I remember it is personal finance, but cannot personalise it!

Published on / By M. Pattabiraman Twitter: @pattufreefincal

Published: April 17, 2016 at 9:12 am

Last Updated on August 30, 2021

Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth (AIFW) is a fascinating micro ensemble for studying and understanding how investors think and act. Even if you don’t want to consciously study it, it is impossible to not observe a few common patterns.

The group is famous for its abbreviations:

MDBSC* – My dull and boring SIPs will continue (* represents nature of goal and context)

RIPFPI: Remember it is personal finance, (so) personalize it.

CRATON: Corpus required at the time of need.

NIKE – Just do it (after the ad)

KISS – Keep it Simply Simple (Ashal Jauhari is annoying politically correct!)

In a large group,  administrator Ashal Jauhari, a champion of financial literacy needs such abbreviations badly because most members do not bother searching for past discussions or using Google. So these terms help to quickly respond to repeated questions.

I had written about MDBSC and would now like to discuss, RIPFPI.

We all agree that it is personal finance. However, how many of us can personalise  it? That is, how many of us can recognise our needs clearly, devise a suitable, holistic strategy for it and stick to it, ignoring noise.

Forget about, ‘how many can personalise it?’. How many understand that personal finance should be personalised?! Perhaps this is why someone said RIPFPI could well stand for RIP Financial Planning in India!!

Butun Mohapatra recently wrote a brilliant and most important guest post: Reader Story: Are you sure you can be a DIY investor?.

  • Butun recognised personalized solutions are  the key to money management success.
  • He then asked if he can DIY or consult a SEBI registered fee-only financial advisor who earns no commission from any product. He decided it is better to seek professional advice from the List of Fee-only Financial Planners in India

There are two distinct problems.

  1. Many investors do not recognise the importance of personalized solutions as mentioned above.
  2. Among those who do, many simply do not seem capable of personalizing it.

“choose an insurer you are comfortable with” is what Ashal keeps saying in threads life,health, accident or other forms of insurance. Unfortunately very few people can define their own comfort levels. They want ‘example problems’. They want someone else to say, ” I use this product and it is ‘good'”, “I have invested in this fund” etc.

Another person’s experience when it comes to insurance is meaningless as they are highly individual products. The same applies to stocks, mutual funds or any other product. Choice has to be personalized. Financial product selection cannot be done with extrapolation: “XYZ says, ‘I did it this way’, so it must be a good method”!

Only after this personalization is complete can someone call themselves a DIY investor.

It is an indisputable fact that many investors (whether they are members of AIFW or not) want pre-digested information and investment decisions spoon fed to them.  Absolutely nothing wrong with that,  as long as we pay for the expertise involved.

There is a difference between seeking lunch for free and seeking a recipe for free. I have no problems with the latter. I believe it is the responsibility of the DIY community to exchange recipes for each of us to personalize.

To personalize finance requires only inclination and conviction – not, expertise, not experience, not time. If you are interested in DIY personalization, perhaps these posts maybe of help:

What does it take to do your own financial planning?

DIY Personal Finance: How long does it take anyway?

DIY: List of ‘How-to’ Articles at freefincal

Hole punch for leather by Rosie
Hole punch for leather by Rosie– Punch your own belt holes or pay someone to do it for you.
Do share if you found this useful

About The Author

Pattabiraman editor freefincalDr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over nine years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter or Linkedin or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation to promote unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Use our Robo-advisory Excel Template for a start-to-finish financial plan! Now with a new demo video! ⇐ More than 800 investors and advisors use this!
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 2700 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 what 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 620 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 you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!   
My new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower
Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower.
Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision making. We have all made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but for any aspect of life, what would it be? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parent’s plan for it and teach him several key ideas of decision making and money management is the narrative. What readers say!
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
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 for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Did you know? We have more than 1000+ videos on YouTube to explore! Join our YouTube Community!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (will work with any index!), or you buy the new Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish mutual fund screeners and momentum, low volatility stock screeners .every month.
About freefincal & its content policy Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on developments in mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance. 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 from credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish any paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions presented will only 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
Our publications

You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing

You can be rich too with goal based investingPublished by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions, seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now. It is also available in Kindle format.
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 wantThis book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.

Your Ultimate Guide to Travel

Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 199 (instant download)
Free android apps