Life Is a Bike Ride !!!

Hi,

Bike rides / road trips are experiences which everybody should have once in their lifetime. I have tried to put down my experiences/ learnings of my bike ride. Somewhere I found a lot of resemblance with Financial planning and I have tried to point out a few.

 Pre ride tune up: Make sure before you start your ride, you and your beast should be in perfect physical condition to enjoy the journey. Get your bike checked with the mechanic for Oil top up, wires, breaks and buy the necessary riding gear, sadle bags, helmet, etc… After you are sorted make sure that the others are too cause if they are stuck so are you. Discuss the route plane decide on time, Points, breaks well in advance and communicate.

One should also have the necessary stuff like all the relevant documents, estimation of monthly expenses and income, goals at appropriate age. etc. ready. Ideally it should be done by themselves or seek help of an advisor.

The day: Joyous and energetic that’s how a start should be. It’s a cardinal sin to not be on time on the day of the journey especially in a group, it hampers the excitement and morale, so try and set the right tone for the ride.

Start young as early start sets the tone for future, also be punctual while doing their investments. Timely payment of premium or maintaining sufficient balance in the account for deduction of SIP’s are some of the basic rules that should be kept in mind.

Off you go: Make sure you enjoy the ride and take it easy. Mistakes will always happen but sometimes not knowing routes getting confused, missing formation these small hiccups are good as they go on to make wonder full memories.  Enjoy the local delicacies on your way during a break. But make sure you are in pairs, we don’t want to do get stranded alone do we?

Financial Planning is a long journey and many events will occur during the journey. Some may be sweet, others may be bitter. Mistakes are bound to happen, but that doesn’t mean you stop believing. Sometimes Trump may eat away our returns or Brexit will cause a temporary havoc in the economy or one fine day you suddenly enter into a cashless society with fancy purple and green coloured monopoly notes. There may be ups and downs but just hold on to it and everything will fall into place.

Safety First: I know this is the first rule of riding but the context is more psychological than physical, you might wear gears and cover yourself but you need to be mentally strong when you are on a road trip. Stay hydrated mentally by taking breaks, don’t get tempted to speed just because the other guy is, avoid racing on unfamiliar roads, you are not valentinorossi and even if you are these are not the roads you want to drift on.

You might be lured to buy a product just because a colleague just bought it. But you should know your risk appetite and choose investments according your needs and goals. Have their insurance in place and SIP’s going. Avoid investing directly in equities just because the pan wala gave that tip, if you don’t have the necessary time and patience, everybody can’t be Warren Buffet or Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Consult an advisor if you can’t manage on your own.

Formation and consistency: Yes, we all love to speed and everyone has their own style. But it’s important to have the basics intact. Who will lead who will be at the end. Speed range, formation and moreover taking responsibility. It’s actually an excellent team building exercise. Helps some to curb their instincts and be patient and some to come overcome their fears and improve their skills and become better. It’s a visual treat to watch bikes on road in tandem and sync.

Following the plan and achieving your goals, seems like a simple individual task but apparently many variables are involved in it and they affect/ change one’s financial life. It may be spouse, kids parents, relative, friends, work, external environment etc… The more in sync the smoother the journey. Sometimes there is a job loss/change, sickness, birth of child.  life changes the skill is to adopt to these changes and to make others adapt too.

Reach your destination: There is no satisfaction greater then reaching your destination, and the satisfaction is much higher when everything goes according to plan. And even if it doesn’t then all the hiccups becomes memory to cherish for a long time.

There is no satisfaction greater than seeing the goals getting achieved and all the difficulties faced the journey become fruitful experiences.

So enjoy your ride and make the most of your financial life.