Outlook Money – 01.03.2018

Special

Write down every financial

goal and prioritise them

Fine-tune the art of budgeting

Have an emergency fund

in place

Invest in adequate health

insurance early on

Explore new investment

avenues

Plan for your retirement as

early as possible

Update financial documents

Make a will and inform those

close to you

Avoid depending on loans as

far as possible

Actively participate in family

investments

Financial

Commandments

next 40 years, India is projected

to add 424 million working-age

adults. If the country can increase

women’s labour force participation

by 10 percentage points (which is 68

million more women) by 2025,

it could increase its GDP by 16

per cent.

Money and beyond

In her critically acclaimed book Lean

In, Sheryl Sandberg, the current

Chief Operating Officer of Facebook,

observes, “A truly equal world would

be one where women ran half our

countries and companies and men

ran half our homes.”

Delhi-based Ritika Kundoo, 26,

a senior operations manager with a

multinational company, is a typical

millennial who started working in

2012, soon after graduation. She

says, “I was keen on starting my

career early and wanted a good body

of work experience instead of more

degrees. I do plan to take a study

break after a few years when I have

saved enough, as I do not wish to

Bushra Waseem , 27, Noida

Lawyer

Life stage: Married and with a three-year-old
daughter. Just started her career as a lawyer. Wants
to save mostly for her daughter’s education.

Dilshad Billimoria’s advice for

Bushra Waseem:

Working mothers have to plan for a

whole lot more expenses, keeping

their kids in mind. Crèche and day-

care costs are rising exponentially and

are very expensive today. Planning for

primary education should form part of

the fixed budget expenses. Education

inflation is among the highest

at 20-25 per cent. Don’t neglect

inflation and consider the benefits of

compounding while planning.

depend solely on loans.”

Like most millennials, Kundoo

enjoys the freedom of being a

working adult with no liabilities –

whether it’s travelling to new places,

indulging in the latest gadgets,

or impulse shopping. “When I

started working as a 22-year-old

I was not financially disciplined,

but I made sure that I saved 30-

40 per cent of my salary. I believe

in investing in experiences and I

always saved money for my travels,”

she says. However, Kundoo has

since developed a keen interest in

her financial goals and has started

investing in mutual funds through

Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs).

For working millennial women,

financial well-being is not only

about spending on what’s in vogue.

It is also about sharing a sense of

responsibility. Bushra Waseem, 27,

has her hands full with her career

as a lawyer and mother of a three-

year-old. “My priorities in life have

shifted ever since I became a mother.

I recently started working and I want

Photo: Gireesh Gv

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http://www.outlookmoney.com March 2018 Outlook Money 47