Baby boomers preferred options like PPF, FDs and bank deposits to secure their fund due to their risk-averse nature. Millennials need to learn from baby boomers that retirement planning is a gradual process and needs to be started immediately.

Goal setting

Goals setting is a crucial part of planning your finances. Baby boomers focused majorly on long-term goals and ensured the future of their family is financially covered. Home, retirement, education, car, marriage are few things they predominantly focused on when it came for future financial planning.

Millennials are more considerate about short-term goals and do not plan much ahead. Major life goals like retirement, child’s education, marriage etc are too far away for them to be planned right now.

It needs to be realized that time passes very fast and if not planned well ahead of time, these major goals of life can later become a burden. As time will pass by, the load of these responsibilities is going to increase further making financial management a tough game. Hence, it is highly suggested that millennials should start paying attention to these aspects of life as well and start investing as soon as possible.

The early you start investing, the more you would be able to gather as in the long-term power of compounding works behind all your investments, growing your principal amount exponentially and building your wealth. Invest with SIP which allows starting small, even Rs. 500 can help you initiate investing. One can choose a mutual fund scheme like Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund and invest in it.

Budgeting

With so many brands flourishing and many more entering the market every day, one thing is sure that the millennials love shopping. They are gadget lovers, fashion lovers, food lovers, travel lovers and so on. Another most surprising thing is that they do not refrain from spending the money they yet don’t have; Credit Cards. Even being fully aware of the fact that credit card companies charge heavy interest rates on delayed payments, there is no looking back when it comes to spending.

Baby boomers on the other hand always spend less than what they can afford or keep it within their budget. They strictly follow the budget they had decided earlier and do not stress their finances over one or two purchases.

Saving and investing is the priority after fixed expenses of the family, what remains after taking out fixed expenses and savings is the amount that can be spent over shopping and other luxuries.

There is a fundamental difference in the psychology of millennials and baby boomers. There is a lot that needs to be improvised in financial management for millennials to keep up with their future needs. The sooner they realize this, the better it is for everyone.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator for the securities markets in India.