9 Financial Mantras to Learn from Navdurga This Navratri

During Navratri, people worship the nine diverse manifestations of the goddess Durga that represent the many aspects of Adi Shakti. Devotees look forward to blessings from these 9 incarnations during these nine days. Each Navdurga avatar has attributes that we can imbibe and derive life lessons from. These qualities may help us learn how to navigate many aspects of life, such as financial challenges.

Let's delve into the different characteristics of Navdurga and what it embodies for our finances. In addition, to your Navratri celebrations this year, take a step to learn 9 valuable financial mantras. And by the end of this festival on Dussehra, like goddess Durga has achieved triumph over the evil demon after a battle of nine days, you will also be able to conquest better control over your finances.

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Mantra #1 - Define Your S.M.A.R.T Financial Goals

Shailputri is the first avatar in which goddess Durga is worshipped; it embodies dedication, strength, and spiritual awakening. This avatar helps you in awakening your finances with respect to your income and expenses and your financial goals for the short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

First, you may consider evaluating your monthly financial cash flows. It is easier to understand your income/s, expenses, and savings with the help of a financial tool like a budgeting app. Do note that budgeting exercise enables you to save regularly and invest wisely. Having a goal in mind for your budget is important when you decide how much money to set aside and how much to spend. Thus, the next step is to set S.M.A.R.T financial goals and execute a plan to accomplish them.

Mantra #2 - Maintain Financial Discipline

During the festival, many devotees observe fast for nine days in a disciplined manner. Similarly, you should follow a disciplined and organised approach to managing your personal finances efficiently in the interest of your financial well-being. The manifestation of effortless focus and the power of mind over matter is the avatar Brahmcharini. You can consider this avatar as an analogy to learn how to cultivate the mental discipline to manage your finances better.

Composure to your personal finance means you remain disciplined with your spending by adopting delayed gratification and with your investments by building immunity against market noise and nuances. Don't make changes to your portfolio and invest on suggestions from your friends and relatives. Your financial situation is unique; thus, the same investment decision may not be as fair to you as to others. Avoid emotional/behavioural biases and maintain your mental composure across various market conditions. One of the best ways to enforce financial discipline is to invest in mutual funds through the SIP route.

Mantra #3 - Effective Financial Planning

One should not make impulsive financial decisions based on hearsay; it may negatively impact your financial goals. The avatar Khushmanda is admired as the one who brought light into the dark world. Similarly, by symbolising the qualities of this incarnation of goddess Durga, you need to create an effective financial plan that draws light on your financial management to create a wealthy corpus for a secure financial future.

Your financial plan is the creator of your wealth; it tells you where to invest, how to invest and when to withdraw. Your financial plan must include goal setting, managing debt, investment planning, portfolio review, etc. It is essential to create a robust financial plan based on the investor's suitability and one that is capable of withstanding various market phases.

Mantra #4 - Insure Yourself And Your Family

When you light a lamp to offer puja to the Goddess Durga during Navratri, you are focusing on the divine power of the deity and pray to secure your family from any evil. Similarly, you should focus on your inner power and insure yourself against the risk to life and health with an adequate insurance cover.

You can't predict the future, but you can secure yourself and your loved ones with adequate life and health insurance. An adequate insurance plan helps in situations like abrupt health problems, the death of a family's sole earning member, etc. Ensure you have an adequate insurance plan in place, and as far as possible, do not merge your insurance and investment needs; keep them separate. For life insurance, consider a term plan which can replace your income in case of unfortunate demise, and for health insurance needs, a Medi-claim policy with worthy features, as medical inflation is skyrocketing.

Mantra #5 - Prepare for the Unexpected

In every avatar of Goddess Durga, she is seen holding various weapons in her hands, prepared to fight. Similarly, in life, you should be prepared for a nasty surprise or any other emergencies like the loss of a job, medical emergencies, unforeseen events like pandemics etc., which can arise at any moment and leave you with a financial crunch.

The avatar - Sidhidatri of the goddess, is the bestower of 'Sidhi' or all well-being. This incarnation of the goddess Durga signifies her blessings for the well-being of all, especially in tough times when certain situations are out of your control.

Hence, to be prepared for any unforeseen events, it is essential that you set aside some money in the form of emergency funds or rainy-day funds. Remember the adage, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. Ideally, you must maintain at least 12 to 24 months of living expenses, including EMIs, as your emergency fund in a savings bank account or liquid funds.

