a sustained basis, for them to emulate and imbibe.

Excited to keep on learning new things
Gratitude

My blogs can be viewed on
http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on twitter

The Power Of Emotional Intelligence....

2017-07-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Art of managing retirement corpus...

2017-07-23T06:04:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Financial planning and the art of managing our post retirement corpus is a fascinating topic to me and I am going to dwell upon it in my today's blog.
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Retirement is the act of retiring or of leaving one's job, career or occupation permanently, usually because of age or early retirement because of critical illness and/or disability. It's not an event but a long phase in your life that can last up to three to four decades Your financial situation will certainly undergo a sea change when you retire. Your income is likely to fall and spending patterns often change as you grow older, for example you have paid all the loans etc which you might have taken for buying a house, child's education, child's marriage etc.
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During those decades, your corpus will be subjected to inflation which, in turn, will adversely affect the value of your savings. If your savings do not give you enough return, you are going to run out of them within your lifetime and left high and dry on the financial front .
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But there are ways and means to prevent this from happening. It would have been of immense help if this would have been a subject of teaching in schools and colleges but it's not so as of now. You can take help of experts and experienced people in this field which is not difficult to find. Yours truly is one such person having lived and experienced my financial journey and now trying to help people.

The first part is to save enough during your working years and invest the savings wisely.
Don't wait until after you have retired to deal with changes to your financial circumstances. Many of these changes can be estimated and prepared for in advance. By drawing up a budget for your expected income and spending as early as possible you will give yourself a much greater sense of control over your situation.
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You can always revise your budget later to reflect any areas where your estimates were wrong.If your budget reveals a gap between your spending and your income, then you need to look for ways to increase your income, cut your spending, or both.
Your budget of income and spending might identify areas where you are spending more than you might have expected, and where you think you could easily spend less.

If you haven't retired yet, you might still have time in the last few years before retirement to boost your pension income by increasing your contributions by as much as you can afford. The option can be especially attractive if your employer will partly or fully match your extra contributions.
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Another option might be to defer the date on which you start taking your pension income which can increase your income because your savings have longer to build up and your pension will be payable for for a shorter period.
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The second part is about deriving income from these savings after you have retired.
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The basic requirement is self - evident: you should spend only that part of your investment returns that exceed the inflation rate. The single most important thing to understand is that you must reserve the real, inflation-adjusted value of your principal, and not just the nominal face value. So how do you do this ? One such instrument is equity backed mutual funds.
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Let's take a simplified example. Suppose you retire today with Rs. 2 crores as your retirement savings. You place it in a bank fixed deposit. A year later, it is worth Rs. 2.14 crores. So you have earned Rs. 14 lakhs, which you can spend. But there is a twist here. Assuming a realistic inflation rate of 5%, if you want to preserve the real value of your principal, you must leave Rs. 2.10 crore in the bank. That leaves Rs. 4 lakh that you can withdraw to spend over an year, which is Rs. 33333 a month which is surely not enough for a middle class person.
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The interesting thing is that this calculation does not change even when interest rates rise because inflation and interest track each other quite closely. But very few people in middle class will have a retirement corpus of Rs. 2 crore. So it can be very will imagined what will be the plight of those who have a corpus of say, Rs. 1 crore or 50 lakhs or even less.
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Further, there have been periods of time when the fixed income interest rate has been below the inflation rate. Moreover, income tax has to be paid whether you realize the returns or not. There can be a situation when the interest rate barely exceeds the inflation rate and the income tax on the interest effectively reduces the value of the money.
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The situation is quite different in equity linked mutual funds. Unlike deposits, they are high earning but volatile. In any given year, the returns could be high or low, but over 5 to 7 years or more, they comfortably exceed inflation by 6 to 7% or even more. The returns may fluctuate in individual years, and that's something which you have to put up with, but the threat of old age poverty does not exist.
In such funds, one can comfortably withdraw 4% a year and still have a comfortable safety margin. On top of that, there is no income tax.

As long as the period of investment is greater than one year, returns from equity funds are completely tax free. This means that to have a given monthly expenditure through equity funds, you need just half the investment that you would make in deposits. An additional advantage in this case is, no matter how high your savings and expenditure, it's all tax free.
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People are gradually learning to appreciate this idea and have started doing it.
They tend to be those who have used equity funds to their advantage as their savings vehicle anyway and are used to the idea of ignoring short term volatility in the interest of long term gains. However, the vast majority of Indian retirees are still wedded to the mythical safety that deposits provide and end up facing tragic problems as they grow older.
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Do you realize that there is no need for you to be one of them ?
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What one should do in today's scenario ?
1. Take help of experts for your financial planning
2. Save 30% of your earning right from day one
3. Start planning for your retirement the day you start earning
4. Remember it's not only you but also your spouse which you need to consider for planning
5. Do not plan to depend upon your children or anybody for that matter for your post retirement needs because they have their own needs and in most cases they will not be in a position to accommodate you even if they have the intention to do so
6. Follow 100 minus age allocation rule which is a rule of thumb developed over the years in the attempt to provide guidance for equity and debt allocation decisions.
a) Subtract your current age from 100 and the resulting number is the percentage that you must allocate to equities and remaining to the debt asset class. This means that if your current age is 30 years, you should put in 70% in equities while 30% should go to debt.
b) As the age increases the allocation to equities keep declining, reducing volatility and risk of the portfolio.
c) This rule might be a good starting point, but it is not aligned with the financial goals which are the actual purpose of creating a financial portfolio and building a corpus.
7. Always have a diversified portfolio
8. And above all life insurance has to be the first instrument when you get your first pay cheque
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Wishing you all lots of financial planning, real planning...
God bless !

