Taking control of your financial life is not very complicated, nothing like rocket science. The basic principals are simple, easy to practice if you can co-relate them with your day to day life and the expenses you incur.

• Get a good education, work towards building your career
• Spend less than you earn – This is the most important part
• Track & budget your expenses – Any given point of time, you should know where you are financially
• Invest diligently rather religiously every month towards your goals
• Plan for taxes; take informed decisions on your regular taxes and taxes on your investments. Optimize them so that you do not end up paying a lot to the government
• Keep enhancing knowledge to manage investments, budget and taxes. Remember, it’s your money and none else will help you in planning for your goals unless they have vested interests

The above 6 points sums up the key to financial success. And remember, there is no place for debt which can spoil any good retirement plan. Especially the debt meant for buying lifestyle goods. You need to beat inflation as well as lifestyle inflation to beat the financial blues