The Indian festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated with much fanfare across India. It’s during Sankranti that the Sun begins its movement from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. While Makar Sankranti is known by different names in India, such as Pongal, Bihu, and Lohri, kite flying is a common phenomenon during the festival.
While it’s a tradition to fly kites on Sankranti, there are scientific reasons too. It’s for healthy exposure to the early morning sun rays, a rich source of Vitamin D. The sunlight acts as a disinfectant and helps get rid of skin infections and other diseases. Having said that, flying kites on Makar Sankranti also holds many crucial investing lessons, which if imbibed, helps you stay on a solid financial footing.
The shape of the kite plays a crucial role in its lift-off. If the shape isn’t proper, the kite will fail to take off. Similarly, you must set your goals. Goals keep you motivated, and based on them you need to plan your investments and choose the financial instruments.
While you can bet on debt products for short-term goals, equities are your best bet for long ones that are 10 to 15 years away.
It’s the Kanni that keeps the kite in control, particularly against heavy winds. Without the kanni, the kite will lose direction. Similarly, it’s vital to create a financial plan that will help you stay focussed and efficiently reach your goals.
The financial plan outlines the steps you need to take at every stage of your life and the investments that you need to make. The right plan will help you achieve your goals in a hassle-free manner.
The length of the manja while flying a kite represents short and long-term plans and evaluating the cost for fulfilling them. While short-term goals such as undertaking a vacation or making down payment for the car may not warrant huge funds, long-term goals such as children’s higher education and retirement need a substantial amount of money. You need to invest as per the goals.
The choice of manja plays a crucial role in kite flying. Without proper manja, your kite is vulnerable to falling victim to others. Similarly, you must choose the right investment avenue depending on your financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon.
Avoid the herd mentality and thoroughly understand the product, its structure, and associated risks before committing.
To stay in the sky for long, it’s essential to keep your eyes on your kite. Similarly, you need to monitor your investments and see if they are performing as per your expectations or not. Monitoring your investment will help identify laggards and weed them out from your portfolio.
You need to give dheel to control the kite efficiently. Similarly, you need to adopt a flexible approach in your investment and be ready to embrace changes as and when required.
For instance, if your chosen stock or fund hasn’t performed well for a long period, it’s better to take the exit route. This will help you stay on the course of achieving your goal.
Avoiding Kaipoche moment means constantly reviewing the way you fly your kite. Similarly, you must periodically review your plan at different life stages and make changes accordingly.
Periodical review will help you plug the gaps with ease. It will also help you replace poor performing funds with better ones.
If you want to fly your kite for longer periods, you need to start flying early. Similarly to get better results from your investments, you need to start investing early. An early investment brings compounding into play that helps your money grow faster.
Adopting these crucial investment lessons on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti can help you accomplish your financial goals with ease. They help you better utilise your money and ensure you are on your path to financial freedom. Happy Makar Sankranti!
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