Young adults are perhaps the richest among all of us. They have something more - "time", an age when the possibilities are unlimited. In case you are a young adult in 20s or 30s or a parent / guardian with children approaching or are in their 20s, this article is for you. The article guides us to do a few things which perhaps no one has ever told us to do. These things will introduce you to the world of finance and when taken, will be your first steps to the world of finance...

Why Take These Steps?
There is one common thing which most people after the age of 35 regret. That common regret is about not knowing about investments and saving at a young age. To be financially successful, being skilled and knowledgeable is not enough. You need to have the right wealth management skills to be rich. It can amplify or magnify your income many times over. Hence, while you should focus on learning and pursuing your career dreams, you should also focus on increasing your 'wealth quotient'. The earlier you take the jump, the chances of becoming wealthier soon, increases.

Being in your teens or in your 20's is the best time to take the steps listed here...

The First Steps:

1. Learn about Personal Finance & Investing
   Knowledge about personal finance topics and investing at an early age is a great asset. Young adults must know about different asset classes, investment products, insurance, loans & credit, time value of money, inflation, savings, taxation, financial planning, etc. Such knowledge, especially during early years of career can really help someone take great decisions for future. If you are a guardian, be sure to involve the young adults in your own investment decisions. There are many ways in which young adults can gain financial knowledge. Some of them are...
   • Read books, finance magazines and watch TV shows on investments
   • Interact with financial advisors, accountants, experienced family members
   • Attend investment seminars/camps by regulators, participants in financial services industry
   • Enroll for any certification from the many offered by NSE/BSE on the subject matter
2. Get Engaged
   Your parents must already be investing and interacting with their accountants and financial advisors. We encourage you too to participate in learning and understanding the decisions, your parents are making. You may ask them about what financial savings are being done for your future. You may also enquire about insurance coverages, etc. taken for all family members and whether those are accurate. As savvy Internet users, you may also share your feedback and suggestions to your parents in their wealth management activities. We are confident that with the kind of access to information you have, you can
3. Control your spendings
   Young adults are perhaps the most valued consumers hunted by every big brand ranging from cars to shoes to laptops to even holiday packages. With the newly gained earning power and lack of big responsibilities, it is natural that spendings on entertainment, gadgets, accessories, hanging out / parties, etc. form a big chunk of the spendings. Surely it is the time to enjoy life but young adults are advised to control their urge to splurge and not make impulsive decisions. It would be great if one can budget such spendings and avoid taking big decisions like buying motorbikes, cars, laptops, etc. without adequate thinking and research.
4. Start investing immediately:
   We have often spoken on this topic. The benefit of saving early can never be under estimated. Even if the savings is mall, with the power of compounding, the wealth created by you can be enormous, as seen from the following matrix.
   In the above e.g., Mr. Delay would have to invest thrice the amount, or R 30,000 monthly, saved by Mr. Smart if he wants to match the wealth created by him at age 35.
5. Get PAN & start filing tax returns:
   PAN card can be issued to any person, irrespective of whether there is any earning or not. And, if you have started earning, it is best to start preparing & filing income tax returns (ITR), unless exempted. Filling of ITR has many advantages as it is considered as a standard income proof globally and can help you while applying for loans, visa applications for jobs abroad, requesting tax refunds, etc. The PAN issued by IT authority is a prerequisite for filing ITR and is also mandatory for all financial transactions. So it makes sense to get yourself one, even if you don't have much income.
6. Get health & life cover
   Getting adequate protection at a young age, where people tend to be more adventurous, is highly advised, even if there aren't any dependents on you. Buying health or life cover at a younger age is also considerably cheaper than buying the same later. Such protection can really help one, in case there is any unforeseen emergency and financial burden on parents will be avoided.
7. Start thinking about home
   The average age of home & car buyers has decreased dramatically in the last 20 years. Powered by easy availability of loans, fat pay packages & growing aspirations, the first time home buyer today is often around the age of 30. The first time car buyers are even younger. It would thus be best advised that young adults keep these goals in mind and start saving as much as possible for home & car goals, if any, from now onwards. It would really benefit you a lot when the time comes for purchase in near future. Often young adults delay saving for the goal and end up paying lesser down-payments and taking higher amount of loans which should be avoided. Lastly, even if you have a house of your own, it is advisable to think of buying a house as an investment for future and also enjoy tax benefits on same.