My blogs can be viewed on
http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumarblogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on twitter

Art of managing retirement corpus...

2017-07-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

Art of building wealth ...

2017-07-17T08:00:00.001-07:00

Good evening

In my last blog I touched upon financial security and planning.
Today I would like to share my experiences on the art of creating wealth.
At a young age when you have just gone through your campus interview and got your dream job, you are excited and the urge to indulge in lavish spend is hard to resist. It goes without saying that starting out on your first ever work assignment in a new work place and receiving that first ever monthly cheque gives one a strong sense of mental independence and freedom.
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But once you reach there you have to be ready to handle your responsibilities which many of the young adults even are apprehensive of discussing, leave aside the planning part. It will be totally incorrect on my part to blame anyone of you but it is people like us who should take the lead and educate their children about this very important phase of life without thrusting our views on them. I always believe that today's generation is much more enlightened but need help and guidance to channelize their energy and creativity.

This is the phase when one makes important life choices, not only in personal life but in matters relating to finances too. These choices involve various desires; to be rich, to buy a car, to buy a house, to start a family, travel to exotic places around the world, safety of the family and yourself, children's education & marriage, to do something for your parents, to have a comfortable retired life without compromising on lifestyle etc.

Some of these needs may seem too far fetched right now, but sooner or later you will be compelled to start thinking of them which is inevitable. And the sooner you finalize them the better it will be for you in future.

Always remember your desires are end goals and to achieve these there are some basic principles which must be followed.
* Needs and desires:
1. Write down your financial goals, take help if need be.
2. Include factors which may impact on it, like how much and where you are going to invest, the investment time horizon, the risks you can afford to take etc.
3. Specify action plan for each goal.
4. Get it concurred by those who know about it and matter to you
5. Implement in Toto
6. Follow up and review
7. Introduce corrective measures if required
8. Resist immediate gratification as it never pays in the long run

* Go from the day you start earning with long term perspective:
The earlier you start, less is the amount required to earn better returns. For example, you are 25 years old and start investing Rs. 10000 every month, at 12% average yearly rate of return, At 55, you could land up with a Rs. 3.5 crore corpus. Now if you had started 10 years later, that is at 35 years of age, at 55, your corpus will nearly be Rs. 1 crore. Your corpus shrinks by two - third just because you missed those 10 golden years of investing.
This is because of compounding of your investment. .

* Always start with insurance first :
As I said earlier this has to be the most important part of your portfolio. Gone are the days when people in this field used to talk about death, some still do, but it's now life we refer to in insurance.
This also includes health insurance apart from mandatory vehicle insurance.You need to enjoy your investments and live life king size as long as you live.
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* No amount is too small :
You can always make a beginning by investing as little as Rs. 500 in a mutual fund, which works as a great tool for investing into asset classes like stocks, bonds and gold. And the most important aspect is that you develop a habit of saving and investing consistently, and discipline in the long run.
One must not forget that there is always a need to move on from 'investing what is left after spending' mindset to 'spending whatever is left after investing'. This philosophy will certainly ensure long term wealth creation. And never forget that as your income grows, start allocating more money towards achieving your goals.

* Risk management :
It is always advisable not to park your money only in one or two instruments. Always invest in different financial instruments which allows your risks to spread across the risk return spectrum. This will also help you to get a chance to understand various instruments and also gradually increase your returns by concentrating on the allocation. Remember, the advantage of being young is that you can take on maximum risks considering you don't have many dependents in most of the cases. But it's equally important to have the appetite for it.
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* Learn from experience of others
You being a young and excited investor are bound to make mistakes and learning from such mistakes is a continuous process. It always helps to join a group of like minded people with similar financial position and aspiration where you can use the platform to share and learn from each other's mistakes.

* Shamelessly seek help :
Great people on this planet earth have never been shy of asking for help from anybody and everybody which pays without an iota of doubt. Why should we ? Never shy away from asking for help, especially when it comes to investing for your future. If you are busy with your job or unable to do time management or don't have enough information to plan your finances, take the help of a qualified financial adviser to do so.
There are many experienced brains to provide help and guidance.

* Trust yourself :
And, last but not the least, trust yourself once you have accepted the philosophy. Don't get deterred by obstacles which are bound to be there during the journey, as long as your goals are well defined and you never loose sight of them.

* Extent of information :
Now let me share a case study to throw more light on the subject.
Two competing explanations as to why consumers have trouble with financial decisions are gaining momentum day by day. One is that people are financially illiterate, lack understanding of simple economic concepts ahttp://www.kqzyfj.com/pb115iqzwqyDMHHINIKDFEIKKKGGnd cannot carry out simple exercises such as computing compound interest leading to sub optimal financial decisions. That is, some people persistently choose immediate gratification, instead of taking advantage of larger long term payoffs. This is because it has never been taught anywhere in school or college and you are suddenly up against the challenges at a young age.
fly Business Class to more than 85 destinations
Experiments show that the measure of impatience is a strong predictor of wealth and investment in health. Financial literacy is also correlated with wealth though it appears to be a weaker predictor of sensitivity to framing in investment decisions.

A study was made on the behavior of a bunch of MBA students in managing a small endowment portfolio that invested in a simulated financial market, in two mutual funds, under a set of pre-decided rules. Before the game began, one had to choose how often he would like to receive information about performance of the fund i.e.every moth, every year or five years. And then only he could change the allocation.

