Last Updated on October 8, 2023 at 1:40 pm
Are you one of those guys who has trouble making money decisions? Join the biggest club on Earth! I have some good news and some more good news for you. The good news is that everyone is confused about one thing or the other – that is a certainty! The more good news is that just as courage is not the absence of fear, clarity is not the absence of confusion. Hard as it may seem to believe, clarity is the acceptance of confusion because confusion can never be removed.
Before we start, my book with PV Subramanyam, You Can Be Rich Too is available at 50% discount (Rs. 198) for short periods of time this month as it was among the top 25 bestsellers in the last 3 months.Grab it now!
There is a difference between, “I don’t know which product gives the best returns” and “I don’t know which asset allocation to choose for my goal”.
Confusion is bad if we did not know what we are looking for (the former). Confusion is good, natural and healthy if we have trouble making choices after understanding what our requirement is. The two situations should not be er.. confused with!
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email! 🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥
Spending a reasonable amount of time researching product options and reviews for a specific need is quite healthy. However, no matter how much we investigate, when we finally click the ‘add to cart” and “buy” buttons, we must recognise that we are taking a chance.
Be it a smartphone, LED TV, a holiday, a stock, term life insurance, or a mutual fund, we are always taking a chance. Our experience with it can be better than the ones we studied or worse. This is true if we studied options for a minute or for days.
Take the case of a term life insurance. Studying or comparing products will not eliminate confusion. Some people think asking opinions in a forum will make them feel better. One guy would say company ABC is great (how is another matter) and another would she had trouble with the same company. Who do we trust?
![](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Which-way-to-go-650x485.jpg)
We have this tendency to take a bad review more seriously. The truth is, if we wait long enough or ask enough people, every product will have unsatisfied customers.
Since we are here to buy a product and not do research with customer experiences, we will have to stop looking for opinions and take a chance at some point.
Most of our opinions are baseless – before and after we buy.
- Claim settlement ratio is not a probability
- LIC rejects 1000s of policies each year.
- Insurance is a personal product and no two claims are the same, even if the policyholders died together.
- A smooth purchase does not mean smooth claim settlement or vice versa.
- A 120% return after 6 months SIP does not mean you have invested in the best fund
- ….
All we can do is to buy a term policy that we can afford and from an insurer that we are “comfortable with” (this often means an irrational affection). If we have no preferences, to begin with, here is how we can choose a term life insurance provider in 30 minutes.
Fact remains that the confusion can never be eliminated satisfactorily and that we are always taking a chance. And in the case of life insurance, we won’t be around to find out if we made the right choice.
Clarity, or in this case, eventual decision making is not the absence of confusion, but its acceptance. How well we manage money is decided by how well we manage our confusion. This is true for any product – choosing a mutual fund/stock, reviewing a fund/stock etc.
The “am I doing the right thing by choosing this?” dilemma may go away in the case of a phone or TV when we see it work for while. It is unlikely to go away in the case of financial products.
The trouble is, a “successful” choice can make us forget the confusion we felt earlier. When we tell that world, “we had a good experience with X or Y”, it would help to point out that we took a chance and could not have predicted it. Perhaps that will a beginner some confidence to embrace confusion.
Ps1. Everyone is confused, including financial advisors. They just cannot afford to say so.
Ps2: If you are confused after reading this post, mission accomplished!
New Delhi DIY Investor Workshop April 23rd 2017
Register for the New Delhi DIY Investor Workshop April 23rd 2017
You Can Be Rich Too With Goal-Based Investing
Happy to announce that my book with PV Subramanyam has been selected as part of Amazon Best Reads Mar 2017. now 50% off Thank you for your support and trust. If you have not yet got the book, check out the reviews below and use the links to buy.
Reader Quotes:
Gift it to your Friends and Relatives whom you care more. Already follower of Pattu and Subra’s forum. Ordered 4 more copies to give gift to my friends and eagerly waiting to read
The best book ever on Financial Freedom Planning. Go get it now!
Your first investment should be buying this book
The (nine online) calculators are really awesome and will give you all possible insights
Thank you, readers, for your generous support and patronage.
Amazon Hardcover Rs. 199. Now 50% off.
Kindle at Amazon.in (Rs. 307)
Google Play Store (Rs. 307)
Infibeam Now just Rs. 307 24% OFF.
If you use a mobikwik wallet, and purchase via infibeam, you can get up to 100% cashback!!
Bookadda Rs. 344. Flipkart Rs. 359
Amazon.com ($ 3.70 or Rs. 267)
Google Play Store (Rs. 244.30)
- Ask the right questions about money
- get simple solutions
- Define your goals clearly with worksheets
- Calculate the correct asset allocation for each goal.
- Find out how much insurance cover you need, and how much you need to invest with nine online calculator modules
- Learn to choose mutual funds qualitatively and quantitatively.
More information is available here: A Beginner’s Guide To Make Your Money Dreams Come True!
What Readers Say
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
We also publish monthly equity mutual funds, debt and hybrid mutual funds, index funds and ETF screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
![Follow Freefincal on Google News Follow Freefincal on Google News](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Follow-Freefincal-on-Google-News.jpg)
![Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel. Subscribe button courtesy: Vecteezy.](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Subscribe-to-the-freefincal-Youtube-Channel.jpg)
![Follow freefincal on WhatsApp Channel Follow freefincal on WhatsApp Channel](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Follow-freefincal-on-WhatsApp-Channel-300x83.jpg)
![Listen to the Lets Get Rich with Pattu Podcast Listen to the Lets Get Rich with Pattu Podcast](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Listen-to-the-Lets-Get-Rich-with-Pattu-Podcast.jpg)
![Lets Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube Lets Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lets-Get-RICH-With-PATTU-podcast-on-YouTube-644x362.jpg)
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below.
- Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
About The Author
![Pattabiraman editor freefincal](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Pattabiraman-author-freefincal-article-bottom.jpg)
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!
![Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Article-bottom-Chinchu-gets-a-superpower-front-cover-for-girls-and-boys.jpg)
![Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/For-bottom-Feedback-from-a-young-reader-after-reading-Chinchu-gets-a-superpower.jpg)
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Do you want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & its content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our YouTube Videos
- Posts feed via Feedburner.
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
![You can be rich too with goal based investing](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/You-can-be-rich-243x300.jpg)
Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
![Gamechanger: Forget Start-ups, Join Corporate and Still Live the Rich Life you want](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2-mini-Cover-pink.jpg)
Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
![Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new](https://freefincal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new.jpg)