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Investment Tips: Investment tips that millennia’s need to learn from parents

October 08, 2018

 

Millennials are characterized generally by the fast-paced lifestyle, no-nonsense approach to various facets of life, unconventional and goal-oriented career choices and a little bit of impatience when it comes to seeking results from the efforts put in. The degree of variation in lifestyle choices (including financial matters) from their parental generation varies of course from person to person. However, it can generally be stated that millennials tend to view financial matters as complicated and cumbersome, an approach that differs from what generation X thinks.

Financial freedom comes with budgetary responsibility and careful financial planning. Ensuring that savings continue to grow at a steady rate while investing carefully, with open mind and calculated moves is what makes the difference between monetary strength and monetary woes. Being a young generation, with time on their side, here are money investment tips that millennials need to learn from their parents:

  1. Spending less than what you earn:

    This is a golden rule and has come down from generations in sayings like Save for the rainy day. This rule is a simple logic on budget planning- earning not just to cover the expenses. While the income from a source (e.g. a job) may have a degree of stability, it is also true that this means that such income does not increase in either frequency or in bulk for a fixed period of time. Simply stated this means that you cannot trust job appraisals for saving money later on. Therefore, what you spend must be considerably less than what you earn.
  2. Avoiding debt and quickly repaying if you are already debt:

    This is one of the prime indicators of financial discipline and self-regulation. Debts eat into your earnings and spending money on depreciating assets or on non-crucial items of luxury often makes one land in debt. Needless to say that this must be avoided completely, for building of financial backbone.
  3. Making a priority-plan for your financial goals:

    Financial goals require planning and this hold true for both  short term as well as long term goals. Making a careful plan allows you to siphon out a particular amount from your income towards each goal regularly and this results in a better and organized budget. This also gives you the freedom of advance-planning for the next month or until the time the next paycheck comes in.
  4. Saving early and regularly:

    Before any kind of investment planning, saving is very important as this enables you to build a corpus. This comes in handy at a time when you may have to leave a job (whether by compulsions or by choice) and allows you to continue putting in the investment amount for the dry period.
  5. Thinking long-term:

    Long term and short term planning - both have their respective benefits and conditions applied to them. This obviously depends on the goals/specific events that one has planned for. However, when talking about general investment plans, it is important that short term unreal profits be entirely avoided and focus be kept on long term benefits.

How to Start Investing

In today’s world, saving is not enough. You also need to grow your money to secure your financial future. Let’s take a look at the best way to start investing:

Start Early

Most people wonder when to start their investment plan. When it comes to investing, the earlier you start, the better. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your 20s, 30s or 40s, it’s always a great time to get your finances in order. The earlier you start, the more time you have to grow your wealth for the future.

Decide Your Investment Amount

When it comes to investing money for the future, you must have a plan in place. Start by deciding the amount you’d like to invest. Ideally, you should aim to invest at least 10% of your income. So, as your income grows, you can increase the amount you invest.

Research Your Options

Finally, before you invest, you need to understand your options. Carefully look at all the investment avenues available. Some people prefer to invest in stocks and bonds, while others prefer putting their money away in safer pension plans or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs).

Come Up with a Plan

Once you know how much to invest and where you want to invest, you can come up with a smart investment plan. Decide how often you will check on your finances or put more money into it. You should come up with a clear plan and make adjustments to your plan whenever necessary.

What Should Millennials Learn from Their Parents?

While life has evolved in leaps and bounds recently, there are still a few things that millennials can learn from those who are older. Here are some important financial tips for millennials from their parents:

Save Consistently

Earlier generations saved most of their income and they did so consistently. They put money away every month without fail for a rainy day. Millennials today save, but they aren’t as consistent. Some months they put away far more money than their parents, but there are other months where they don’t save at all.

Maintaining a Budget

Growing up, most millennials had rules about eating outside only once or twice a month or using the phone for a limited number of minutes. These rules enabled their parents to maintain their monthly budget. While most millennial families today are double income households, it’s still crucial for millennials to create a budget and stick to it.

Saying No to Credit Cards

Most middle-class homes in the 80s and 90s did not own a credit card. Eventually, they may have got a single card, but it was only used for emergencies. Today, most people use their credit cards to earn points and rewards, but it also leads to overspending. Millennials can learn when to say no to a credit card from their parents. By choosing how and when to use their lines of credit, they can build their credit score without falling into too much debt.

How to Choose the Right Investment Plan

Every individual has unique financial needs. Here’s a look at how you can choose the right investment plan for yourself:

Understand Your Goals

Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve in 10 or 25 years. List down everything you’d like to achieve and assess how much money you would require to achieve them. You can then work out how much you need to invest and what kind of returns you require to achieve your goals.

Assess the Risks

Most investment opportunities come with inherent risks that they offset against higher returns. You need to think about what kind of risks you’re ready to make and what returns you need.

Have a Back-Up

Sometimes an emergency could disrupt your financial plans. So, you should find an investment avenue that allows you to withdraw your funds whenever required without heavy charges.

Conclusion

Although Millennials and Zoomers are growing up in very different times than their parents, they can still learn from them. By following their financial discipline, they can invest for their own future and secure their finances.

HDFC Life offers best saving options and investment options and plans for future growth. The details can be checked at the mentioned link:https://www.hdfclife.com/savings-plans.

ARN – ED/01/22/27071

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Francis Rodrigues Francis Rodrigues

Francis Rodrigues has a decade long experience in the insurance sector, and as SVP, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, HDFC Life, manages the online sales channel, as well as digital and performance marketing. He has had hands-on experience in setting up sales channels and functional teams from scratch over a career spanning 2 decades.

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Vishal Subharwal Vishal Subharwal

Vishal Subharwal heads the Strategy, Marketing, E-Commerce, Digital Business & Sustainability initiatives at HDFC Life. He is responsible for crafting and ensuring successful implementation of the overall organisation strategy.

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