Make pit stops to build wealth

You’re wise if you save money. You’re amongst the wiser folks if you invest in mutual funds. But do you know what it takes to be the wisest of them all? I’m talking about this tiny group of investors who get the most out of their money by doing just one thing – making regular pit stops in their investment journey.

Allow me to explain. Building wealth is like a road trip. While wealth is your goal, your investments are your vehicle to get you to your goal. But to reach your goal comfortably, you’ll have to make a few pit stops. These pit stops are important to fuel your growth. They help you overcome this massive road block called ‘inflation’, and ensure that your vehicle is well-maintained to get you swiftly to your goal.

We call these all-important pit stops – ‘stepping up your investments’. You may be a lump sum or an SIP investor. You may be investing in mutual funds for different goals. But to ensure you come out wealthy at the end of your journey, it is important that you increase your investments regularly. You need to do this now to ensure that you REALLY build wealth for your life. Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re investing Rs. 10,000 through SIPs every month in mutual funds. You’d like to reach your goal (destination) in 10 years. Assuming a moderate rate of return of 12 per cent per annum, your investment vehicle would have accumulated Rs. 23,23,391 at the end of your journey.

But let’s say you made pit stops every year, i.e., you stepped up your monthly investments every year by Rs. 2,000. This is a decent sum, isn’t it? You would have received your annual bonus, a hike in your salary, etc., and a sum of Rs. 2,000 every year should be quite affordable for you. Your investment vehicle would have accumulated a whopping Rs. 38,21,233 for you at the end of your journey. A step-up to your investments by just Rs. 2,000 every year steps-up your earnings by a stupendous Rs. 14,97,842. If this doesn’t tell you the importance of making pit stops, then what really will?

The general rule to building wealth with your investments is this: increase your investments as your income increases. Your investments and wealth will, thus, keep pace as your lifestyle improves on your increased income. It’s especially important for those of you who have just started on your career – you can’t save much at the beginning! A periodic increase in your SIP amount will see to it that you don’t compromise on your wealth. Such stepping-up will also ensure you’re keeping pace with inflation, while building a healthy corpus for your goal. This increment can be annual, or even half-yearly. You needn’t look for fresh schemes to invest in every time you step up your SIP either. Simply allocate them proportionately to your existing funds and rest easy.

So, give your investments the pit stops they deserve. Increase your investments regularly to bring about a big increment in your wealth. This is the single investment habit that is most likely to make you rich.