Aaditya Chhajed, CA, CFA

YOU CAN DO IT! IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK. No one is born knowing how to save or to invest. Every successful investor starts with the basics.  A few people may stumble into financial security—a wealthy  relative may die, or a business may take off. But for most people, the only way to attain financial security is to save and invest over a long period of time. Time after time, people of even modest means who begin  the journey reach financial security and all that it promises:  buying a home, educational opportunities for their children,  and comfortable retirement. If they can do it, so can you! KEYS TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS: Make a financial plan. Pay off any high-interest loans. Start saving and investing as soon as you've paid off your loans. What are the things you want to save and invest for? a house a car an education a comfortable retirement your children medical and other emergencies periods of unemployment caring for parents Make your own list and then thin...

You don’t have to be a genius to achieve your investment goals. But if you’re a knowledgeable, disciplined, and confident yet humble investor, you’ll end up looking like one.   Follow these 12 Principles and you're set for life with regards to your investments. Develop a financial plan: Identify your goals and design an investment program to reach them. Be conservative in your projections. Become a disciplined saver: Learn to live below your means. Make it a habit to put away money every month. If you aren’t naturally disposed toward saving money, find   ways to trick yourself, such as automating your savings program. Start early and continue: Continue investing in both good and bad times. Focus on your Net-worth: How much of the net-worth is liquid? Return on net-worth is more important than return on investment. Control costs: Avoid instruments with a high expense ratio. Manage risk: Create a portfolio that will enable you to sleep peacefully at night.   Be a buy-a...

I recently read the book- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness ;  the most intriguing investing book I have ever read. Top 20 learnings from this book as follows: Financial success is not hard science. It’s a soft skill, where how you behave is more important than what you know. If you are short of time jump directly to points 19 and 20. 1. No One’s Crazy Your personal experiences with money make up maybe 0.00000001% of what’s happened in the world, but maybe 80% of how you think the world works. Spreadsheets can model the historic frequency of big stock market declines. But they can’t model the feeling of coming home, looking at your kids, and wondering if you’ve made a mistake that will impact their lives. The economists wrote: “Our findings suggest that individual investors’ willingness to bear risk depends on personal history.” The New York Times wrote in 1955 about the growing desire, but continued inability, to retire: “...