9 Foundation Stones of Building a Retirement Fund

When you start the journey to build your own kitty for a comfortable retirement and gain financial freedom, these are 9 key things to bring along the journey.

1. Savings- through spending less than amount earned and deferring gratification

2. Knowledge- of cyclical nature of financial markets

3. Control- of emotions to minimise or prevent greed and fear from hampering goals

4. Humility- and realisation that we don’t know everything there is to know

5. Belief- in the power of compounding interest to stay vested

6. Flexible- enough to challenge own mindset when faced with empirical evidence

7. Insatiable- thirst for gaining insights and approaches to improve analysis of companies and industries

8. Do- act on the analysis gained and knowledge acquired

9. Balance- of risk-return; passive-active; concentration-diversification

In my job, i find that I often have to do the most urgent things, which may not be the most important things. Or at times, it is to do the things the upper management wants instead of what I think is crucial. Like investing and preparing for retirement, fight the battles you choose- and choose those you have a better chance of winning. Better yet, those battles which are important.

Have a good week ahead :)