People all over the world witnessed a nail-biting match between France and Argentina at the Lusail Stadium as Messi lifted the coveted trophy to seal the latter’s win at the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final. This year’s football match has not only been entertaining but also ensured a lifetime experience to watch some extraordinary group of players deliver an exemplary performance with the ball. Needless to say that this fun, entertaining match served as an essential guide for those looking to equate everything in life with goals including managing their finances.
Managing your money involves strategizing your earnings, savings and investments. This is in a lot many ways similar to how football players decide and use their strategies in relation to the game’s rules. All you have to do is keep an eye out to check how making and spending money is not much different from playing football matches and winning them.
Set clear goals
Similar to making a game plan, you must have a clear strategy in mind before deciding on your investments. You must know what you are up to and why you are focusing on a particular investment opportunity. A lot depends on how the market behaves, so you must be willing to shift your strategies too. However, take care that you modify only your short-term plans and not those focusing on your long-term financial goals ranging from 15 to 20 years. Also, do not set haphazard goals unless you know how much you want to accumulate.
Be passionate about your goals
To achieve anything, you must focus on a lot more things than just strength and speed. Track the records of some of the greatest football players in history, and you will see how their desire to succeed kept them afloat even during difficult times. Just as you would pass the ball to the best man in the room or those closest to the goalpost in football, you must create wealth by putting your money in some of the best instruments and waiting for them to earn you returns over time. The best way to create money is to put your money in profitable avenues so that you may create enough wealth, thereby, also making a way to earn passive income. Discipline as in any match is the key to successful investing behaviour.
Start early
You do not start playing post-interval. The energy level is high from the start, thus, highlighting the urge to start investing early in life. You benefit from the power of compounding as you start early similar to how the team gets an impetus from making goals early in the game. Early identification of energetic players also allows decent selection and better chances of reaching the finals. This is similar to working on an investment strategy in advance, thus, lending you enough time to accumulate, save and invest. Financial goals cannot be met in the future unless a plan is developed early in life.
Optimum asset allocation
Not everyone can be Mbappe or Messi. Some players are sent there to attack while defenders are trained and positioned to intercept the ball and make opportunities to pass it to their own teammates. To make a strong team, you must focus on the correct balance of strikers, defenders, midfielders, wingbacks and goalkeepers. Different players with differing qualities make up the team as much as a diversified portfolio acts to earn and protect during all market phases. A diverse portfolio mirrors a diverse team wherein each investment plays its part. However, a lot depends on your risk appetite, market conditions, asset performance and more. This explains why focusing on a diversified investment portfolio consisting of equities, debt, gold, real estate, etc. is important.
Stick to your rules
Unbiased of what the market says, make sure that you do not break investment rules. Regardless of which way the market swings, the rules of investing remain firmly established. Just like in football wherein the players are handed over red and yellow cards when they play foul during the knockout stages, the markets will punish you for your wayward behaviour. Many investors have incurred significant rules in the past when they tweaked their financial strategies suddenly, thus, pushing them far away from their financial goals. The market is an open ground for anyone and everyone willing to play. In the end, it all depends on how you play the game.
Be accountable for your actions
A football team’s players coordinate with their teammates, and they are all accountable to the coach. The coach, like the audience, has responsibilities. As a result, underperforming players must sit out or receive additional training, while underperforming teams lose fans.
You must know when and how to control your spending patterns and refrain from investing too much money to get better returns in future. Investing requires investors to remain in it for a long haul and select their investments after carrying out detailed research. Also, seek professional advice if necessary. Ensure that your investment portfolio is aligned with your financial goals and hold yourself accountable to re-align your portfolio when required.
Stay invested
Players always look for opportunities to score goals. No opportunity of passing the ball straight into the goalpost goes untried. This applies to investments too. Every time you earn windfall profits or gain more from a bonus or appraisal, divert the money to increase the size of your investments or avail of more investment opportunities. Alternatively, you may increase the size of your SIPs or step them up regularly to accumulate more units early in your investment journey. More units accumulated translate to amassing an increased corpus in the future. Adjust your investment strategy going forward in light of the current situation.
You cannot just sit back and relax unless you have reached your financial goals. Setting your eyes on the goalpost is necessary. This includes setting an investment objective that you must check and adjust regularly. Seek inspiration from those around you. A single game of football can teach you a lot about how to manage your money only when you are willing to look at it from a financial perspective.
Somewhere during the game or during your investment journey, if you cannot think clearly or are unable to focus, remember that it takes years of practice and unbridled focus to become the next Pele, Maradona, Messi or Mbappe.
Whether you choose to be ordinary or one among them is something that only you must choose.