Mantra #6 - Plan to Reduce Your Debt Burden

Just as Goddess Durga triumphed over evil by defeating Mahisasura, you too can triumph by eliminating your debt burden. Prioritise getting rid of the most burdensome debts with high-interest rates. Switch to loans with lower interest rates and give up unnecessary credit cards.

Mahagauri is the incarnation of the goddess Durga who purges devotees' sins and blesses them. This avatar symbolises starting again on a clean slate. You may have taken some bad financial decisions in the past, which have created a debt burden. Having a debt is not wrong unless you have clear intentions of repaying it on time. All of us seek a loan at some point in time or other, but if it leads to a debt burden, it will affect your/our financial well-being.

Therefore, repaying the debt obligation is equally important; try to maintain a debt-to-income ratio below 40% to avoid any debt burden and to maintain your ability to borrow loans in future.

Mantra #7 - Practice to stay put on your wealth creation journey

For the sake of the future of all humanity, the Goddess Durga remained focused for nine days and killed the demon; similarly, for your financial well-being, it is essential that you stay focused on your goal-based financial strategy.

The avatar Chandraghanta embodies clarity, vigilance, being ever prepared to battle any crisis, and divine foresight. Though your aim is to create a robust financial plan and stay focused on your investment strategy, several factors can alter the course of your wealth creation journey. Do not get swayed due to market turbulences, policy changes or any other short-term aberrations.

You need to be vigilant, stay informed about global and national events, update about financial news and reforms, and understand how these factors might impact your financial situation and your investment portfolio. It is important to stay put and be patient during minor turbulences in the markets.

Mantra #8 - Review Your Portfolio Periodically

Due to changes in economic activities and market conditions, the portfolio performance may fluctuate; thus, your investments need to be reviewed timely. Once every year, review and rebalance your portfolio to make necessary adjustments to stay in line with your targets. Plus, it allows you to look for more investment opportunities to generate a strong flow of income.

Kaalratri is the fiercest of the nine forms and is considered the destroyer of all evils; this avatar leaves no stone unturned while eliminating the negative forces. Similarly, a periodic review and tracking of your investment portfolio can help you to weed out the underperforming schemes from your portfolio to replace new ones that could help you achieve your goals faster and know the performance is in sync with your goal's approaching timeline. It is essential to analyse the underperforming assets on various quantitative and qualitative parameters.

Different asset classes have different attributes, which help in maintaining the required balance in the portfolio. Hence follow a suitable asset allocation pattern and create a well-diversified portfolio that will help you to generate risk-adjusted returns and safeguard it from market volatility. Remember, you should consider your investment risk profile and financial condition with diversification while building a strategic portfolio.

Mantra #9 - Empower yourself with the weapon of Financial Knowledge

As Goddess Durga has various weapons to protect humanity from evil, your strongest weapon to protect your financial future is your financial knowledge. It will help if you devote some time to improve your financial knowledge. This does not mean simply studying the basics of finance but also doing research and acquiring a deeper understanding of the different investments you have made.

The avatar Katyayini is fearsome yet benevolent and represents the goddess' powerful vision, and nothing misses her eye. Similarly, as an investor, you need an eye for detail and an ear to the ground. Financial knowledge will assist you in having an eye for detail to make informed financial decisions. Being financially literate assists you in dealing with dynamic market conditions, navigating through volatile markets and surviving the financial challenges in life. Financial knowledge helps you stay updated with financial developments and information that may affect your investments.

Every individual must enhance their financial knowledge to have better control over their finances and make informed financial decisions. In addition, financial literacy can help you become your financial planner and a financial guardian for your family.

The 10th Day of the Navratri festival, called Dussehra or Vijayadashami, is one of the most auspicious days. It signifies the end of evil and new beginnings. On this occasion, start a new journey with a robust financial plan and focus on your wealth creation to secure your financial future.

Navratri is the perfect time for auspicious beginnings, and you may consider chanting the above-mentioned financial mantras for your financial well-being. Take inspiration from this festival to turn your financial situation around. First of all, get more organised and disciplined about your finances and get rid of any debts. Then save and invest wisely to increase your wealth. Finally, enhance your financial knowledge for long-term stability and growth.

So this Navratri festival, end your bad financial habits and begin a new journey with focus, discipline, and a positive outlook that can brighten your financial future. Just like you enjoy following the part of dressing up in nine different colours during Navratri, aim to follow these 9 financial mantras for a secure financial future.

Happy Navratri!

Warm Regards,
Mitali Dhoke
Research Analyst