1) Spending Before Budgeting<\/p>\n
One of the most common financial mistakes people make is spending impulsively as soon as their salary is credited. Many end up splurging a large portion on weekend outings and unplanned shopping\u2014often without a second thought.<\/p>\n
The fix? Embrace the 50-30-20 rule. Allocate 50% to essential needs such as rent, bills, etc; 30% to wants including OTT, dining out and shopping; and 20% to savings and investments.<\/p>\n
2) No Emergency Fund Means Future Panic<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a medical crisis or an unexpected job loss, not having a financial buffer can lead to chaos. \u201cA Rs 15,000 hospital bill = chaos if you have zero savings,\u201d Kaushik notes.<\/p>\n
He recommends building an emergency fund of Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh, starting with as little as Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per month.<\/p>\n
3) Only Saving, Not Investing<\/p>\n
Letting your money sit idle in a regular savings account can quietly eat into its potential returns. A smarter approach is to begin investing gradually through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). Even a modest monthly SIP can accumulate substantial returns over the years, helping your money grow more efficiently than it would in a savings account.<\/p>\n
4) Lifestyle Inflation<\/p>\n
Got a raise? Many instantly upgrade to a new phone, fancy dinners and higher EMIs. But as Kaushik warns, \u201cYour salary doubled, but savings are still zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remedy? Keep your lifestyle steady for at least a year. \u201cInvest the \u2018extra\u2019 salary and let compounding do its job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
5) Impulse Shopping Madness<\/p>\n
Spending on e-commerce platforms often appears innocuous, but leads to a gradual and significant drain of around Rs 5,000 each month without you even realising it, says Kaushik. He suggests adopting the 24-hour rule. \u201cAdd to cart \u2192 wait 24 hours \u2192 still need it? Buy.\u201d<\/p>\n
6) Unmanageable EMIs<\/p>\n
Taking on a Rs 5,000 EMI may seem manageable at first, but it can add up substantially annually, Kaushik cautions.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep EMIs under 15% of your net income.\u201d The CA suggests asking yourself : \u201cCan I afford this if I lose my job?\u201d <\/p>\n
7) Not Tracking Where Your Salary Goes<\/p>\n
Lastly, the age-old question: \u201cWhere did all my money go?\u201d If you\u2019re not tracking your expenses, you\u2019ll never have control over your finances. Kaushik urges you to track every rupee for 30 days, whether using an app or a simple Google Sheet.<\/p>\n
He ends his post saying, \u201cYour salary isn\u2019t just for spending. It\u2019s your first investor, your freedom builder, your seed capital.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1) Spending Before Budgeting One of the most common financial mistakes people make is spending impulsively as soon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,5481,184,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-35463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-financial-planning","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}