Asset Evaluation and Financial Management!! Such heavy words I tell you!!

"Every next level of your life is going to demand a different version of you." Said some wiseman, some day! And it is making absolute sense to me today!

Just yesterday, when I was sitting in the cafe and referencing for my 'Godh Bharai' post;  this crazy thought crossed my mind - "What is my ‘Net Worth’? Shouldn’t I be doing  a thorough ‘Asset Evaluation’ for the same?" 

These may sound like really heavy words, and they indeed are. But my version of them is a little quirky and modified. When I say ‘Net Worth’ it is not just my finances, it’s everything that I have created for myself. And when I say assets, its not just property or gold, it is everything from my bags to shoes to cosmetics to books to diaries to anything and everything I possess. We women, have some serious quantities of valued possessions and no one other than us can really evaluate it’s worth. So, I came home and sat down and made a chart of the things I have, things I need to plan to buy and how am I going to manage my funds around it. 

CATEGORIES	ASSETS (What I have)	ASPIRATIONS (Have been planning to buy)	MONEY NEEDED	TIME FRAME (Setting a goal for aspirations)	EXCEPTIONS
BAGS	35+	HIDE SIGN BROWN	15K+	When I sign my first film as a Director
SHOES	30+ pairs	none			Can pick up randomly from the road if you like, but shouldn't cost more than 300.
COSMETICS	Bare minimum	none			Lip balm here and there
BOOKS	? (way too many)				Pick up whatever u have to from the second hand stores
DIARIES	25+	none
SUNGLASSES	6	RAYBAN Aviators	10K	Not before I sign my film or get a publisher for the book.	None - Have enough of the roadside ones as well - No need for any at this point
TOPS	Nevermind	none			Anything that’s needed at the final stage of my pregnancy to fit in my bump; but nothing too expensive or remotely branded.
PANTS	12+	none
GADGETS	Phone, laptop, DSLR	IPAD	40K+	Cant figure	Just in case my phone gives up on me - might have to buy one - nothing above 7K  to be spent there.
HOME DECOR	More than I can put up in the houses	none			No exceptions at all - have way too many things lying in my storage yet seeking it’s place in the house. Control yourself there!!
KITCHENWARE	All necessary items and more	Nice cutlery set		Wait for someone to gift it to u	Spoons - Buy a dozen anytime - u need it.
BED LINEN	Uff!!	none please!!			Baby things that I ll need. No brands please!! Dinanath is the place to buy from.

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But why this sudden urge of assessment and management?? 

It is all thanks to this ‘Bumpy Miracle’! This little one inside me. Ever since I have started realising what this pregnancy means - how it is not just a nine month thing but a life changing phenomenon - I have been doing a lot of thinking and planning around it. And that led to this enlightening realisation - how I have been so reckless with my financial planning. And now this liberty is going to cease to exist. One, that I have an additional responsibility of bringing up a child and taking care of his/her needs. Second, that for a year or two, I will have to modify my lifestyle and career to suit the needs of the baby. My earnings may multiply or may not exist at all - And I won’t be able to push myself out of the house just to fetch in some extra ‘moolah’ at the cost of ignoring my baby during the most crucial and formative years - when the mother, who is me, is needed the most. 

Most of the couples these days operate on joint finances - where both the partners have either equal or at least shared responsibilities. The times are such!! The price hikes, the lifestyle needs - everything has changed and this formula of both working partners - seems the only way out. But with pregnancy and the new born baby to take care of - at least for a few years, the mother has to take a back seat. Or at least one of them - just in case the mother can’t and the father can and you chose to follow that arrangement. You don’t want to leave the baby to the maids and forget that you have this extra responsibility on your shoulder. 

So what do you do?

You start planning your finances better? 

You become wiser over night! 

You cut down all your unnecessary expenses, splurging binges and do some sensible financial planning for the winters, you see! 

I have just started mine - Made a pledge to not shop unnecessarily. And this asset evaluation was done with keeping this plan in mind - so that I am convinced that I have enough of everything to last me a lifetime. So these coming months, I rather concentrate on saving or buying only that what is absolutely necessary. And instead put some money aside for the future vacations or unsolicited illness or child’s future and so on. 

Accept it or not - you can no longer be the ‘hippie’ you once were; some planning you will have to do - there is no escaping it!

To begin with - you could find your own unique and cool style to do it. Make your own fancy piggy banks and put money in it. What if making the piggy bank brings you excitement to save! You never know anything could work!