The New year is all about resolutions and promises. People often make many resolutions on the eve of the New Year to make their coming year better. Resolutions like becoming physically fit, eating healthy, joining a program or club, studying hard to pass an exam, spend less on shopping, work hard to achieve a particular goal etc. are the most popular among people. Though, having financial fitness throughout the year is the most important resolution to be made too.

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How can you make 2019, financially and economically better for you and your family? How can you avoid spending on less required items? How can you keep a track on your expenses\income graph?

Financial planner, Gaurav Mashruwala spoke to Zee Business TV and shared 10 tips to improve financial fitness, grow money in 2019. Take a look:

Tip 1: Do not make a resolution, make it a habit

Making resolutions are easy, people often make them on the eve of New Year but break it after a week or so. Instead, one should try to make a change as a habit as it delivers for a longer time. Make habits like reducing your expenses, reviewing credit card bills, cutting your irrelevant expenditures, planning your investments, deciding for your financial goals etc. "If a person would make a resolution to wake up 2 hours early from 1st of January, he\she will not able to continue it for a longer time. but instead one can make a habit of waking up 15 minutes early each day, that will help them achieve the target in 3 to 4 months, and will continue forever," said Mashruwala.

Tip 2: Share the financial information with your family

One should always discuss the details related to the financial services and products with his\her family. The information regarding bank accounts, insurance policies, investments, monthly income, monthly expenses, loans, receivables, financial goals should be shared with the family members. "One of my clients went hospitalised after meeting a life-threatening disease. The family members had to take a hefty personal loan, despite my client had an insurance cover under his name, as they were not aware," said Mashruwala. Therefore, the family members should be familiar with all the details related to financial services\products of each other. 

Tip 3: Start small, do not rush
 
Do not make or plan big investments early. One should never rush too fast when taking an investment decision. Money takes time to grow, there is nothing called an overnight success. ''If you don't know much about shares, read about them and start with smaller inputs, in this way, you can learn and earn together,'' Mashruwala said. Putting all your money at once can lead to losses, one should start with small spending when eyeing bigger goals. Make a decision about how many shares of your income, you can easily contribute to an investment without no or little compromise. Hence, starting small is important during an initial phase.

Tip 4: Review your financial investments time to time
 
One should review the investments, he\she has made so far. An individual should keep a check on maturity proceeds, banking statements, investments, profits and losses in short-term investments, insurance premiums etc. A user should be aware of all the financial-related dates to avoid last minute rush, emergency or any other problem. There should be a proper record of all the dates related to premiums, investments, funds, loans, deposits etc in a physical or digital manner. Reviewing your financial products time to time helps you make correct decisions like the closure of unnecessary bank accounts, discontinue irrelevant subscriptions, the continuation of beneficial schemes, allocation of funds etc. 

Tip 5: Diversify your portfolio-based on goals
 
A person should never put all his eggs in one basket, this is the famous proverb which means, an individual should never put all his earnings into one option. "Diversification is an essential element, even for investment," said Mashruwala. The person should carefully decide the different options he\she can invest in, rather putting all into one. "Imagine a couple aged 45-55 years, has properties with a valuation of over Rs 4 crores but if they are looking to send their child for further education to foreign, their investments are of no use, as it lacks liquidity" he added. Therefore analysing different categories and doing some research on respective returns, becomes important.

Tip 6: Name each investment to meet goals
 
Every investment should be named according to the goal for which it is created. "An investment of a fixed deposit for a daughter's marriage can be named before her name, or property purchased for son's higher education can be named with his initials. This helps in focusing more on the financial goals and guides, when and how to take out money during needs." Mashruwala told Zee Business TV. Therefore, maintaining each investment as per the financial goal should be made a habit.

Tip 7: Take expert's advice before investing
 
Every person cannot be right at making financial decisions. Financial decisions not only includes making investments, but it also includes making important decisions like tax savings, retirements planning, house buying, multiple businesses, additional income decision, legal formalities, documentation, government charges etc. Therefore it becomes necessary to consult Sebi registered experts like a certified financial planner or advisor to seek a correct and suitable financial advice according to an individual's need. 

Tip 8: Cut your unnecessary spending
 
Stop shopping those unnecessary clothes, shoes, accessories, food items etc. They add financial pressure on your shoulders. People nowadays spend more or equal to what they earn in showing off, they would buy irrelevant items, luxury accessories, costly subscriptions, memberships and unnecessary offers during festivals. One should think 10 times before buying anything of no use. The amount spent on rubbish things has the ability to make you millions if invested carefully and timely. 

Tip 9: Do not copy others for financial decisions
 
"The needs your relative have are different from that of yours, therefore, investments of your relative cannot be same as yours," said Mashruwala. According to him, any investment decision should never be made after seeing your friends and relatives, every person has a different need and life, so the investments and financial decisions cannot be same at any cost. "See what's good for your needs and falls under your financial bracket, before spending money on any investment in the market," Mahsruwala added.

Tip 10: Update your credentials with your financial services
 
You should update your latest information, with all the financial services and products you possess. Maintaining information, doing KYC for accounts, updating your new phone numbers, address, personal details etc is mandatory. Any mismatch during an emergency is never a good thing to happen. Check whether you have made nominees for each of your investments, as it is important.