‘Making money’ and ‘making your money work for you’ are two different things and each one is as thought-provoking as the other. Often people are so caught up in the rat-race of earning money quickly that they never take ‘making money work for them’ seriously.

Keep in mind- money has one resolution only - to work for you. And when your money starts working for you, at that point, your dreams turn into reality. Your goals,be it buying a house,or a car, retirement planning , children's education or their marriage appear significantly more achievable.

The following 6-step guide will help you find out how to make your money work for you:

Use Budgeting to Control Your Finances

You can't make something work for you until you take control of it. Making a budget every month and abiding by it is the best way to gain control over your finances. This will enable you to make budgetary choices toward the start of the month by telling your cash where to go rather than later pondering where it went.

Pay Yourself First

Have the discipline to pay yourself first, even if your pay is low. Every time you earn income, save a percentage of that for your future, be it 10%, 20% or even more.This will enable you to invest the saved money in resources or investments that will generate cash flow for your future needs and goals.

Invest Early, Invest Smart

Just working hard to earn money may not be adequate to fulfil your goals or lead a comfortable lifestyle. Therefore,you must invest, early and smartly. The financial market is coupled with a variety of products to help you achieve your desired goals. One of these is Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIPs).ULIPs serve the dual purpose of offering insurance protection as well as giving a long-term investment option. Moreover, ULIPs provide ideal returns and give a choice to change investment plans depending on the market conditions. They also offer tax-saving, which is an added benefit that helps you grow your wealth.

To create a quick quote and know the premium amount for your ULIP plan , make use of ULIP calculator . A ULIP calculator will help calculate the amount to invest for a specific long-term goal like buying a car, buying a house, funding your child’s education etc.

Diversify Your Portfolio

They say you should not put all your eggs in one basket. Similarly, for investments, it makes sense to spread your risk no matter what products you invest in. By investing in a range of financial products, you can manage volatility more efficiently during challenging market conditions. So, diversify your portfolio amongst stock, mutual funds, ULIPs, real-estate, commodities etc.

Get Out of Debt

Your money doesn’t belong to you until you've paid off all your debt. Becoming debt-free might appear like a task which is too huge to handle. But try to begin by simply clearing up your smaller obligations and after that work towards handling the bigger ones with the additional cash that you have available.

Plan Your Taxes Efficiently

Because we have a dynamic tax system, the more you earn,the more you must pay. Also, different income sources attract different tax rates. But your ultimate goal should be to claim all of the tax deductions you're entitled to. Put simply, invest in tax-saving investments that can help avail maximum tax-deductions every financial year and also provide tax-free maturity benefits, for example, ULIPs.

Finally:

Even though you may feel that you're walking on a tightrope with regards to your finances, having a can-do attitude is the essential step you must take to make your money work for you. Additionally, don’t be too rigid and remain flexible with your investment choices to get the coveted outcome. Invest in long-term investments and let the power of compounding work its magic to grow your wealth over time.