Conclusion:
Having time on your side is a great advantage and never to be missed. It is also the time that you can afford to make mistakes while learning - this is a luxury which most people cannot afford at the later years of their lives. Experience has shown that wise decisions, actions and discipline in these formative years go a long way in securing a better financial future down the line. Simple actions taken today can help you avoid taking tough decisions at times when you have a family to support and lot of responsibilities to be taken care of. So go ahead and make the best of this time.

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Remember how your parents instilled the habits of thrift in you, how your mom used to help you save money from your pocket money to deposit in the piggy bank, and when you got bonus bucks for reciting a poem, how your dad played money games with you and you got rewarded when you saved, when your dad helped you open your first savings account, how they helped you make your first investment. Now its your turn, the tables have turned. It is difficult to imagine, but yes, your parents have become old. And it's your responsibility to see that your parents are not going off track.

Your old mom and dad are not as tech advanced, they are not familiar with the latest investment options available. They tend to forget to pay bills and incur penalties. If both parents are alive, they divide their tasks, one handles the investments, the bills, the world outside the house and the other takes care of the domestic activities. But if either one is alive, it becomes difficult to handle everything, they get confused and end up messing things. Their health is deteriorating with time. There might be instances when they change their financial plan suddenly, or there is a change in the spending pattern. When you start noticing these traits in your parents, its time you should step in at this stage to take care of the financial health of your parents along with their physical health.

How to approach?

You must understand your wellspring's psyche before proceeding, since they have been guiding you throughout your life, managing their incomes and expenses, providing for your expenses as well and a sudden exchange in roles should be soft. Your words and actions must not hurt your parent's ego at any time. You need to take a few steps in order to effectively manage your parent's wealth.

• Talk: The first step is to talk it out. You must acquaint yourself with the exact financial position of your parents, their assets and liabilities, their income and expenses, investment commitments, etc. It might be a little difficult to initiate the money talk with the ones who have taught you about money, there will be hesitation in asking directly or they may not be comfortable sharing such things with you but you have to break the ice. You may start by narrating anecdotes, say an example of a friend's parents, who faced bad situations, because they could not manage their finances as a result of lack of awareness and your friend had no idea of what was going on.

• Health: Another major issue with old people is a constant narrowing down of health, and increasing medical expenses. You must review the medical insurance plans of your parents, and in case the policies do not have a sufficient cover or are not apt, you must immediately pay and upgrade or make the necessary modifications, since unexpected medical costs may become a burden.

• Associate with their advisors: Get in touch with your parents' financial advisors, meet them often, so that you are familiar with their investments, and also you'll be in a better position to understand and convey their specific requirements and goals.

• Keep a check: Be vigilant, keep an eye on their banking transactions. Monitor their payments, check if there are any outstanding bills or credit card payments, ensure that they are being paid in time, to avoid penalties, you may automate processes for them, authorize direct debit for regular payments. Educate them the benefit and usage of technology or try to do the tech stuff for them. You can become joint holders with your parents in their bank accounts, this will enable to monitor the transactions easily, you can also take decisions on their behalf, write cheques, etc.

• Estate planning: This is a very sensitive subject, but is equally important. Your parents have toiled throughout their life to build the assets that they have today. And they wish to transit the property to their loved ones. But in absence of a will, these assets will go as per the choice of law and not as per your parents'. So, in order to avoid such complications in future, you must make a move and ask your parent's about their estate transfer plans. You should discuss their plans and accordingly you may arrange for a professional will writer for them. If things are clear from the beginning, you can escape from undesirable consequences later.

• Phishing attacks: Senior citizens are the soft targets of phishing attacks. If you hear your Mom giving out her personal details, like her bank account number, passwords, address, etc. on phone or going to the bank to deposit money in someone's bank account because she won a lottery, you must intervene immediately. You must be vigilant and also educate and alert your parents about such misdeeds. Falling prey to such traps can be a huge setback for your parents and you may face severe financial loss.

