MONEY!!… an artificial but the scarcest resource for every human being on the planet Earth apart from various natural resources. ‘PAISAA’…Jitna hai, utna kam hai!! Genesis of the Money problem – Money is the utmost crucial part of an individual’s life. Hence spending it in the right way becomes very necessary. Individuals tend to spend more on short term and less prior requirements and do not carry a futuristic few towards long term and more prior financial needs. This is due to substantial increase in the disposable income of individuals over past few years and gradual shift towards living a luxurious lifestyle from a typical conservative attitude.
Also it has been observed that from decades the financial literacy level has been very low in a country like India. Indians are always considered as great money savers, but not so great investors. Current financial industry is driven more by various complex financial products and less unbiased financial advice. Hence, it becomes very difficult for an individual to take decisions without sound financial knowledge or at least a proper advice.
The Panacea – The remedy to all money problems is proper planning. Financial Planning provides the direction and meaning to your financial decisions. It is the process of channelizing one’s financial resources towards one’s financial priorities, with the aim of achieving them in most effective manner keeping uncertainties into consideration. The Sustainable Financial Planning is a comprehensive and holistic approach of managing the money available with the individuals while considering all important factors to attain stress-free and peaceful financial life. The Sustainable financial planning covers all the facets of financial planning, like Cash flow Management, Risk Management, Investment Management / Goal Based Planning, Retirement Planning and Succession Planning.
But still due to lack of expertise and awareness, the Sustainable Financial Planning approach is still missing. Government, Regulators, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries need to put more efforts for making people aware about proper financial planning approach. As currently the financial industry focuses more on penetration of different financial products, the focus need to be shifted towards comprehensive financial planning which will help individuals to achieve their goals.