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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 6:07:15 pm

The Financial Magic of 8/8

AI Generated Image If numbers could talk, 8 would speak the language of wealth. When the date doubles into 8/8, it becomes more than another day. It becomes a reminder of financial power, balance and long-term abundance. Yesterday, the calendar read August 8 - 8/8. In astrology and numerology, this date is considered significant. The Lion’s Gate Portal August 8 marks the peak of what is known as the Lion’s Gate Portal - a period believed to carry heightened energy for growth, abundance and...

The Financial Magic of 8/8

AI Generated Image If numbers could talk, 8 would speak the language of wealth. When the date doubles into 8/8, it becomes more than another day. It becomes a reminder of financial power, balance and long-term abundance. Yesterday, the calendar read August 8 - 8/8. In astrology and numerology, this date is considered significant. The Lion’s Gate Portal August 8 marks the peak of what is known as the Lion’s Gate Portal - a period believed to carry heightened energy for growth, abundance and transformation. I am a financial advisor - not an astrologer or numerologist - but I find this date fascinating because of the symbolism attached to the number 8. In numerology, 8 is associated with wealth, power, ambition and balance. It is also linked with discipline, responsibility and karma - the idea that our actions produce results. When the calendar reads 8/8, many believe this energy is doubled. A Financial Checkpoint Whether or not you believe in astrology or numerology, the date can serve as a financial checkpoint - an opportunity to pause, reflect and take steps towards building wealth. I recommend treating 8/8 as a money mirror - a moment to ask yourself: Are my investments aligned with my long-term goals? Is my money working for me, or am I caught in an earn-and-spend cycle? Am I creating lasting wealth, or merely temporary income? Your Mid-Year Money Reset We often make resolutions on January 1. But by August, more than half the year has passed. That makes 8/8 an excellent occasion for a financial reset. Use this weekend for review and action. The intention may begin on a symbolic day, but transformation comes from what you do next. Review your goals and expenses. Make lumpsum investments where appropriate, increase your SIPs, check whether your insurance cover is sufficient and organise your financial documents. Also review your asset allocation. Money meant for long-term goals must be invested in hybrid and equity mutual funds, stocks and gold. Money required for short-term goals should remain in safer options such as bank fixed deposits and recurring deposits. Declutter Your Finances Close unused accounts, cancel unnecessary subscriptions, consolidate scattered investments and ensure that your family knows where financial information is stored. These may seem like small steps, but wealth is rarely created through one dramatic decision. It is built through disciplined actions repeated over many years. The Infinity Connection When the number 8 is turned on its side, it resembles the symbol for infinity - . That is what true investing is about - allowing consistency, patience and compounding to work over long periods. It does not create wealth overnight. Given time, the results can appear magical. Turn Intention Into Action As we move beyond 8/8, do not let the intention remain limited to a date on the calendar. Set a financial intention. Act on it. Review it regularly. Even the largest fortunes begin with focused steps. When your present-day financial actions begin matching your long-term goals, real transformation begins. (The writer is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

Pakistan an old sinner

Mumbai: The ongoing ‘Operation Sindoor’ has been punctuated by fresh instances of cease-fire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control (LoC) by Pakistan in specific border areas, as revealed by the Indian Army this week.


The trend is not new and Pakistan has been adept at CFVs with official data showing an average 13 daily breaches of truce during 10 years from 2010-2021.


During that period, the LoC in the erstwhile state Jammu & Kashmir suffered some 14,411 CFVs, with the figures dramatically shooting up after 2014 when the NDA government headed by PM Narendra Modi took office.


The eye-popping data was revealed to Pune activist Prafful Sarda in a RTI reply, showing 593 CFVs during the erstwhile UPA’s former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh’s tenure, and 13,818 under the NDA regimes post-2014 – totaling to 14,411 in 10 years.


Interestingly, the figure of border infringement was just one (01) in 2004 – when Dr. Singh’s government came to power - which shot up to an astronomical 4,645 in 2020.


This was despite the admirable surgical air-strikes in Balakot (Feb. 2019) and the country acquiring a sleek fleet of Rafale fighter jets (July 2020).


As per the RTI reply, the truce violations pertained to the LoC, and the government had categorically refused to divulge details of CFVs along the India-China borders, including specifics like the Doklam deadlock (June-Aug. 2017).


“The government invoked Sec. 8 (1)(a) of the RTI Act, 2005 to deny the Doklam details. The officialdom feels that such disclosure could affect India’s sovereignty and integrity, her security, strategic, scientific or economic interests, relations with foreign states, et al,” Sarda told 'The Perfect Voice'.


Starting with one CFV in 2004, it climbed to 6 (2005), 3 (2006), 21 (2007), 77 (2008), down to 28 (2009), and thereafter kept soaring each year – 44 (2010), 51 (2011), 93 (2012) and 199 (2013), at the fag end of the UPA’s second tenure.


Under the NDA, things appeared bright as CFV dropped to 153 (2014) and 152 (2015), and after PM Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan to meet and greet ex-PM Nawaz Sharif on his birthday in Dec. 2015, the truce was flouted a whopping 228 times (2016).


In 2017, after Nirmala Sitharaman became Defence Minister, the rumblings on the borders increased with a staggering 860 CFVs – almost quadrupling over the previous year which also saw the Uri attacks by Pakistan and India’s retaliatory surgical strikes.


The CFV’s kept shooting up – 1,629 (2018), 3,233 (2019), and as NDA 2.0 was settling down in office, there were 4,645 truce violations (2020), and 524 (Jan-Feb. 2021) – the last two at the height of the Coronavirus Pandemic when the country remained under different lockdowns.

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