This Diwali resolve to make these Five changes in your life by Jan 2019

Published: November 7, 2018 at 10:12 am

Last Updated on February 12, 2022

November is the best time to make resolutions, not January. If you keep at it regularly, it will become a habit that you cannot shake off by January. So what better day to start than Diwali?! Here are five important money steps that you can consider working on from today and perfect by Jan 2019.

1 Work towards a second source of income

No, I am not referring to passive income. No such thing. Start today to list your skills and talents that people will find useful and pay for and think about how it can be turned into an active source of income in the coming years. If you work on this bit by bit and give yourself enough time, it will grow to a sizeable income in the next 5-10 years (no shortcuts). Your initial target should be to generate enough secondary income to match your monthy expenses. I would suggest that you look into yourself for ideas and not at what others do. In any case, if you are interested, here are some real-life examples: How to Make More Money In India: Forty real examples

As with investing most people seem to be impatient about getting that second income. What is the hurry? This is your long-term fall-back plan. Take your time, think about it, nurture the idea and start slow.


Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!



    🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥

    2 Start contributing 5-10% of your monthly income in an emergency fund

    From 2019 onwards, we should not touch our investments for our emergencies and if possible not disturb the monthly investments that we make too. To work towards this, start contributing 5-10% of your monthly income into an SB account or liquid fund or a flexi-deposit account. Anything will work. Let us not be immature and ask “which is the best way?”!

    3 Understand the importance of inflation for your long-term financial goals and find out how much you need to invest for them

    All you need to do is to download the Freefincal Robo Advisory Software Template and punch in your numbers. You can create a start-to-finish financial plan and use my handpicked mutual Funds September 2018 (PlumbLine) if necessary.  The amount that you need to invest may look too much now, but don’t worry. As long as you manage the next step, you should be doing ‘okay’.

    4 Try to increase your monthly investment by 5-10% in 2019 and every year hence

    Even if you cannot manage the total investment mentioned in the robo template, try to increase your current investments by 5-10% in 2019 and every year henceforth. It is tough, but no point setting yourself easy goals. Remember wealth is built from the capital you put in, how soon you do so and patience.

    5 Think real hard before taking on any kind of debt

    Debt is essential to the fabric of our existence and our economy today. However, it comes with a cost. The more EMI you pay and the longer you pay it for, the less you will be able to fund your future goals. So the best time to get take on debt (for a home or a car) is when your monthly investments will not get disrupted. So, understand the amount you need to invest for your long-term goals,  start investing and then take on debt. You will have a much better perspective that way.

    One more: Go on an information diet and focus on experiences

    How well you manage your money depends upon how clear you are about your objective. The less you know about recent developments, the less you know about what experts have to about future market movements, the better you can manage your money. See:  The Information Diet: How Less Information Can Make us More Informed

    Therefore, unsubscribe from my blog, get out of Asan Ideas for Wealth (many smart ones have), do not follow any “finance guy” on social media or Whatsapp groups. Focus on experiences that will make you happy. Find a way to be creative and useful to others every single day. That would be the best use of our most precious resource – time

    Wish you all a happy and safe Diwali. Even if you finished your Deepavali yesterday, today is a good time to work on this. Trust me, I did and it changed my life. Many readers have are in much better control of their time, life and finances.

    Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.

    🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses and robo-advisory tool! 🔥
    Use our Robo-advisory Excel Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! More than 1000 investors and advisors use this!
    New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stocks investments with this Google Sheet!
    • Follow us on Google News.
    • Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
    • Join our YouTube Community and explore more than 1000 videos!
    • Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with this form.
    • 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.

    Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!



      Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!

      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 promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
      Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! More than 3000 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 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 you 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
      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, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? 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 parents 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!
      Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or you buy the new 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 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 and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
      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, and 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 300 (instant download)