Money secrets that Financial Experts won't tell you.

Eid Mubarak to my LinkedIn Family.

This is the first edition of my Newsletter and I am super excited to share my thoughts and my honest opinions on all things personal finance.

Now before you decide to dedicate the next few minutes to this newsletter - have a read of this testimonial I got recently....

When people who had never thought about personal finance before are speaking so confidently about the process financial planning, you know its time to pay attention.

There is one common theme with all my testimonials i.e I don't believe in unrealistic outcomes and will never promise them. Secondly, my job is to tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.

Some like it. Some dont. It is what it is.

So I decided to start this newsletter with a much needed dose of reality and some truth bombs.

Lets get into it.

There is so much b.s in the world of investing and finance that it has become practically impossible to know what to believe. Therefore I want to highlight some points that will help make these decisions easier.

1. Investing is a long term game.

I know its the oldest cliche in the book.

But guess what?

By far the biggest problem that investors have is not understanding how much time is needed to put the odds of success in your favor.

Its not 1 month. Its not year either.

Its closer to 5-10 years. Plain and simple.

Takeaway: Invest for your long term goals and invest regularly.

2. Have a good b.s detector.

There is a lot of money to made in the money business.

Thats why you have a lot of bad advice that is given on a day to day basis.

There are a lot of people in the financial services industry who look fairly reputable and sound very reputable who give absolutely terrible advice.

"Well Mitesh. Why would that be? "

Lets see. They work in a system which pushes them to give bad advice.

We all know the power of incentives.

"I understand Mitesh. But I think I am smart enough to know when I am being fooled."

Hate to break it to you but that isn't the case either.

Let me explain why.

There is absolutely zero requirement for a financial services professional to do the right thing for their client. Its really the wild wild west out here.

These things arent taught in schools or colleges. Thats one big reason why otherwise incredibly smart executives are so easily fooled.

Its not your fault. (Good Will Hunting anyone?)

Takeaway : If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

3. Understand the stakes.

What do I mean by that?

Money is one of the biggest areas of life.

This impacts sending your kids to college.

This can decide how much you have left in retirement. You really dont want to look back in retirement wishing you had planned differently. That would really suck.

So to put it bluntly ... All this eally really important stuff.

No matter what anyone has to say ... The two things that have the biggest impact in our lives is health and money. Like it or not.

Whats the takeaway?

Take personal finance seriously.

Plan early. Invest early so you can retire early. Financial planning is one thing where it is good to be early. (IYKYK)

4. Red Flags to look out for.

In general, be very careful when it comes to certainty in predictions or forecasts.

"I know where this stock or the market is headed."

"Trust me, this is a sure thing."

"We know a recession is going to come in the next 6 months."

We have all heard such statements on many occasions.

But guess what?

In life and in investing, there are no certainties or guarantees, only probailities.

So when anyone makes such predictions with certainty, its time to run. Because two things might be happening here.

One, the person has no idea what they are talking about... Second, the person is trying to sell you something. In both cases, run!!

The best you can do is putting the odds of success in your favour.

This sounds relatively simple. Then why am I harping on it ?

Because certainty sells. Its music to our ears. We crave it. That is why financial professionals sell it.

Remember this the next time you hear a prediction about the markets.

Well, thats all for this week.

Every week, I will be uncovering various finance related topics and give you my unflitered views on it. (You can see I am quite passionate about it)

Also, if you want to understand my process and how I create a financial plan from scrach to get you on your war to financial freedom then join me for my Linked Live on the 16th of April.

I am quitely confident that it will be worth your time.

Here is the link.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/breakingfree-howweengineeredfin7182064222678237185/theater/

I will be thrilled if you coul like, comment and share this article.

In fact, I will love you forever.