Why Investment and Insurance Are Essential for Your Financial Goals

Vishal Groverand his wife Kajal Grover, are not your regular business owners who inherit a family business; they have built this one from scratch. While Vishal was a pastry chef for 3 years before starting the Scrumptious Cafe, Kajal joined him after their marriage in 2007. With two kids, 8 and 4 years of age, they are the perfect Millennial mix of the values of the generations gone by and the values we try to adopt today.They struggle to keep up with the peer pressure and rat race that our lives are full of today, but at the same time try hard to strike a balance with saving the way the previous generations did.

Kajal muses,

“Our parents were very happy with whatever little they had at that time, now whatever little we have, we are not happy with it – we want more!

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}When I was young, I used to get 3 dresses in a year, and I was happy with that – Diwali, birthday or Christmas but nowadays children are not happy. ‘Mom you have to do this for me, get that’, which we were not so demanding at our time, we were happy with what we used to get.” It is the way of life that has made all the difference, they say. In want of comfort and a better life, sometimes it is difficult to draw a line.“There are times when you have to explain it to your kids – everything you ask for or demand; you won’t get it”. But this peer pressure is not just limited to the children; there is a huge shift in the needs and wants of the previous generation to the current.Having said that while the older generations believed in putting the children ahead of their own interests and wishes, this generation strives to find a middle path. There shouldn’t be any regrets after all. As Vishal puts it,” Right now, the shift is basically 50:50 now andearlier, it was 90:10- 10% was thinking about yourself as parents, and 90% was about children.Right now, we think more like, save money for your children but also, enjoy yourself.” Vishal insists that the credit cards may just be contributing to the liquidity and that’s not very healthy because you are spending what you don’t have. But saving for your children is something that Vishal and Kajal stick to, just like their parents. And it is a money habit they necessarily want to teach their kids. “Save for yourself and not for anybody else.

Basically, start saving young. I got a bank account for my son, so I told him to come along. I gave him a piggybank. They get monetary gifts, and they put it in the piggybank, and they say – I’ll buy a big gift from this money and I say, okay you collect 1000 rupees in the piggybank, and then you take out your money, and you go and spend it.”

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}Kajal’s motto is simple, “I want to give my kids the best of education so they can grow up to be good human beings. So my basic necessities are a good education, a good life for the kids and teaching them how to be good people.” Between them, Vishal makes the monetary decisions while Kajal follows. In turn, Vishal is dependent on his financial advisor for investment-related decisions. “Basically, there are no fix goals; if you keep a goal, it becomes very difficult to stay on it.

I do what the consultant advises because I don’t have any knowledge. My basic brief to him is that this thing should give me money 10 years down the line. That’s it.

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}I am good at something, like running this business, I don’t have the time to get into investments, track this every quarterly, track that etc. that doesn’t happen.”Prior to their marriage, when Kajal was earning, her money was managed by her grandfather and father. “Because I used to think dad is there to take care of these things, I don’t want to burden myself. I would definitely want my daughter to be independent, but over the generations, we’ve always seen that we’ve been dependant on our fathers for finance. So, if she also does the same,I won’t be surprised. But if she’s interested in finance, then well and good.” The Grovers do not really invest towards a goal, they have worked out a system wherein they keep parking their fund for a long-term and believe that when the money is redeemed, a purpose/goal will come along with it. And if it doesn’t, they shall reinvest the money.While Vishal has some Systematic Investment Plans (SIP) active for himself and Kajal, he also firmly believes in insurance, both medical and term. “Medical one is basically for emergencies, even if you have cards and everything, medical insurance is a must. Term insurance so that in case of emergency, the other person is always taken care of.” Vishal also has a fascinating take on loans. He says if you can keep your outflow in check, in terms of your EMIs and credit card bills, you can take the liberty with credit/loan and enjoy something today despite the higher cost since you have sometime in hand to pay it off.”Both Vishal and Kajal agree that enough is never enough! It is important to be happy with the money and life that you have right now while compromises are part and parcel of the journey. Here is a couple that is traditional in a lot of ways and at the same time, is trying to get the best of both the worlds for themselves and their children.

Key Takeaways

You may have sufficient funds to fulfill your dream but investing them in a disciplined manner would further help in growing your funds, thereby fulfill even larger dreams. Along with fulfilling your dreams, safeguarding the financial requirements of the family is also necessary. Which makes investment as well as insurance equally important.
Investing through SIP - Starting with SIP investment at a very young age inculcates the idea of disciplined investment and grows wealthwith the power of compounding.
Investing through Lump Sum- In case of surplus funds one can also invest in debt funds and equity fundsin lump sum according to the risk-taking capability. One can choose to invest in risky avenues if they can invest for a longer duration.
Insurance Investment- Term insurance and health insurance are equally important to keep the finances balanced even during the death of the bread earner or during any health ailments in the family. Having a health insurance for the family saves the investment even during any health hazard of the family.

DISCLAIMER

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.