How to handle your finances after landing your dream job?

We’ll paint you a picture: after an extended period of working at jobs that only paid the bills, you’ve landed your ultimate dream job—the one pinned up on your vision board from all those years ago, the one that goes beyond the frivolity of the corner office, the one that makes you feel fulfilled and the one that pays for all your needs. 

While your job and its perks will undoubtedly make you feel independent and empowered, it can only do so much. What we are trying to say is, come salary day, it might not be a good idea to splurge all your moolah right away. 

Asking yourself a few simple questions before you spend all your money in one place and being financially aware will help you build a comfortable, independent and sustainable life. Read on. 

How do I start my financial planning? 

As we said, landing your dream job is only one step on your journey of empowerment and independence. The next step is to be financially aware and involved with your own finances. Don’t be afraid of handling your money and keep a close track of your weekly expenses, bank account transactions and more. 

Once you are familiar with your weekly expenses, and bank account transactions, the next step is to divide your monthly income into expenses and savings/investments. You can start budgeting your expenses for the month so that you do not overspend and can have some money saved for emergencies and investments. A commonly used budgeting rule is the 50-30-20 strategy, which recommends using 50 per cent of your income towards necessities, 30 per cent towards your wants (PS: that Prada bag you’ve been eyeing) and 20 per cent towards savings and investments. 

How do I grow my savings? 

The truth is that savings are no good if they are kept in a bundle in your home, easy for you to use when you feel tempted to. Idle cash, left around will not appreciate in value.. Savings are needed during emergencies and it would be best to make use of the wide variety of short-term investment options available to you so that you have easier access to this money. Once you’ve saved enough for your emergency corpus, we recommend investing your money regularly, which will give you potentially higher returns to help achieve financial freedom. 

How do I invest? 

Recently, investments in mutual funds have become increasingly popular due to their relative ease of functioning, comparatively lower costs, and potential for diversification of funds. A mutual fund is a pool of money from several investors to purchase common securities and shares. We’d recommend investing a part of your income in mutual funds and we’d recommend the product bouquet available at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. If you’re unsure how to go about it, their website contains all the information you might need before you invest your money. Make sure you assess your future goals and risk profile to find out the investment options feasible for you. 

How to choose the right mutual fund for you? 

Investments are never a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. From short-term goals to long-term goals, you have to plan for both. Once you have assessed your financial goals and your risk appetite, you can select from a plethora of options. If you are looking for a short-term and relatively low-risk investment, you can choose from the various debt schemes offered by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. If you wish to have a diversified portfolio, hybrid schemes available with ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund are a good option for you. For long-term and high-risk profile investors, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund’s equity schemes would be a good option.

In conclusion, your dream job may bring you a good salary and job satisfaction but investing regularly might make your wealth grow. Opting for ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and picking schemes that are best suited for you will try to ensure that you are financially independent and be able to fulfil all your dreams—be it a grand wedding, a new business or your retirement! 

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme-related documents carefully.