Great Conversations lead to Quality Decisions

Last week was again a very hectic and  exciting  one. We launched our 1st app on the Android platform, which is actually another means of accessing this blog. So you can now download the app from Google Play or you can search for Friday Financials in the Play store itself.

Then, during the weekend I was travelling to Mumbai for a training session on Digital Marketing organised by NetworkFP. On the train I met this gentleman who boarded at Karmali. After exchanging initial pleasantries, he talked about his amazing journey in the business of manufacturing lamp shades. I was thoroughly amazed by the sheer effort and hardships that he had to go through to make it a successful enterprise. He was now travelling to Mumbai to meet the management of Hypercity to extend and grow his business reach. I am sure that many of the entrepreneurs out there can share similar stories of their own success with great pride. 

But when I started talking to him about various aspects of his financial life it turned out that neither did he have a basic Life Insurance cover nor did he know anything about PPF or Mutual Funds. This is where I updated him about the necessity of a simple term cover. This was particularly important because not only his family but  his business was entirely dependent on him. Due to shortage of time we could not talk in detail, but he was quite convinced that the holistic approach of financial planning was the way ahead.

This conversation was high quality and both of us were left with something new, knowledge(him) and motivation(me).

Where does Financial Planning come into  the picture?

The recent past has opened us up to exploring our relationship with money in a much deeper sense. There is this sense that things are really “different” now, and that feeling is leading us to talk about the role of money and its meaning. In the past, not many conversations were centered around money. Traditionally it was the “breadwinner’s” job to shelter the rest of the family from conversations about money. That is changing.

Now it is really becoming a topic of national conversation. People are openly asking questions like:

Who and what can I trust?
What role does money play in my happiness?

These are deep questions.

One of the reasons that people don’t plan for their financial future is that a good financial planner requires us to talk about these things. Having the conversation will lead to intense discussions about trade offs, including what will I give up NOW for something in the future and trying to balance living today (however we define it) with our desire for freedom and the deep human need for security. Each of us have a different and unique answer to that balance. Balance for me might be very uncomfortable to you.

Great conversations are at the heart of the financial planning process.

Engaging in this conversation therefore forces you to think about things that you may have never considered consciously, but ultimately it leads to a much clearer and healthier relationship with money.

So what are the questions that you are asking yourself about money?

Oh!  And before I forget, please rate the app and also post feedback about any bugs/non functionality. 

Let's keep the conversation going.....

Ninad Kamat CFPCM
www.letsmakeaplan.in
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Sketches are sourced from Carl Richards of behaviourgap and are used with prior permission of the creator. They are subject to copyright.

Data Source: Behaviour Gap Newsletter