After 25 years of simulation, those who got performance information every five years earned more than twice than who got monthly feedback.The answer lied partly in the nature of the two funds money was invested. The one which invested in bonds, had low average rate of return but also a much higher variance, losing money in 40 of the months in five years. In the long run, the best returns resulted from investing all of the money in the stock fund, since the higher return made up for the losses.

This fund rarely had a losing year and never had a losing five year stretch. People who got monthly feedback, got a lot of information but it was short term information that was not representative of the true, long term pattern of performance for the two funds. The short term information created an illusion of knowledge that the equity fund was too risky. More information may have led to less understanding for the investors.

* What Young Adults Should Know ?
1. Where does your money come from ?
2.Where does your money go ?
3.Learning the difference between needs and demands
4.How to budget with the money you have ?
5.Save some money for a rainy day
6. Difference between saving and investing
7. How compounding works ?
8. Why taxes matter ?
AND ABOVE ALL
9. 30-70 mantra - Save 30% of your earning consistently come what may happen and manage lifestyle with 70%. Remember it is your money.
10. Plan for your retirement the day you start earning

Wishing you all a great beginning on achieving financial freedom...

My blogs are available on

http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

Art of building wealth ...

2017-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

A study was made on the behavior of a bunch of MBA students in managing a small endowment portfolio that invested in a simulated financial market, in two mutual funds, under a set of pre-decided rules. Before the game began, one had to choose how often he would like to receive information about performance of the fund i.e.every moth, every year or five years. And then only he could change the allocation.

After 25 years of simulation, those who got performance information every five years earned more than twice than who got monthly feedback. The answer lied partly in the nature of the two funds money was invested. The one which invested in bonds, had low average rate of return but also a much higher variance, losing money in 40 of the months in five years. In the long run, the best returns resulted from investing all of the money in the stock fund, since the higher return made up for the losses.

This fund rarely had a losing year and never had a losing five year stretch. People who got monthly feedback, got a lot of information but it was short term information that was not representative of the true, long term pattern of performance for the two funds. The short term information created an illusion of knowledge that the equity fund was too risky. More information may have led to less understanding for the investors.

* What Young Adults Should Know ?
1. Where does your money come from ?
2.Where does your money go ?
3.Learning the difference between needs and demands
4.How to budget with the money you have ?
5.Save some money for a rainy day
6. Difference between saving and investing
7. How compounding works ?
8. Why taxes matter ?
AND ABOVE ALL
9. 30-70 mantra - Save 30% of your earning consistently come what may happen and manage lifestyle with 70%. Remember it is your money.
10. Plan for your retirement the day you start earning

Wishing you all a great beginning on achieving financial freedom...

My blogs are available on

http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

Financial Security and Planning ....

2017-07-07T10:15:00.001-07:00

Hello

It has been a few days now since I wrote my last blog.

This is because God has given me another opportunity to share my real life experiences with my learned readers and I will be extremely happy if I can help a few people in securing their financial needs.

A few days back I received a call from a very reputed organisation in India to work with them as their Financial Adviser which I accepted. I have undergone the formal training and also cleared a mandatory examination conducted by a government institution. I am now a licensed Financial Adviser and hope to be of service to people to the best of my ability.

And this is what has led to slight delay in posting this blog of mine.

So toady I would like to share my experiences on financial security and planning.

The best way to define financial security is that it is the peace of mind we feel when we are not worried about our income being enough to meet our expenses. It also means that we have enough money saved to cover emergencies and our future financial goals.

It is the economic security, the condition of having the resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future.

Financial planning is a process to identify our goals; assets net worth; estimating future financial needs; and working towards meeting those needs. Goals are short term ( buying a TV, family vacation etc) , medium term (buying a car, house etc ) and long term( Children's education, their marriage,post retirement needs etc).

* Economic life cycle - It has 3 phases :

- Student phase : This is pre job phase where one is getting ready for earning phase.

- Working phase : This phase starts around 20 to 25 years of age and lasts for 35 to 40 years.

- Retirement phase : This phase is one where one has stopped working

* Individual life cycle -

- Learner, till the age of 25 : This is the learning phase of an individual

- Earner, 25 onwards : This is the phase when one starts earning

- Partner, 28 to 30 years : This is the phase when one gets married

- Parent, 30 to 35 years : This is the phase when one moves towards parenting

- Provider, 35 to 55 years : This is the phase when parents have to fulfill children's needs

- Empty Nester, 55 to 65 years : This is the phase when children get married

- Retirement, 60 years onwards : This is the phase when one gets retired and there is no regular source of income. Health also starts deteriorating.

* Individual needs

- Enabling future transactions - making provision for future transactions such as education, marriage etc.

- Meeting contingencies - keeping money for unforeseen events like unemployment, hospitalisatiom, death etc.

- Wealth accumulation - this is done for increasing value of money

The basics of financial planning is already understood by all of us but what really happens is that most of us have our savings and investments here and there which needs to be structured scientifically to give it the correct shape.

The following needs to be understood :

1. Start saving for your retirement the day you start earning:

It was my good fortune that I met someone way back in the year 1979 when I started earning who explained to me financial planning with major thrust on requirement at different stages of life and retirement needs. I was able to understand it and followed it throughout my professional career.

