Small steps: Six tips to plan personal finances for Indian women

Those grandmother's financial lessons for us? Do you remember Piggy bank we got as kids? Our mothers and grandmothers have always been known to the strike the right balance between spending and saving. The most efficient way of running the house, managing the finance, cutting out on unnecessary expenses and sometimes even our pocket money - they knew it all and without any finance degree. And whenever we ran short of money, the piggy bank came to our rescue. I often wonder how did they manage finances so well without any formal education. But this isn't just my story, it's your story too and the story of many of us.

My personal journey has been quite similar - learnings which were passed on from generations. Finance and planning go hand in hand and that's what I have seen as I was growing up. I have been able to study or invest in properties or meet most of my financial needs or even send my son overseas for his higher education because of the advice given to be my mother - planning and saving. Yes, it's that simple. We need to bring back the discipline our grandmothers has been following for years. In fact we have an advantage to opt for a qualified advisor who can advise us on how to get optimal return and take advantage of compounding.

Having said that, the best advice I would like to leave you with grandmother's lessons valid in today's world

Don't fear, start today - small investment even of Rs 2000 pm saving with compound effect over years can earn you million

Get involved in planning of house, including the education of your children (current trend is overseas studies), wealth building - Investment on education is crucial, it would help uplift society, economic development of country and many more avenues to earn

Have your Financial Budget - make a habit to set aside a percentage every month for saving. If you earn Rs 10,000 pm, save 30% make it a habit and as your income increase the percentage

Cash is king - You need Cash to pay bills, investment, and medical. Track how much cash comes in and how much goes out

Create your own Financial Assets - plan your retirement, major goals well in advance - Kids education, your marriage, holiday, MBA etc

Last but not the least Be Agile - keep learning

Views are the author's own