Being A Financial All-Rounder: Lessons From Cricket
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- 13 Apr 2023
India is a cricket-crazed country!! Cricket in India is a legacy. From life lessons to investment lessons, it teaches us everything!!
“I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people's ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That's the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent” — Rahul Dravid
When we hear the word investment we tend to jump to the money made by it, impatient to see the returns. Success, on the other hand, comes from many other factors— your patience, discipline, temperament; they matter the most while making these investments. And, this is what determines your returns. So, let’s learn about how you get all these factors into play when you play your game of investment!
Financial planning is for everyone. Read to know more
What's Your Game?
“Nothing is easy in cricket. Maybe when you watch it on TV, it looks easy. But it is not. You have to use your brain and time the ball.” — Rohit Sharma
If it was easy to jump into the investment game, we would perhaps not have a million supporting articles (like this one!) to guide an individual towards the right investment. Making investments needs a lot of consideration of various factors— time, risk, and goals to be exact.
What Is Your Match?
From T20 to a Test, what is your match? What we’re talking about here is the investment appetite, which would be unique to each investor.
Every investor, similar to every cricket player has a different risk appetite. While some players take more risks and make the game more thrilling, some make calculated moves and play safe. At the end of your game, your risk appetite largely determines your “runs” and your “returns.”
What Happens If You Don’t Make The Right Match?
“I wasn't sure of the exact mindset you should have when you go into a Test match. So, I probably became too defensive when I played my first Test match. Short balls in one-day cricket, I have never thought of just defending.” — Virat Kohli
You may give away some runs or you may lose the match, but the most important thing is what you learn from your failures. This holds true even when you begin your game of investment. Know your risk appetite and identify your life goals before you begin your investment game.
Know more about the importance of planning your finances
Choose Your Players
“No cricket team in the world depends on one or two players. The team always plays to win.”-- Virat Kohli
You can build a strong portfolio once you are sure of your risk appetite and the tenure for which you would like to be invested. No portfolio must depend on one or two investments, and sufficient diversification is very important in building a strong portfolio. Diversifying means that you balance the risk in your portfolio. Anyway, as long as the mistakes are addressed, nothing can stop you from reaching your financial goal.
Be Your Own Dhoni, Captain Your Portfolio
As Dhoni says— “If you don’t really have a dream, you can’t really push yourself; you don’t really know what the target is.”
Haven’t we all known Dhoni to be an unorthodox player? How many senior players have we heard vouching for Dhoni? Perhaps the entire cricket community must be a fan of this extraordinary player with a great strategic mind.
What we understand from his game is that investing similarly doesn’t happen by the book, it happens by the goals and needs. Every player has his own game, his own essence which makes him a great player. So, in the investment game, know your strengths increase your knowledge about investments and make your own way.
Why should you make a financial plan? Know more
The Review
Do you know how players make their game better? They review their moves. They see what they did wrong, they make sure they do it right at every chance they get. You must similarly review your portfolio once you invest, regularly and rebalance by weeding out the investments which do not give acceptable returns.
Stay In The Game
“Never give up; just absolutely never give up.” — Shane Warne
Recklessness in cricket can cost you wickets and runs, and in life, it can cost you to lose everything you have. You may be tempted to give up halfway or to panic and sell or even cut your losses and run? But, that’s not the best approach. You have to stay in the game until the last ball is bowled.
Patience remains the biggest virtue be it in the game of cricket or in life. Do you think you’ll see immediate returns? Not necessarily. Chasing a target takes time and effort and calm composure. One run at a time, boundaries if we can manage them.
To this, please remember— do not fall for “double your money in a year schemes” it is not possible to do that! These are fake Ponzi-like schemes. You’d do rather well to keep your head on your shoulders and take the difficult but sensible route of building your portfolio and investing right, as per your needs.
Financial planning has a myriad of benefits. Read more
Adversity And Emergencies
“Cricket is my life. Before the cancer, I was happy-go-lucky. I used to think about my career and worry about the future. But post it, my thinking has completely changed. I'm happy to eat and breathe normally. I'm happy to have my life back.” — Yuvraj Singh
Imagine being a successful player like Yuvraj Singh who has many accolades to show, who suddenly fell off the track, into an abyss of sickness. The outcome could have been brutal, but he fought through it and emerged disease free.
Adversity doesn’t knock on your door before it enters your life and makes it go topsy turvy. A sound financial plan and smart investments will help you face any adversity that might come your way!
Start Today!
You may have a small salary today, but that should not stop you from investing. Think backwards, put some money aside for investments rather than just planning your spend cycle. It is never too late to start your investment journey.
Stumps!!
‘Finishing is one of the most difficult things to do in cricket. A player can't be a finisher in just 6 months or one year. You have to be used to that responsibility, keeping on doing what is required from you over a period of time.” — MS Dhoni
We say, hold on, do your thing, believe in the power of compounding and keep investing. In the end, the winner is only you.
