Tips on effective investment resolutions

Have you realised how we always come back to the New Year energised and ready to knock our goals and objectives straight out of the park?

While it is increasingly fashionable to explicitly avoid setting New Year’s resolutions, they are, for many, proven effective. Because we are inclined to use time as a yardstick to our progress, we will inadvertently start the New Year with renewed hopes to do better. And why not? While you are in that mindset and while you have that energy with you, use it to do some good for your investment journey too.

1) Set those New Year’s resolutions: Go against the grain a bit. Set your New Year’s resolutions and be proud of them. Bring them up in conversation and if anybody asks, say them loud and wear them proudly.

2) Let Investment planning be top of your list: Your financial health, just like your bodily health, affects other parts of your life quite significantly. If you have been meaning to start investing, start with the dawn of a New Year. If you have always wanted to invest more or try out a new fund; there is no better time to get started than now.

3) Align your yearly resolutions with a longer- term plan: Your investing journey needs to serve an important, long- term goal. This could include building, planning for your retirement, etc. Investing without a solid long- term plan or purpose can feel quite burdensome, and you are more likely to opt out of your investment pre- maturely in this case.

A good part of the reason why New Year’s resolutions usually blur away halfway into the year is that they are not attached to any long- term, sentimental or financial goals. Make sure yours are aligned to something that is important to you.

4) Make sure there are timely appraisals: It is easy to get burnt out when investing, if you are only chasing long- term objectives with no interim appraisals. Appraisals are a good way to stay invigorated towards the long- term.

To ensure that your resolutions stay relevant, check on your progress every quarter, or perhaps every second month. You could possibly get by checking on them bi- annually but checking on them yearly is a big ask. The more often, the better.

5) Write everything down: Needless to say, if you forget your resolutions, then they will tend to have 0percent utility in your life. Put pen to paper, and make sure you include your yardsticks for the intermediate checkups. Remember the adage, “A blunt pencil is sharper than the sharpest mind.” Stay sharp!

6) Get a professional involved: Professional guidance can oftentimes be priceless in guiding you correctly to ensure maximum return on investment.