By: Neerja Caprihan
Almost everyone has read or heard of the story of the Three Little Pigs. The story has graced the pages of children’s books in most countries. Several English readers for young children contain this story. Perhaps if one looks hard enough, one is sure to unearth regional translations or counterparts as well. The primary reasons it resonates across cultures is that one, it is a classic underdog tale that pits a simple and cute animal against a proverbially cunning one and two, for the timeless moral wisdom that the story imparts.
If we could draw three basic lessons from this celebrated tale of the three pigs, what would those be? Let’s see.
Don’t be afraid of new beginnings
The value of taking that first step is common knowledge. It can be in the form of allowing your children to step out of the comforts of home into the big, though occasionally bad, world. Like the three pigs leaving theirs to find their destiny. Or it can be you taking that leap of faith to do something for the first time. A little fraying of nerves is a small price to pay to assuage that fire in the belly. It may always feel too little, or too much, or too early, or too late, but the only way you will find that out is by taking the step.
Planning, Preparation, Patience
Being impetuous may have its merits (over those that overthink, for instance) but if you have impending big decisions, it would be prudent to put some thought into the future course of action. Take your time, explore your options, do your homework and significantly, put some savings aside. Those are words that will resonate with most people at the brink of doing something, just about anything, for the very first time.
There is no substitute for effort
Ultimately the house that you crave to build yourself needs to be able to withstand stormy winds of all sorts, so straws and sticks won’t suffice. As most people in the software industry will be able to affirm, premature optimization will likely be the root of evil here as well. Collecting each brick and cementing it into walls might take a fair amount of time and work, but it will always be worth it.
As life passes by, many of us find ourselves wishing we had planned our finances better when we were still starting out. Retrospective speculation may well have that effect but it’s never too late to start, or change, still. If you have been putting it off all this while, we are here to help you begin the new year by building yourself that rainy day corpus, no matter what stage of life you are at. We have plenty of offerings to choose from, so once you start exploring, you are bound to find portfolios that fit your requirements.
At the same time, let’s not neglect the importance of inculcating the twin values of hard work, accompanied by regular savings in the younger generation. Financial literacy is a veritable life skill to ensure one can contribute to the continuous betterment of society as a whole. The piggy bank from childhood never goes out of style.
Once you have secured your financial future, you will always be in a state of readiness to successfully counter or tide over any inclement events that could huff and puff and blow your house, or life, in.
PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Creatarka
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