From my childhood till now, the only festival which I have been passionate about is Makar Sankranti. I don’t know why but there are lot of emotions (determination to win, patience, fear, greed and the list would go on) I go through on the day of this festival.
I was blessed to spend my childhood growing on the streets of south Mumbai, especially Girgaum, where I still believe the celebrations are at peak from 7 am to 11 pm in the night.
Today, after completing 10 years as a Chartered Accountant & an advisor, I find a lot of similarities between Makar Sankranti and Financial management and what an investor can learn from this festival.
Disclaimer: Some of the terminologies related to kite flying are intentionally used in Hindi as honestly using English would just be an insult.
Some of the similarities which I found between flying kite and investing are:
Braving the sun - No gain without pain. We stand the whole day flying kites, determined to make the most of the day and katofy every kite in our way.
Not every kite flies high. Some kites get katofied, some get torn but the one which gives us immense pleasure is the kite that finally flies high after several unsuccessful attempts. Similarly, investors should be prepared to stay the course to achieve success.
Manjha (abrasive thread used for flying kites) is money
Some have less, some have more and those who have less manjha don’t stop flying their kites. A single kite may kato other kites and you may end up with many more kites. This holds true for investing too. You don’t need a lot of money to invest. Small contributions at regular interval will ensure you have a larger corpus at retirement. What is important is to start flying (read investing)!
Those who have a decent flow of manjha can surely give dheel and set their path to attain high growth.
Right protection- Just like you need to tape your fingers before you handle the manjha, you need to cover yourself to avoid damaging your financial health. At least that’s what I learned in a year after I started flying kites. Have all your insurance in place. It is always wiser to play safe and cover the areas which are going to be affected the most.
Provisions for emergency – A good kite flying session is incomplete without ample number of kites & manjha, good music, cap, sunglasses .Similarly, if you are planning to fly your financial kite, make sure you have provided for all the expenses you need to keep your financial kite flying high. Set aside an emergency fund in place so that you don’t have to run from pillar to post when the need arises.
So if I have to summarize, not everyone has the skill or the right acumen to pick correct schemes, yet a disciplined habit helps achieve satisfactory results. Use the right investment options and evaluate your risk appetite. Many fly together, many get cut, many are torn to pieces, yet the optimist sees his kites flying high in the sky! Set your financial path and make investing a habit (invest in SIP).
My best learning from kite flying is “Nazar sadaa ho unchi sikhaati hain Patang!!”
Enjoy the festival enjoy investing!!!
The views expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cafemutual.