In fact I followed the principle of saving 30% of my earning on a consistent basis from the very beginning. Subsequently, I learnt that percentage savings should be equal to your age which means that if you are 40 years old, you save 40%, for 50 years 50% and so on and so forth. It needs lot of determination and nothing short of taking self pledge to achieve it but it pays rich dividends in the end.

2. Save for a rainy day

This can be an interesting goal such as our dream car, vacation, new furniture, renovation of house, a new house, marriage, children's education etc. We should save regularly in suitable funds or plans so that we are always ready to meet the requirement rather than being forced to shelve huge some of money on due dates from our bank balance.

3. Be prepared for an emergency

We generally like to think that nothing bad will happen to us but it is always better to be ready for any eventuality. This will safeguard the lives of our families if they are partially or fully dependent upon us. Even the best conceived plans can go awry by the requirement of an unforeseen expenditure.

Insurance is the basic need of every individual so that our lives are protected along with long term savings. This can be broadly classified as

a. Life insurance

b. Health insurance

c. Vehicle insurance

though there are other insurance requirement also in corporate or business or any other work field.
Insurance refers to protection against an event that might happen whereas Assurance refers to protection against an event that will happen.

d. Emergency fund is the one which allows us to meet our financial commitments for any unforeseen situation.

Before I end let me also remind you about a few more valuable considerations :

1. Life expectancy is going up and many of us would be living close to 85 to 90 years in next 2 to 3 decades

2. With disintegration of joint family and resultant modern day nucleus family, more and more people are forced to work post retirement

3. Inflation is something which we all understand and does not need any explanation here.

Hence financial planning is the need of the hour and sooner we understand and implement for ourselves, better for the mankind.

Gratitude

My blogs can be viewed on

http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

Financial Security and Planning ....

2017-07-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hello

It has been a few days now since I wrote my last blog.

And this is what has led to slight delay in posting this blog of mine.

So toady I would like to share my experiences on financial security and planning.

It is the economic security, the condition of having the resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future.

* Economic life cycle - It has 3 phases :

- Student phase : This is pre job phase where one is getting ready for earning phase.

- Working phase : This phase starts around 20 to 25 years of age and lasts for 35 to 40 years.

- Retirement phase : This phase is one where one has stopped working

* Individual life cycle -

- Learner, till the age of 25 : This is the learning phase of an individual

- Earner, 25 onwards : This is the phase when one starts earning

- Partner, 28 to 30 years : This is the phase when one gets married

- Parent, 30 to 35 years : This is the phase when one moves towards parenting

- Provider, 35 to 55 years : This is the phase when parents have to fulfill children's needs

- Empty Nester, 55 to 65 years : This is the phase when children get married

- Retirement, 60 years onwards : This is the phase when one gets retired and there is no regular source of income. Health also starts deteriorating.

* Individual needs

- Enabling future transactions - making provision for future transactions such as education, marriage etc.

- Meeting contingencies - keeping money for unforeseen events like unemployment, hospitalisatiom, death etc.

- Wealth accumulation - this is done for increasing value of money

The following needs to be understood :

1. Start saving for your retirement the day you start earning:

2. Save for a rainy day

3. Be prepared for an emergency

Insurance is the basic need of every individual so that our lives are protected along with long term savings. This can be broadly classified as

a. Life insurance

b. Health insurance

c. Vehicle insurance

d. Emergency fund is the one which allows us to meet our financial commitments for any unforeseen situation.

Before I end let me also remind you about a few more valuable considerations :

1. Life expectancy is going up and many of us would be living close to 85 to 90 years in next 2 to 3 decades

2. With disintegration of joint family and resultant modern day nucleus family, more and more people are forced to work post retirement

Engineering final year ...

2017-06-23T10:01:00.001-07:00

Good evening

Today I continue to talk about my final year of engineering course which in fact got extended into 5th year because of the political movement about which I made a reference in my last blog. In fact our session was disrupted midway and it took a few months before normalcy could be restored. This meant that we had literally lost one precious year but this was something over which we didn't have any control and so accepted it. Perhaps God had different plans for us and of course better ones.

One usually takes time to adjust to the food that is normally provided in hostels. You like it in the beginning because it's different to what you are used to at your respective places but you gradually start looking for a change as the hostel food is repetitive having the same menu and taste time and again. I am not blaming anybody but that's a hard fact of hostel life.

That's why there were occasions when we dined out and skipped the hostel food. But what we did in the last 02 years was that we decided to run our own mess as it was allowed and the institution was providing all the utensils free of any charge.

The rules we framed for the 8 of us of Octet group were quite different to what was prevalent during those days. We were able to hire a good cook of our choice. We also decided that our mess will be closed on every Sunday evening and the management will be changed in rotation at the same time. This allowed us to dine out every Sunday evening. And we really enjoyed this system as the food was of our choice and cooked with great love ❤️ and care.

This apart we used to go for evening walk for about an hour every day, took a cup of tea, recharge our batteries and get down to study thereafter. This brought us closer even more. We would discuss on different subjects ranging from job, films, politics, family etc while we were walking. Life was really worth it during those days.

Time passed by and we all were putting in our best efforts to do well at the final examination.
We also knew that we would be separating physically once the exams were over and wanted the enjoy the remaining days like anything. But we never did it at the cost of our studies. Fortunately, all the 8 of us came from middle class families and more or less were of studious type but not bookworms.

Another important and interesting part of engineering courses which possibly is prevalent even now in some institutions that the final result was declared considering certain percentages of the marks obtained in each year. In our case it was 25% of first year, 50% of 2nd year and 100% each of 3rd and 4th years. This could be one reason why some students do not concentrate fully in 1st and 2nd years.

