Personal Finance - A Suggested Checklist

Introduction

Whenever you are executing a complex operation e.g. surgery, flying an airplane, or constructing a bridge, it is extremely important to follow a system, a process, or an organized way of going about it. This is what Atul Gawande has outlined in his book: “The Checklist Manifesto”.

Personal financial matters are no different. If you want to avoid financial accidents and smoothen the ride through your financial journey, a checklist offers a good solution. This will proactively cover most of the possible outcomes and will prevent decision fatigue and permanent loss of capital.

Regardless of the amazing progress, humans have made in all walks of life, we still have a primitive mind at work when it comes to personal financial matters. The most relevant emotions which drive our financial decision-making are fear and greed. The purpose here is to keep these emotions at bay and make rational decisions.

An ideal checklist should encompass all possible financial situations and a predetermined response to each.

I am sharing a checklist here which, I believe, can be helpful. You may or may not agree with it. However, I strongly recommend that you make one for yourself along the same lines. Since there are two equally important aspects of financial planning i.e. regular income stream and wealth creation, you may like to break down your checklist under these two headings:

The Checklist

Regular Income Stream

DOs

I will track my income and expenses.
I will consistently try to enhance my income and reduce my expenses.
I will always clear my bills, including credit card(s), by due date.
I will clearly define my financial needs and accord them first priority. I will keep my wants as the second priority.

DON’Ts

I will not use a credit card unless I have full control over my buying decisions. If you want to know more about the benefits and challenges of using a credit card, please click here.
I will not sell my pension. (This point pertains only to those who are in a service that is pensionable. Normally the employer likes to buy the pension at a price that suits the employer, however, if the employee can get a better deal, he should seriously consider it. How to consider it, will be discussed in a later article.

Wealth Creation

DOs

I will always take a long-term financial view.
I will learn how to analyze businesses as investment propositions.
I will develop expertise and emotional maturity to tell hearsay/ gossip/ fads from expert opinion/ real market situations.
I will live within my means. I will save 15 to 25% of my monthly income and invest it carefully.
I will learn capital allocation which is foundational with regard to investments.
I will buy and hold good businesses for long term. I will tweak my portfolio once a year, if needed.
I will prefer buying Business to Consumer companies vis-a-vis Business to Business companies.
I will disregard short-term market fluctuations as ‘noise’ and will pay careful attention to medium and long-term business cycles.
While buying businesses (shares), I will deliberately consider earnings and valuations.
Instead of having a general market orientation, I will have a specific business orientation.
I will leave macros for the ‘experts’ and will pay close attention to micros.
I will politely decline marketing calls.
I will dissociate my ability to earn from my need to spend.

DON’Ts

I will never take an important financial decision in haste. I will sleep over it for a week or so, think hard, try to know all facts, and take full responsibility for the outcome.
I will never speculate.
I will not buy prize bonds and lottery tickets. I will also avoid betting and gambling at all costs.
I will ensure that the worth of my house and car(s) is not more than 10-20% of my net worth.
I will not buy a plot (a piece of real estate without any structure) with the hope to sell it at a higher price in the future. I may, however, sell or rent it after construction/ value addition.
I will not buy financial gold and will buy minimum social gold.
I will not buy insurance coupled with investment (endowment plans) and will, instead, go for term insurance, if needed.
I will beware of consumer loans. I may, however, opt for a business or house-building loan after careful consideration. Interest rates are very important in this regard.
I will not invest in IPOs. However, I may consider IPOs being offered by the Government or where the valuation is really very attractive.
I will avoid cyclical businesses. Instead, I will invest in stable and growing businesses which are ideal compounders of wealth.
I will avoid such financial commitments where there is even a slight chance of permanent loss of capital.
I will resist the temptation to dabble in unregulated sectors of the economy.

Common Points

I will always respect law of the land and will follow the maxim ‘honesty is the best policy’ in all financial dealings.
I will pay all my due taxes.
I will maintain an emergency cash reserve, equal to an estimated expenditure of 6-8 months, as a buffer between regular income and wealth creation streams.

Conclusion

A checklist is a very useful tool with regard to financial matters. It helps us identify traps and obstacles en route in our financial journey and gives a definite structure to our thought process. It has to be aligned with our temperament, situation, financial obligations, and priorities in life. It may differ from person to person but it’s a must-have. After having made it, we may keep revising it from time to time. You should schedule seeing it at a reasonable frequency (once a week is suggested) or have it displayed at your study table.

How did you find this article? Please comment. You may suggest any other topic to be covered. Thanks.

5 Comments

Shoaib Mughal says:

January 30, 2022 at 8:00 pm

An excellent receipe to make sound financial decisions. I will take a print and keep it on my desk for reference. Thanks for summing up the “Financial Wisdom”. God speed

1. Kaleem Mushtaq says:
  
  January 30, 2022 at 9:30 pm
  
  Thanks a lot.
  
Gulzar says:

January 30, 2022 at 9:59 pm

A wonderful consolidation of time tested n practical business ideas.Making an extract out of wisely elaborated business guideline compatible with your line of action and then sticking to it will prove a key to success.Extremely appreciable n commendable work delivered by dear sir Kaleem .May Allah bless you

1. Kaleem Mushtaq says:
  
  January 30, 2022 at 10:12 pm
  
  Sir! I am grateful.
  
Carri says:

October 24, 2022 at 8:30 am

Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download
it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements
would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme.
Thanks a lot

Personal Finance – A Suggested Checklist

Introduction