Our Bali Trip Experience – I grew in the small town of Giridih, which is in the Jharkhand state of India. Traveling and seeing the world or at least India has been always my dream and is continuing to be.
Those early days of my childhood, if I see my neighbor going to big cities like Bombay, Delhi or even Calcutta, I used to wonder and imagine, they must be very rich or might have won some lottery and I think you people will too agree, in case you were the 80s or 90s kid.
Fast forward to the new century, I think if we see people going to a foreign land or some exotic resort, we still think that they must have money to enjoy these, and believe me, that’s how even I used to think 5 years back.
Then my thought process changed when I came to know the term called SIP or systematic investment plan, which can be a goal-based investment tool specially made for short-term or long-term goals.
The goals can be anything from buying a home to a decent car or for a child’s education or if you are asking in my context, a well-deserving holiday to Bali to celebrate our 5th marriage anniversary. How cool is this?
BALI TRIP PROLOGUE
The year was 2017 and we were about to celebrate our 5th marriage anniversary which happens in November end. One fine day, it came to my mind that why not celebrate the special year in style. Bali, as I came to know about its awesome beaches, weather and to witness their Balinese’s culture (which closely resembles our Hindu’s culture)
Our objective was to enjoy the moments in the best we could and hence we prepared the complete itinerary by ourselves. I decided to stay on the secluded island of Gilli and spend some days there.
OUR BALI TRIP EXPENSES?
The total end-to-end trip’s expense came out to be around 1.5 lakh Indian Rupee, now I understand it’s on the higher side, however, we had to overstay for a couple of days in Bali as the volcano erupted and it caused the airport to shut down.
I think and strongly believe that if we plan our financial part well in advance, these expenses which are sort of best memories that we create are actually very less. Though we left the beautiful island of Bali in 7 days, the memories we created will remain with us throughout our life and hence the expenses are literally nothing.
HOW DID MY FINANCIAL PLANNING HELP US?
It’s no rocket science that a sincere and committed investment plan can really help you to get your goals and dream materialized. I purposely used “investment” and not “savings” and the difference is quite clear and simple. I believe with saving you are just making your money safe and resting but through “investment” you are making your money work for you to make more money.
Investment avenues refer to the different alternatives, through which a person can channelize his money in a potentially profitable manner like investment in gold/silver, bank deposits, share & securities, mutual funds, insurance, government securities, post office savings, provident funds, etc. Mutual funds have become popular all over the world since apart from some risk based on their category, mutual funds carry various potential benefits in the form of the safety of principal, capital appreciation, and interest or dividend.
The income and capital appreciation, if any arising out of investment are shared among the investors by careful selection of securities over a diversified portfolio, covering a large number of companies and industries.
One can invest in Mutual Funds through a systematic investment plan. I went into investment mode from saving mode after literally understanding what it means to earn extra and use that extra money to achieve your goal of traveling more, I mean why not. Let’s take an example if your goal is to go on a similar trip to the Maldives and do not want to burn your wallet, take the SIP route and invest in a reliable and trustable company. Check the L&T SIP calculator and know the value you need to save for your travel goal.
If you have used the calculator, by now you must be very clear how much you need to put in per month and get your desired X amount right? And that’s precisely what I did using my mutual fund investments
SIPs, as the name suggests, are also very flexible in nature, which means you can very well skip some installments based on the terms and condition of the particular mutual fund house if you have some money requirement on the personal side or you can change the fund which is not performing well or can prematurely redeem it. Lastly, it is very much for beginners too.
MY ONE & ONLY ADVICE TO YOU
If you are to ask me for one key piece of financial advice, I’ll say to start your journey of investment through SIP and the amount can be as low as Rs. 500/-. Therefore, whether you are a beginner, starting your first job or in the middle of your career, a good SIP will definitely work with you for your financial goal.
I made the mistake of not entering this field of investment and was too focused on saving and saving more and hence my money was parked at a safe place but was not working. I now started investing more in SIPs to aim to achieve my other financial goals, like getting a good SUV in the next few years from now.
If you are the one who is thinking a lot about saving taxes from investing, then I have also good news for you.
An equity-linked savings scheme or ELSS is a tax-saving investment option under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. By investing in ELSS up to Rs 1,50,000, you can claim tax benefits under Section 80C. I will recommend you to check out this intuitive ELSS Calculator and save some tax as per the current tax laws. ELSS comes with a statutory lock-in period of 3 years.
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
It all starts with your goal and objectives that you want to achieve in your life, financial security is one term that everyone should practice sincerely in today’s world of uncertainty.
Therefore, instead of saying that I am saving enough for my future, start practicing to invest for your future, and starting a SIP today is what you should do next. I wish you all success with your financial planning and goals.
Always have the habit of reading the scheme-related documents before investing to understand the scheme type, investment patterns, and the risk factors associated with particular investments, and consult your financial advisor to understand the implication of any investment. Look out for our detailed one-stop Bali Travel guide for further reading.
DISCLAIMER
This information is for general information only and does not have regard to the particular needs of any specific person who may receive this information. L&T Investment Management Limited, the asset management company of L&T Mutual Fund or any of its associates; does not guarantee/indicate any returns/and shall not be held liable for any loss, expenses, charges incurred by the recipient.
The recipient should consult their legal, tax, and financial advisors before investing. The recipient of this information should understand that statements made herein regarding future prospects may not be realized or achieved. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
Hey guys, I hope you liked and enjoyed our Bali Trip Experience with my financial advice, if you like and enjoyed it, please rate my article below or add your valuable comment!