We live in the time of instant gratification; we want convenience today and fulfillment right now before we can start working or worrying for tomorrow. This 'right-now, right here' attitude doesn't apply for expenses and investments alone. It is also relevant for our treatment of scarce and limited resources of mother nature such as clean air, potable water, trees, animals, plants and the ecosystem around us. We have to start conserving and recharging them before we run out of them. Money would most likely be a limited resource for most of us. While we use it as a lubricant for running our lives today, we also need to nurture it for a 'sure' tomorrow.

I like reminding my clients time and again that, 'tomorrow is closer than it appears' and it's best that we be prepared than start buckling up for our goals as and when they knocked on our doorstep. In the same context, one of my favourite quotes by Robert Louis Stevenson says, “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” The whole point of this argument is that we need to be careful about indiscriminate spending (if it's happening) today and manage our money well before the lack of planning begins to bite us tomorrow. Our Indian wisdom of striking the right balance between spending and investing is captured well in the following quote by Adam Smith, “What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience”?

My 22 years of experience in the field of personal finance suggests that lifestyle habits are the most difficult to reverse. In light of that, it's advisable to always know what to invest for which impending goal (happening tomorrow) and therefore how much to budget in today's expenses for the same. The first step towards this is listing down your short, medium and long-term goals in terms of your priority, amount needed and the specific date of need. As a second step, this figure (today's number) needs to be extrapolated for inflation (so that the purchasing power is intact) and discount for future taxes (on the growth of money). Subsequently, where to invest in terms of the asset classes and how to invest in terms of a lump sum or monthly need to be worked out. Ideally, it's best to enlist the services of a financial planner rather than indulging in DIY.

The two biggest drivers of change and human behaviour (why we do what we do) are greed and fear. It makes sense to remind ourselves of this profound statement of people's action made by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it”. After all, as Tennessee Williams says, “You can be young without money, but you can't be old without it.”

Today's generation might believe in YOLO (You only live once) and be worried about FOMO (Fear of missing out) but it's pertinent to remember that the surest way to predict the future is to invent it. And, as Gautam Buddha said, “Beings are owners of their action, heirs of their action”

The writer is a certified financial planner, founder partner of Srujan Financial Advisers LLP and author of 'Why greed is great'