You are the sandwich generation, you have take care of your kids as well your parents. It is better to prepare and plan. A little caution and effort on your part can have a productive impact on the financial health of your elders.

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“Frugality may be termed the daughter of prudence, the sister of temperance and the parent of liberty.” - Samuel Johnson

Saving is the predecessor of investments and building wealth. The minimum you spend, i.e. the maximum you save, i.e. the maximum you invest and grow. To be wealthy, we have to spend wisely. There are millionaires and billionaires, who are wise men, and they follow the lifestyles of a commoner, not because they are stingy, rather because of their morals, on the foundations of which they have built an empire worth billions.

Warren Buffet, the man behind Berkshire Hathaway, is always amongst top five richest people in the World list, he also tops the list of modest billionaires. He is often referred to as the “world's best investor”. He has also quoted various mantras on investing, which are followed worldwide. Buffet still lives in the house which he bought for $31,500 in 1958. Buffet does not spend on electronics, he does not carry a cellphone, nor does he have a computer on his desk. He keeps his maintenance expense to the minimum and is always looking for a better deal, Coke and Cheetos are a part of his daily diet.

Wipro's founder, Mr Azim Premji, one of the richest man of India, is famous for his frugal lifestyle. There are various anecdotes on Mr Premji's life, which narrates his ideologies. He is known to drive a Toyota Corolla for over a decade, and on his senior executives' advice, he upgraded to a pre-owned Mercedes Benz E Class, which he purchased from a Wipro employee. He prefers to fly in economy class, he has also been spotted in autorickshaws, public buses, and is seen walking on the roads. He would always prefer company guesthouses over 5 star hotels. And this is just one face of the coin. Mr Premji has given away half of his wealth for charity, he founded an NGO, Azim Premji Foundation, through which he contributes for spreading education and upliftment of the society.

Apart from the above, there are many big names, who believe in humility. Some of them are Mark Zuckerberg, the Jeans and T shirt CEO of Facebook, who drives a Wolkswagen Golf GTI to office; Carlos Slim, the owner of Telmex and America Movil; the owner of Zara, Amancio Ortega and many more.

On the contrary, we have our Indian tycoon, Mr Vijay Mallya, who is known for his exorbitant lifestyle, fancy cars and flamboyant parties. Mr Mallya owns a private megayacht, the Indian Empress, where he throws his VIP parties, he travels in private jets. He believes in 'Living life king size'. He accumulated a lot of wealth over the last 3 decades, only to lose it all. His destroyed business now provides a lesson to the entrepreneurs, 'Things that they should not be doing in their business'.

Everybody can't be like these great mean, it is because of their extreme beliefs and practices, they are great. But we can at least imbibe a small degree of their basic values into our lives. We buy a lot of stuff which we can't afford, we buy expensive clothes, eat at fancy restaurants. There are people whose value in terms of their assets is Rs 50 Lacs and they buy cars worth Rs 15 Lacs. This is absurdity which is not letting us grow.

This is an overheard a conversation of two young salesgirls in a Levis store in Mumbai, Girl one, “I am saving because I want to buy that designer handbag worth Rs 20,000”, Girl two,, “Are you out of your mind, why do you want to spend so much on a bag, you would get a good bag within Rs 1,000 in that store on the third floor” Girl one, “But I am in love with that piece, I'll buy it anyway.” Clearly, she can't afford to buy it, and there would not be any tangible difference between the designer's bag and the one at the third floor, but her inclination towards the former is only on account of the brand value. We often make such mistakes, where we compare the brand and not the quality, or we buy something, not because we need it, but because our friends have it. We can save a lot of money if we bring some thrift and sense into our thought process, we can direct the money that we save today to our future and for the country's future.

There are great men and if they can do it, you can do it too. It is for you to decide whether you want to be the Warren Buffet or the Vijay Mallya. If you want to be big and maintain the enormity, you must not waste what you have.

“If you don't value money today, a day will come when money will no longer value you.”

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