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We need luck to enjoy the good things in our life. But do you need luck to accumulate wealth too?
In this article, we discuss what luck means to different people. We also discuss how to moderate future regret when you suffer from bad luck.
Chance or destiny?
A popular dictionary defines luck as ‘a force that brings good fortune or adversity’.
The question is: is this force left to chance or are you destined to fail in some endeavours and succeed in others? Importantly, how relevant is this for your personal finance?
You save from your post-tax monthly income. Your savings must be channelled effectively to accumulate wealth. This wealth is required to achieve life goals such as buying a house, funding child’s college education, and retiring comfortably. There is uncertainty in achieving these goals. Why? For one, your investments may not earn the return required to accumulate enough wealth to achieve a goal. For another, you may have accumulated the target wealth, but the goal could become expensive. For instance, you believe you will need 10 crore to buy your dream house in 8 years. But what if housing inflation 8 years hence is higher than what you expected? Despite your investments earning the desired return, you could fail to achieve the goal.
Beliefs matter
Of course, not all individuals fail to achieve their goals. And not all the goals you pursue are likely to fail. So, what differentiates the ones that you succeed from the ones you fail? Luck or some other factor? The answer depends on what your beliefs are. Individuals who believe in astrology will likely attribute good (bad) fortune to good (bad) period in their natal horoscope.
Others may believe it is God’s will, and some others may simply blame fate. Depending on what your beliefs are, you can choose to take actions to improve luck (destiny?). For instance, doing what your trusted astrologer tells you and praying hard.
Conclusion
Whatever your belief systems are, you are likely to have your share of good and bad luck during your lifetime.
The best you can do to moderate future regret (because of bad luck) from harming your financial well-being is to have a disciplined approach to investing. You must set up an SIP on an equity fund and a recurring deposit for each goal and strive to increase your savings every year. You can then leave the outcome to chance (destiny).
(The author offers training program for individuals to manage their personal investments)
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