I kept on telling myself that I must prove myself to myself and this is what I did. I did very well at the examination and was confident to secure a good percentage. My joy knew no bounds when the results were declared and I passed out in first class with Distinction. You needed to score a minimum of 70% for getting 1st division and minimum 75% to be awarded the Distinction. I can't say whether such a system exists now, possibly no.

I was naturally delighted with my achievement and wanted to inform my parents then and there but the fastest communication system was through STD calls during those days. And you had to wait after booking the call. It's not that you could simply dial and get connected. You could not depend upon Telegrams or Phonograms as their delivery used to be erratic at times.

We did not have any nearby STD booth and traveled some distance to find one. I informed my parents and could realize that they were literally in tears. And above all I was the first ever engineer from our family.

Now of course there are lots of engineers, doctors and lawyers in our family but the satisfaction of being the first engineer continues to be fresh even till today.

So to sum up and refresh about what I wrote in my few blogs in the beginning that I was witness to a bridge being constructed in 1960s which happened to be located behind my primary school. I was overawed by watching the manner in which the workforce used to deliver. I saw one engineer literally running on steel beams at that height without any proper barricading fearlessly and that is when I decided that I also wanted to be one of them.

And rest is history....

U can view my blogs on

http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

Engineering final year ...

2017-06-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Engineering 4th year...

2017-06-16T09:24:00.001-07:00

Hello

Today I would like to share my journey of 4th year of engineering course.
It should have been the final year but was not to be.
Upon declaration of result of 3rd year, all of us were asked to move to another hostel as per the rules of the institution and I always enjoyed such changes. It's my basic nature to look for changes, new things, explore the world and keep on learning every minute. Life is the greatest teacher.

Our classes began and I concentrated hard on my studies. But there was something going to happen which was totally unexpected and unimaginable. Our session got disrupted due to one very famous political movement at that time, details of which I would not like to share here as it will not be correct on my part to do so.
The end result was that our session got delayed by a year and we were left high and dry. To tell you very frankly I was planning for my future life post engineering course before this movement happened which changed so many lives.
I don't have any grudge against the movement because I was also supporting it. But there was one thing which was hurting my conscience; I didn't want to trouble my father any more for bearing the expenses for one extra year.
He was taking care of all his five sons during those days all of whom were studying. In fact I had my eldest sister and brother next to her whom I never saw because they left this world even before I was born; the dreaded incurable brain fever at that time took them away from us. My mother used to tell us about them and I remember each and every word of her.
In fact I wanted to complete my studies and do something for my parents. They sacrifices to give us the best of the world are inconceivable and incomparable. It's a different matter altogether that state government granted my scholarship for this one extra year also but the money came quite late while I was in corporate life.
It's also not that my father could not support us well; no, not at all. He was a very famous lawyer and one would like to emulate what he achieved in life but it was just one of those things that I wanted to do something for my parents.
I have vivid memory of buying a black dial Titan wrist watch for him out of my scholarship for Rupees 169 in the year 1975. He was in tears when I went to his office in the evening hours upon reaching home from my college during one of the vacations and tied the watch on his left wrist.
In my excitement I possibly forgot that he was in the midst of some important discussions with his clients but I just went inside. The happiness and tears in his eyes said it all.
Another such instance which I remember fondly is when I presented a silk sari to my mother, again out of my scholarship costing Rupees 109 at that time, a cream colored sari with red border and she was overjoyed. Words need not be spoken to express your sentiments on such occasions because it is felt from heart.
I am sure all of us must have undergone such experience at some point in our respective lives especially when we are not earning but managing to show our love and affection to our dear ones. And the dear ones in our younger days will invariably be our parents. They are no more in this world but I remember them every day and will continue to do so till my last day.
These are unforgettable moments in my life. Such instances flash before my eyes many a times especially when I am gradually catching up with my age and leading a somewhat lonely life because you do need sometime to adapt to post retirement life as compared to hectic 36 years of corporate world.
But my wife is always there to support me. She is the greatest source of strength and inspiration to me. To me she is the most beautiful woman in true sense on this planet earth; a great friend, a great mother; a great human being and what not. I keep on learning so many things from her. And above all my grand daughter is the one who gives me tremendous happiness 24 x 7. Also I do not have any complaints with what I have today because God has always been very kind to me and he continues to be so.
This is life...there is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.
Life is also an experiment. The more experiments we make the better. Let us also remember the gospel truth; Do not take life seriously. We will never get out of it alive.
My next blog will be the concluding one as far as my engineering course days sharing is concerned.
Till then..

Gratitude

Please view my blogs on
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
www.familyisreal.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on Twitter

Engineering 4th year...

2017-06-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

engineering 3rd year....

2017-06-10T08:52:00.001-07:00

Hello,

In my short stint of little over two months of blog writing, I have so far posted 26 blogs and this is the 27th. It has been a great experiencing sharing my real life experiences with my readers and I will feel privileged if it has helped a few of us to change and live life king size.

