The 30s herald an era of warmth filled with brilliance. It is coupled with a mature outlook towards life. This is the period when life goals become prominent as the rashness of youth takes a backseat. It is important to weigh your savings and investment options carefully. Several life goals compete for your attention, and the biggest one being to own a home. In their enthusiasm, many people take impulsive investment decisions which they regret later. The biggest mistake investors make is to treat investments as a DIY thing. A flawed investment strategy can make a huge difference between decent and extraordinary returns.

If your goal is to buy your dream abode, you must begin to save Now. You must consider down-payment as well as hefty EMIs that come along with a home loan. A good saving and investment plan can help you to wade through the maze of personal finance.

Investments require dedication, discipline and commitment. There may be a time when you might be tempted to take a break and spend money on an exotic vacation. But, once you commit to investments, you must stick to it, even if it means living frugally. Remember you have to sacrifice your today for a better future. If you are unable to control your expenditure, you can never expect to become successful in your investment journey.

Aim to build a balanced portfolio that has a healthy mix of debt and equity investments. If in doubt, seek the advice of a financial planner. Money matters are best left to experts. Make it a habit to reinvest the proceeds of your investments as they mature. When purchasing a home, even down-payment may require a few lakh rupees. Ideally, you must invest with a time horizon of five years. But, in your enthusiasm to build a corpus for your home, do not overlook the insurance need for you and your family.

Remember the adage an early bird catches the worm. An early investment journey enables you to take advantage of the power of compounding. An early investment journey enables you to take advantage of the power of compounding. The power of compounding helps to earn interest on interest besides the principal amount. This works wonders in the long term. Equity Linked Savings Scheme is one such investment scheme that allows your money to multiply efficiently. You will benefit more by investing for 10 years instead of three years.

According to Samuel Johnson The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. As a human, we are creatures of habit. Make investments your habit The key to success lies in consistency. You may feel like skipping an investment or postponing it for some time. Remind yourself of goals, and intermittently reward yourself for being on track. Automatic SIP investments inculcate fiscal discipline. A time will come when you would not like to stop investing even though you have achieved your goals.

A house is a big-ticket item; the 30s is the age when you can take aggressive risks. But this does not mean you invest in every available opportunity. You must focus on smart investment which can help you to earn above-average returns. ELSS with a balanced mix of risk and safety qualifies as an investment choice. It can clock decent returns compared to investment avenues such as PPF and corporate bonds.

A good financial adviser can help you to identify the best scheme to achieve your long term goals. He carefully assesses your risk profile and suggests what works out best for you. But, whatever you do, remember that discipline and dedication is absolutely necessary; only then you can achive all your dreams including your that abode you have been aspiring for so long!

The author is the Founder at Investonline