Monday, September 08, 2014

Do you need a written plan to build wealth?



(A part of this article was published in 'Complete Well Being' magazine - July 2014 edition by the name - '5 Financial Fallacies we follow').
(You can read the complete article by clicking here.)

"OK, we have just signed a 1 year project with a new client." Rohit informed his team during the team meeting.

"Congratulations sir !!" and the team applauded the success.
Everyone clapped and basked in the glory of the moment.


"Now that we have got the project, the first thing I expect you to do is to give me a project plan." said Rohit pointing towards Abhishek - the team leader.

"Boss, of course. I mean we all know that. No project can be run successfully without a project plan. You will surely get it by the next week. You do not even need to tell us that we need a project plan to run a project." an embarrassed looking Abhishek informed his boss Rohit.

A project plan is so obvious when it comes to our professional life. Even in our personal lives, we tend to create a plan for most of the activities that we feel are important. 


  • You want to build a house? You need a plan. 
  • The government wants to construct a bridge? It needs a plan. 
  • You need to go on a long vacation? You need a plan. 
  • The country wants to send a space mission? It needs a plan. 
  • Your spouse wants to lose weight? He / she needs a diet plan. 
  • You want to be a professional sportsperson? You need a plan.

Not only we need a plan, we need it to be very clearly documented - so that it can be tracked against various tasks - and if we are deviating from what we planned, this measurement of deviation allows us to take appropriate corrective action.

But when it comes to our financial life, we tend to mostly take things for granted. We save without a planned target, we spend without a target, we invest without a plan, and we leave it to HIM to ensure that we will have good enough money by the time we retire. If not, we will adjust our lives as per the availability of the funds. What a tragic mistake not to plan your financial life, and not taking it seriously enough.

How much money do you want, by when do you want it and why do you want it? 

These are some of the questions that must be answered in a "written" format via a proper financial plan. If you are more of a thinker and intellect type, then my serious advice for you would be to "think on paper". Do not make the mistake of having the goals and targets in your head. Your head is not a database, rather it is a computing and decision making engine. Use it for the right purpose, to get the most out of it.

Nothing worthwhile in the world has ever been achieved without a concrete documented plan. Your plan should have your financial goals, monthly targets to achieve the goals, and a mechanism to track your actual portfolio against those targets. 

Always remember that if you are failing to plan, then you are planning for failure.


As a part of my mission of life, we offer free financial freedom planning support and coaching to anyone who is seriously interested in achieving financial freedom. You can write back to us at help@manoj-arora.com

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Cheers

Manoj Arora
Freedom can buy you....what money cannot !!


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