I am certainly a changed person as a human being now as what I am doing now was totally unimaginable by any stretch of imagination while I was a part of the corporate world. Not that I did not enjoy my corporate life but gone are the pressure of 24 X 7 working now and I can take life a bit easy.
Human beings never cease to learn. Life and necessities teach us so many things. I am no exception.
It also depends upon our attitude to keep pace with ongoing technological advancements which are happening at a frenetic pace these days. A few of these are necessities for our survival which we need to learn and adapt without which we are likely to be left behind in the race.
I gathered adequate knowledge of computers to cater to my personal and official responsibilities in my corporate life but have never been computer savvy.
However, a need arose to gather in depth knowledge about computers to cater to requirement of blog writing and this is what I have exactly been doing over last few weeks. It's really a pleasure and I am enjoying the learning experience.
There is a childish eagerness and inquisitiveness in me to explore the world more and more in my 2nd innings.
And I had the greatest satisfaction yesterday when I could create my own website http://familyisreal.com where also my blogs can be viewed. I will continue to learn every minute till I am able to master the art to an extent which will suffice to handle my website. It's indeed a milestone for me. I offer my deepest gratitude to God and Universe for the same. They have always been very kind to me.
As promised in my previous blog I go back to my 3rd year engineering course days.
Having suffered a sort of setback in the 2nd year with regard to my performance in the examination due to certain distractions which was nothing but complacency and also illness to some extent, I took a self pledge never to repeat the mistake.
Meanwhile all of us shifted to new hostel. Our college was a fully residential one and it was mandatory to shift to a new hostel at the beginning of every year.
Honestly speaking I am not one who subscribes to the principle of forgetting the world and concentrate wholly and solely on studies because it will never yield the desired result in the long run. I attended classes & sessionals regularly, studied hard, really hard but also enjoyed other things.
Our group Octet also grew with time and all of us were getting emotionally bound more and more. Perhaps we were accepting internally that the time to get separated was gradually approaching. Most of us are still in touch with each other off and on. We even have our second generation in place making us feel that we are catching up with our age.
But today's generation is in a different mould. It is much more responsible and enlightened. It knows what to do and what is the best for them ? The world has changed so much and there are so many avenues available for them which could not even be remotely thought of during our days. The need of the hour is to guide and give direction to their abilities suitably. In fact there is a lot for people like us to learn from them.

Going to movies on fortnightly basis, enjoying sun after lunch, sharing ground nut sitting on the lawn or in one of the rooms literally every day, gossiping sometimes, holding informal hardcore debates on any topic during examination preparation days are a few activities which would relieve me of the pressure and proved to be really helpful in the end.
It was a year of reckoning and I passed out with flying colours.
It not only restored my self confidence but also gave me a renewed vigour for doing even better in the 4th and final year. I will share this journey in my next blog...
Time flies and let us enjoy each and every moment...
Excited to be alive today...

Please view my blogs on
http://familyisreal.com
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs on FB
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engineering 3rd year....

2017-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ego ~ Self esteem ~ Standpoint....

2017-06-03T10:57:00.001-07:00

Hello...

It's a bright and sunny morning today and I am able to experience the sunrise from the balcony of my home. It's the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears over the horizon in the morning. I feel like receiving tremendous positive energy and am sure most of us watching the sunrise must have undergone the same experience. I bowed before Sun God and offered my small prayer as is my wont.

God and Universe have been very kind to have blessed me with this new abode and I am truly grateful to them for the same.
Human beings are confronted with many a thoughts when they decide to write spontaneously on a subject of their choice. Today I was thinking of going back to my engineering course time period because that is where I left before blogging on a few topics of great importance. But I then realized that I must share my experience and learning on ego vs. self esteem vs. standpoint this time and this is what I am exactly doing today.
Ego is the "I" or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.
Psychoanalysis, the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.
Self - esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self - respect. In sociology and psychology, self-esteem reflects a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is a judgement of oneself as well as an attitude towards the self.

Standpoint is described as a position from which objects and principles are viewed and according to which they are compared and judged; a way in which something is thought about or considered.
Ego is absolutely people based; situation dependent and invariably involves the other person in the equation. Standpoint is independent of people or situation; it is issue based and will never have the other person in the equation.
Self-esteem is a very important part of success in life.Too little self-esteem can leave us feeling defeated or depressed. It can also lead us to make bad choices, fall into destructive relationships, or fail to live up to our own full potential.

But we will be well advised to keep it within check because too much self-esteem is destructive. It can even damage personal relationships.
Self-esteem levels at the extreme high and low ends of the spectrum can be damaging, so the ideal is to strike a balance somewhere in the middle.
I remember in my college days when many professors used to close the lecture theater doors right on dot of scheduled class timings. I experienced this in my corporate life also and to tell you frankly I liked it because I am also in the same mould. It does not mean that they were egoistic; rather they had their own standpoint on these issues.
I also followed it in my corporate life. I used to say that when we never miss a movie or a train or a flight; why can't we be punctual in corporate life too ? There is a great difference between being in the office 5 minutes before scheduled start timing rather than being 5 minutes late even though the system may permit it. People understood my standpoint and many of them even tried to follow it.
It will not be out of place to mention here that we should do the seeding in this regards in the children at a young age so that they are able to understand and handle life with ease.
This has helped me immensely in my personal life too. I have very rarely, in fact never if my memory serves me right since I understood it, missed my appointments, train, flight or a movie for any reason attributable to my own self. Moreover, it always helped me in being mentally and physically ready for any important occasion.
Sometimes we tend to change our standpoint for the sake of convenience but let us remember that If it can be changed then it is not standpoint. If we do not stand on our standpoints in our lives, we will fall for everything.
Every moment will become heavy, every situation will be nerve - wracking, every interaction will be tense.
An ego filled heart is always walking on fire. Never can there be a moment of marriage between ego and ease.
But with standpoints in life, life becomes easy and smooth for us and for people around us, because our decisions will be made based on standpoints and not on situations.

