While talking to a group of Engineering students today, I gave them the good news that you don’t need to be an automobile engineer to drive a car. (Okay, you knew that already! :p )
And it applies to driving our money cars too. We don’t have to be a CFP to be able to drive our money car.
When we drive our cars, we essentially focus on 4 things.
1. Be able to handle the steering.
2. Be alert on the brakes.
3. Be able to change gears/clutch.
4. Step on the accelerator.
So with our money cars.
1. Maximize Income
2. Optimize Expenses.
3. Optimize savings
4. Maximize investments.
Often, the only thing people are interested in learning is stepping on the gas, err… investments. May I remind people that investment is just one component of personal finance and there are other things that should catch your attention too.
Type of Drivers
Let’s go back to drivers. Ideally, You would like to have a chauffeur driven car. Also that driver should not be using your car surreptiously and getting inflated maintenance bills or selling petrol/engine parts. Good luck with finding that kind of drivers as they arent’s easily available. Moreover, you should be able to afford them. They don’t come cheap.
If the drivers that you get do not charge they must be making money out of your car someway. There are some pointers above.
Even if you get a cheap driver and pay him adequately as per his qualifications, the driver may harm your car by driving rashly.
The last option is to drive your car yourself. Some people would like to learn driving by a trained driver. Others (like me) can learn it themselves. Sometime, the hard way!
Who’s driving yor money car?
In India, the 3 million insurance agents, MF Advisors and Brokers are driving your money car. Some of them are good, but they would form a miniscule %age of that 30+ lakh figure. 5-10%, is my guess.
There are some CFPs who are good and they can be your chauffeurs for your money car. How to find them and be able to afford them is the challenge.
How about learning to drive your own money car? You can learn it yourself, it’s not a big deal if you ask me.
But you might commit some mistakes and there’s no one to correct you. (Sidenote: I learnt driving myself. I started with the third gear instead of first in my new fiat car, circa 1995 and perhaps damaged some parts!)
How about taking some driving lessons from a trained money driver? Yours truly faces the question of choosing between
1. to be a money chauffeur for some people or
2. helping a lot of people learn to drive their money car.
I want to and have chosen to be your Personal Money Car Trainer. (Nice designation, no!, PMCT!!)
Join my RupeeCamp mailing list, if this sounds interesting. And tell all your friends too, because this kind of thing has not been attempted before and I would need all your support. Thanks.
Coming Soon! RupeeCamp "Financial Planning Workshop". "Join us"
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