Lessons of Financial Planning - In Ipl way

          You always need to be equally prepared for the pleasant surprises and the bad shocks as well

              

Cricket in India is the most popular and most watched sport as compared to all other sports in India. The passion, the craze, the thrill and the excitement that the spectators experience is in matchable to that of any other sport. Cricket in India is like Football in Brazil or Spain. The enthusiasm and the excitement is above all other things. Cricket in India is everyone’s favorite (still there are few who doesn’t like the hype of the game) and is played by most people. 

People here in India can talk cricket all the time. Cricket flows in their blood and probably that’s the reason for “We Bleed Blue” slogan we saw on t-shirts during ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

It’s back! The fun, the action, the madness and the crazy atmosphere that engulfs each and every part of the country. It’s the game that is a sport second and a religion first. The game that makes millions of hearts skip a beat as the ball is hit high up in the air. Will it be caught? Or has it been hit hard enough to cross the boundary line? Yes, it’s cricket. As the Indian Premier League (IPL) is back with a smashing tenth season, there’s a lot of excitement in the air.

If you cannot fathom how cricket is related to making money apart from the fact that cricket stars make tons of it, let us help you out in deciphering what you can learn about financial planning from the IPL format.

Start early

T20 does not reward late starters—teams need to start scoring early in the innings. If you don’t have enough runs on the board, your batsmen will always be playing catch-up

Similarly, you need to start investing and saving early. The sooner you begin, the more time you get to compound your capital. Also, all batting sides take advantage of the fielding restrictions early in the innings. In the same way, when you are young, there are many things you can afford to do as compared to when you grow older. One of these could be to start building your financial resources when you have few other financial obligations.

Surprise, Surprise!

People say cricket is a game of uncertainties and it’s absolutely right. No matter how many pitch reports and game predictions you make (depending on the latest form of players from both teams), you can never really predict the outcome. A batsman who has been consistently failing in the previous matches might suddenly surprise you with a century. Or a bowler, who had a five-wicket haul in the previous match, might just get banged with fours and sixes. Basically, it’s all about surprises.

Investments are exactly the same. You always need to be equally prepared for the pleasant surprises and the bad shocks as well. Since it involves a fair bit of risk, there’s always some room for surprises creeping in.

Strategic break

Teams take a strategic break to review their progress after 10 overs and chalk out a strategy for the rest of the innings. Such strategy breaks are important for your financial road map as well. If you don’t regularly review progress and look at ways to address the problems and challenges, you may end up falling short of your financial targets.

Seek advice of a coach: 

On an IPL team, there is a whole host of inexperienced actors who may be good but are not familiar with what needs to be managed to accomplish success on the field while facing players of professional gauge.This is true of life as well as finances. You may an innate sense of investing, but may not have adequate knowledge of all investment avenues. It is therefore best to seek advice of a financial planner who will make your money work for you.

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Balance

Just like a team needs the right balance of big hitters, anchors and effective bowlers, your investment portfolio, too, needs the right balance of investments. Too much of growth or aggressive funds, without adequate support or backup, might make your portfolio shaky. You must recognize that your investments should be diversified across sectors and different assets, and not be concentrated in any one area.

Cultivate and maintain a winning attitude:  

For any player who is a part of IPL a winning attitude is a must. Only when each player of the team believes that he will do his best will the team win the match. This is true of your financial goals too. You must have the confidence to invest in a regular and discerning manner and believe that your investments will accumulate wealth for you.

Distractions can be entertaining, but ultimately the score matters

T20 is highly entertaining not only on the pitch, but also because of all the music and dancing. But ultimately, a team wins or loses on the back of its performance. Similarly, while you are securing your finances, distractions such as the hottest investments or the flavours of the month will come and go, but what matters most is that your “investment scorecard” should show a healthy average. You must focus on what matters and ignore the distractions.

So,you can see even a game of cricket in an entertaining format can teach you a thing or two about better money management. As you enjoy the ongoing season of the IPL, make certain you keep these simple lessons in mind as well!