Decision making becomes very difficult without standpoints.
Ego based life is chaotic. Standpoint based life is orderly.

Choice is ours

Wishing you all a true World Environment Day , 5th June

Please view my blogs on
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
http://wp.me/p8OWta-u
My blogs @ SK1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on twitter

Ego ~ Self esteem ~ Standpoint....

2017-06-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Relationship......

2017-06-02T18:08:00.001-07:00

Virgoans, by their basic intrinsic nature are perfectionists. There are others also in this category but it may be to a lesser extent. At times this gets so much aggravated that it starts adversely affecting relationships.
This apart many a times ego clashes are very often seen in relationships. Many lives have been disturbed or lost due to such occurrences which in turn have avoidable terrible impact on immature mind of children.
Under such situations people inadvertently take recourse in alternative measures, ethical or unethical, which may further aggravate the situation.

Paying too much attention to the small and trivial stuffs is the very cause of all the disturbances in relationships. Most relationships don't suffer because of major issues, but because too many small - small stuffs that have a snowballing effect on the relationship.
God has sent us to this world with unique individual personalities and let us accept each other as we are rather than trying to change each other as per our requirement.
This becomes still more difficult as we start catching up with our age. So the best thing is to accept a few things in life which we cannot change and make the other person happy.

Cribbing and complaining, fretting and fuming all the time about all the petty stuffs ruins peace in relationships. Why can't we leave the small stuff small ? What is the need to make mountain out of a molehill ?

Let us give space and free personal time to each other which in fact will go a long way in strengthening the relationship.

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In fact, when we stop interfering in small stuffs, our voice will be counted in bigger matters; else our voice will be discounted.
But the above does not apply when it comes to oneself. It goes without saying that giving complete attention to the smallest of details pays rich dividends. Finishing touches are in the details.

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The German born American architect Ludwig once said, ' God is in the details '. In today's corporate world it is said that ' The devil is in the details.'
Without attending to the details minutely, personal excellence is just not possible in today's fast paced world. More often than not, it is the last inch that actually counts.
So let us follow a simple principle that can make a huge difference to our lives.
When it comes to others, let us leave small things small. This will give us tremendous peace of mind in our relationships.
When it comes to ourselves, let us pay attention even to the small things.
This will ensure excellence in everything we do.
But the million dollar question is why are we even involved in petty things ?
Is it because of felling of supremacy, gender bias, class, society etc or just imbibed in our mental frame of mind and personality ?
Let us not forget that when we learn to leave small things small, our voice will be counted on big things.
Leave petty things petty, and life will be pretty.
Make issues of petty things, and even a pretty life will become petty.
Let us take a self pledge to produce excellent work by focusing on small details and also enjoy excellent relationship by dropping small issues...
Life and relationships are beautiful gifts from God to mankind.
Let us understand it from heart and enjoy life without any inhibition.

(Zindagi na milegi dobara....)
You get life only once....

Please view my blogs on
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on fb
@skumar272010 on twitter

Gratitude

Relationship......

2017-06-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Gratitude

Are we ready for sunset years....

2017-05-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

Hello

Make hay while the sun shines but never loose sight of the sunset years.
India is witnessing rising life expectancy at birth since last many years. It now stands at 71 years as compared to 53 years in 1997.
Life expectancy goes up with age. At the official retirement age of 58 or 60 years as the case may be, the average people can expect to live beyond 75 years. And with the advancement in medical science on regular basis, we have to concede that it will not come as a surprise to live beyond 85 years in the near future.
But the million dollar question is whether we are in a position to live so long ?
Generally we plan our retirement till 75 but are now likely to live longer. So let us be ready to spend our sunset years in penury if we do not plan properly right from the very beginning, when we start earning.

Another important factor to be considered due to the risk of living longer is shorter working lives. In the earlier days people used to start working at the age of 20 to 21 years. But with the advent of higher education system for better prospects, younger generation starts working at 24 to 25 years.
Now a days people are unwilling to adopt 9 to 5 working and reporting to somebody else. They are aspiring to be their own bosses which is perfectly fine and should be encouraged.
They are also exposed to the concept of passive income through business on e commerce platform and want to retire early This apart other reasons like health issues, inability to cope with work pressure and redundancy compels many of us to quit before the official retirement age of 60.
The fact of the matter is that practical working life is shrinking due to early retirements, both aspirational and forced. So in this situation careful financial planning becomes critical and needs immediate attention of all concerned.

Another stark reality is that the family safety net has also shrunk and children may not take care of their parents in future. Even if the next generation is willing to take care of parents, the burden on them will be high.
At the same time the assurance of pension is vanishing. Even government employees who joined after March 2004 will get a pension that is linked to their contribution to their National Pension Scheme.
Others too need to think about their retirement plans as their retiral benefits may not see them through more than two decades at best. Worse off will be those outside the formal retirement planning structure, like contract workers, self employed professionals and employees in similar units.
Many people live with the misconception that their expenses will come down drastically after they retire. While expenses like transport will certainly reduce but medical costs etc will take a surge depending upon how we have maintained ourselves in our younger days.
Retired individuals have to maintain their health and there is no choice here. And also no insurance company will give you cover at 70. Even if they do through co-pay products, premiums will be very high.
All other expenses will also go up exorbitantly due to inflation. Hence, Retirement planning is most critical because all other goals can be met through loans.
But what is to be done to accumulate an adequate corpus ?
The first and foremost requirement is to understand and fall in the habit of saving. We must save 30% of our earning to start with and increase it as we catch up with our age. As a matter of thumb rule it should gradually increase to a percentage which is same as our age.
This means a 40 year old person should save 40% while a 50 year old should save 50%. Start planning for retirement early in life to make the most of the power of compounding.

