4G - What Are The Essential 4Gs?

It was a fine Sunday morning in September.

- Vijayalakshmi Balamurugan

The weather was a bit chilly, which compelled me to stay in bed. But I had to get up early because I had committed to my husband that I would accompany him to attend a workshop on personal finance management. I was least interested. But as my husband and I are in an almost long-distance relationship (he comes home once a month to be with my daughter and me), I did not want to miss the opportunity of spending some time with him. So, I reluctantly agreed.

Basically, the words - numbers, finance, accounts or anything related to Mathematics - strikes a terrible fear in me. I've never liked Maths since my childhood and I've never made the least attempt to even understand the simplest concepts behind it. But this particular Sunday morning served as a game changer.

We reached the venue in time. To my surprise, the meeting hall was already filled with participants. At that instant, I felt that there was definitely something worthy to take away from the session.

The workshop had been organised by a reputed online personal finance management company.

One of the organisers is a well-known author who has penned several books on financial planning. He was the coach for the session. He began his presentation with a questionnaire. We were given the questionnaire and asked to fill only 'yes' or 'no' answers to assess ourselves on how well we are leading our financial lives. Some of the questions asked literally came as a revelation on how ignorant I had been in my financial domain though I have been working for the past ten years. I feel compelled to cite some of the questions here.

Do you have a WRITTEN budget and clarity on how your money will be spent each month?

Do you plan for your SHORT-TERM GOALS with a target date and money required?

Are you clear about your LONG-TERM GOALS with a target date and money required?

Have you kept four to six months of expenses aside as an emergency fund?