I was eating masala dosa at the open air restaurant . And right next to it was this gigantic gold showroom . In years past the last thought which would have entered my mind would be finance . But this time i was thinking . Is this gigantic impressive shop profitable . Does their financial statements live up to the show that is put up . Is the cash coming from operations or financing or sale of any other assets ? In short instead of getting impressed by the outward look i am thinking beyond the outward show .
Of course most people buy cars on finance these days at least in part . But here again a high end car after i appreciate it ( i am a car enthusiast ) , i think about how it is bought . Being in kerala where a segment of the population buys high end cars beyond their means i try to size up whether the car is bought and maintained by income from operations (owners ) or heavily leveraged finance .
Coming to think of it be it a company (including pharma company basics which i teach for investment purposes ) , a business or a person can be assessed under the headings of finance . Publicly listed companies because of mandatory reportings are forced to show most of their financial realties and cash flow . But this is not the case for other businesses , personal assets like cars and even individuals .
I know many people who operate on very low cash on a day to day basis but have huge assets . Just the opposite too of people who are heavily leveraged and highly laden in debt who have minimal or no assets but put up a lot of show . Just like healthy companies operate on a healthy leveraging , healthy asset turnover ratio many of these very things are applicable even for personal finance . And here too a learning of fundamental principles of investing will help .
Whether you love money or hate money ( philosophers anyone ?) knowing about money and finance will always keep you in firm ground when you deal with financial products like moneyback insurance , shares and mutual funds , investing in businesses (healthcare included ) and even when assessing your individual level finances . In short no one will take you for a ride when offering any financial product . If there is one lesson the last recession taught us its that money may not be important but learning about it is important for anyone .
Watch this blog for finance related topics especially for healthcare professionals .
Please click on the poll on the right . Thanks
