Who doesn't want to earn money and save money so as to achieve financial stability in future! But, how to go about is a million dollar question. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Rahul Jain, President & Head, Personal Wealth Advisory, Edelweiss shares Crucial Financial Lessons to learn from Mahatma Gandhi’s life. He is the epitome of sacrifice and self-discipline. Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu as he is fondly called with his actions has left an indelible mark on our lives and continues to inspire generations. While we all know his contribution to India’s freedom struggle, his life also throws up crucial lessons in the realm of finance and investments imbibing which can help us achieve our goals and ride volatility with ease. Here in this article we dig deep into these lessons that can help you stay on a solid financial footing in the days to come:-

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Be Patient and Disciplined

During his struggle for the country’s independence, Gandhiji faced numerous hurdles. While the British Government jailed him several times for his actions, there were occasions when questions were raised about his principles and policies internally. However, those didn’t deter him one bit, and he kept focus on achieving the larger goal.
This is no different when it comes to finances and investments, particularly equities. An inherently volatile asset class, various factors impact its performance, and the movement is never linear. There are short-term blips that can erode your gains.

However, you need to be patient and avoid knee-jerk reactions when the going gets tough. If you fret and exit your investments or stop your SIPs out of fear, you will convert your notional losses into actual ones. For example, when markets came crashing down in March 2020 following the declaration of COVID-19 pandemic, many investors hit the panic button and exited.

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However, markets rebounded astoundingly well and scaled new peaks, rewarding those who displayed the courage to stay put. Today, they are sitting on meaty gains. Hence, if you want to counter market volatility, it’s essential to be patient and disciplined.

Avoid Complications

Gandhiji led a simple life, devoid of complications. Though he could have lived a lavish life and had all the means to do so, he chose simplicity. Be it his clothes, food, or way of life, he kept things simple. The same holds true for your investments as well. Keeping them simple and avoiding complications can help you better monitor your portfolio in the long run.

For example, to gain inflation-indexed returns and build a corpus for long-term goals such as children’s higher education and retirement, you can look forward to investing in equities through direct stocks or mutual funds.

To provide stability to your portfolio, you can contemplate investing in debt funds, government bonds, or fixed deposits. Similarly, you can park money in liquid funds to build an emergency corpus. These instruments are well regulated and are relatively easy to understand.

Having said that, financial markets also have complicated instruments where regulations are ambiguous. Investing in them exposes you and your finances to unnecessary risks. Adopting a straightforward approach helps you make easy tweaks as and when required to reach your goals.

Get the Much-Needed Start, However Small it May Be

Gandhiji’s movement for India’s freedom didn’t become a mass movement overnight. He started it on a small scale and scaled it up gradually. However, the start was all that mattered. It’s the same with your investments. You need to start and build on it. For example, if you want to gain from the market’s highs and lows, a systematic investment plan in mutual funds from as little as ₹ 500 can be the trigger.

You can gradually top up the amount to build a bigger corpus for the said goal. The sooner you start, the better it is as it brings compounding into play that has a multiplier effect on wealth creation. Irrespective of the time horizon for your goals, being an early bird has its advantage.

The Final Word

Bapu always believed that your actions today will have a defining impact on your future. It couldn’t be truer when it comes to investments and finances. A disciplined approach and focus on the big picture, two essential traits of Gandhiji’s life, will help you better tide volatility and address your goals.

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advice expressed here in this article are solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)