However, planning early has its own limitations as the calculations may throw up a very large requirement. But there is no need to get overwhelmed by large numbers and give up. Allocate whatever you can as your income is bound to increase in future.
Dedicated pension plans, mostly from insurance companies, cost a lot and come with myriad restrictions like compulsory buying of annuities using 67% of corpus. Since investors have to buy annuities from the same companies, pension plans don't make sense for accumulation.
Whether one should buy annuities at the time of retirement or continue with a SWP kind of structure is a perennial question because the risk of managing one's own portfolio at a later age becomes difficult because the investment landscape changes totally in 30-40 years. It's always better to delay annuity purchase which may help to get better rates.
It's always better to go for mutual funds wherein the flexibility allows us to manage the new options that may come in future. Mutual funds with SIP should be resorted to to the maximum possible extent.
Investing in products like senior citizen savings scheme is mandatory for newly retired persons. Another option is to invest in tax efficient debt mutual funds and withdraw through systematic withdrawal plans.
Diverting retirement corpus is a candid mistake. Instead of withdrawing provident fund when changing jobs, it is always better to shift it the new company.
One way to make sure that investment grows faster than inflation is by investing more in equities.
But this requires learning and lots of patience and perseverance.
Though all of us want to enjoy a retired life, to stop working at 60 may be a costly proposition. This is because life expectancy is increasing and your retirement corpus will deplete all too soon.

Right after retirement we must go easy on spending. withdrawing heavily from the corpus in the initial years can be suicidal.
But if one can go into e commerce, there are ways and means to have passive earning which makes it completely feasible to retire early. This however needs mindset, attitude and determination.
Let us remember only 3% of the population is rich, holding 97% of the wealth whereas this should be the other way round.

So make the right decisions and enjoy life to the fullest......

Please view my blogs on

kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK1955 on fb
@skumar272010 on twitter

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Are we ready for sunset years....

2017-05-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

So make the right decisions and enjoy life to the fullest......

Perennial Principles of Life .....

2017-05-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

Hello dreamers ...

God has always been kind to me.
With the latest addition to my family by way of arrival of my grand daughter 20 months back, there was a need to move to a bigger dream home which I wrote in my dream book.

And it all happened very fast. It took just 7 months to take physical shape and here I am sitting in my chair in my new home and feeling blessed to write this blog.

I firmly believe dreams are for real once we know the art of writing and converting them into reality which I shared in one of my earlier blogs.
Let us remember God always says yes to whatever we say.

I also talked about purpose of life which is difficult to find out because it is something which is way beyond dreams. It's quite normal but I have found out mine.
My grand daughter is the purpose of my life which I could find out some time back.

God has blessed me with a lovely family.
My children are well placed in their lives and they are well equipped to take care of themselves.

And of course my most important dream before he calls me is to leave my legacy and ensure that my wife is well taken care of by herself without depending upon anyone when I am not there.

She is the most important person in my life who always stood by me, encouraged and helped me in changing as a human being. To me she is the perfect life companion, a friend, a mother and the most beautiful woman in true sense on this planet earth.

The bond gets stronger, I realize, as we start catching up with our age. We pass through a phase when we care more for each other than ourselves which is the beauty of the relationship of a wife and husband.

God is kind to me.

Today I would like to share about Perennial Principles of Life.

Lord Mahavira : The Prince of Peace gave us the most important lesson of non-violence in thought, word or deed. " In war one may defeat a million invincible enemies, but to conquer one's own self is the greatest victory. One who conquers the self conquers everything."

Guru Jambeshwar : Preached the worship pf God as one. And over 51 years traveled across the country imparting 29 commandments which gave his followers the name Bishnoi. The greatest legacy of Guru ji is reverence for Nature. In doing so, he reiterated India's ancient civilizational credo. His followers, also enjoined to have compassion for all living beings, give up all toxicants, swear by the tenets of ahimsa ( non violence) and satya (truth), and adhere to a vegetarian diet.

Lord Dattatreya : The path of Dattatreya embraces all spiritual paths and is the source of all other traditions. He who treads the path of Truth, regardless of what religion he belongs to, is treading the path of Dattatreya. As an incarnation of god, Datta came down to spread the universality of true religion. anyone can be his follower, regardless of cast, creed, status. No matter what sect or religion the true seeker follows, eventually he comes under the guidance of Lord Dattatreya, the Eternal Spiritual Guide of all mankind.

Lord Buddha : The law of cause and effect is known as Karma. Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserve it. We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad. We are the way we are now, due to things we have done in the past. Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we an have. Every moment we create new karma by what we say ,do, and think, If we understand this, we do not need to fear karma. It becomes our friend. It teaches us to create a bright future.

Guru Nanak : The great Bhakti saint and founder of Sikhism's teachings distilled into our everyday life would be simple, but profoundly impactful :
Sharing with others, helping those who are in need.
Earning/making a living honestly, without exploitation or fraud.
Meditating on God's name to control your senses.
These, and the unwavering belief in a single, omniscient Godhead are the talisman to live by in this world.

Excited to be alive today

Gratitude

Please view my blogs on
kumarskumar.blogspot.com
My blogs @ SK 1955 on FB
@skumar272010 on twitter

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