Walmart billionaire Jim Walton drives a 15-year old pickup truck. Don't waste time on the idea that a car is a status symbol. Sure, if you're a car-aficionado, there's nothing wrong with restoring or buying that sweet ride you've dreamed about, if you can afford to. But for most people, including rich-people, getting from Point-A to Point-B in safety and reasonable comfort is sufficient.

John Caudwell, David Cheriton, and Chuck Feeney are billionaires you probably haven't heard of, but all three of them walk, ride bikes, or use public transport for the daily commute. It's easy on the bank account, and better for the environment. If these guys aren't ashamed of taking the bus, you shouldn't be either.

Billionaire Warren-Buffett lives in Omaha, and he made his investment fortune simply on the fundamentals: focusing on companies with strong annual cash-flow, and choosing companies that aren't at risk of technical-obsolescence. Buffett spent the early part of his career investing in insurance companies. It's not sexy, but it obviously worked. Whether you have Rs-5000 to invest or Rs-50,000 sticking with the fundamentals is smart.

Your bank account may be empty, but believing in yourself at the most fundamental-level, costs nothing. While following your passion, "You become what you believe. You are where you are today in your life, based on everything you believe." Change is possible whatever your situation and the first-step is believing in yourself. Choose a hobby which you like and put effort into it to find your passion.

If you're 45 and struggling financially in life, start financial planning immediately. The sooner you start managing, saving, and investing your money, however limited it is, the better off you'll be as long as you avoid mistakes like throwing all your money into a single stock.

A financial advisor can help you avail a health insurance plan, based on your financial situation. As you have these conversations with an advisor, it's important to include family members, as they too would be covered under a family floater health insurance plan.

People often put off the healthcare conversation, because they believe they will be covered by health insurance. The reality is that health insurance only covers some healthcare costs (requires at least 24 hospitalizations in most cases). You must understand whats not covered in health insurance plans.

Most people significantly underestimate the costs associated with healthcare and often pay healthcare costs out of pocket or with their investments. But, without a true understanding of the healthcare costs, this may not be realistic.

People often put off availing health insurance until their later years, but health conditions can change quickly, potentially forcing individuals and families to make rushed decisions. In addition, obtaining health insurance can be more costly for older policyholders, and in some instances can be potentially denied depending on your health status.

Too many people buy the first investment product shown to them. Better to lay out a thorough list of all the choices that meet your stated goal. Then, take the time to understand the pros and cons of each one of them. Next, narrow your final-investment choices down to a few that you feel confident about. Some investments are great for the long-term like retirement.

Some investments like equity are too risky for most people. One easy way to reduce investment-risk is to diversify. By doing so, you may still experience swings in investment value, however, you can reduce the risk of a complete loss due to bad timing or other unfortunate circumstances. Be cautious of buying only high yield investments. There is no such thing as high returns with low-risk.

Establishing a suitable time frame you can stick with, is of utmost importance. Your primary concern is safety not losing money. What you should care about are the investment choices that are most likely to give you a decent amount at retirement. In reality, significant growth typically requires at least 5 years or more of time in the market.

Many investment choices have minimum-investment amounts, so before you can lay-out a solid investment plan, you have to determine how much you can invest. Do you have a lump-sum to invest, or are you able to make regular monthly contributions? If you have a larger-sum to invest, obviously more options are available to you. In that case, you can choose from a variety of investments.

Investments must be chosen with the main goal in mind: safety, income or growth. The first thing you need to decide is which of those three characteristics is most important. It helps you identify the point in time where you will need to use your money. Once you have a clear time-frame, you know whether to use short, mid, or long-term investments.

If you are looking at safety and security for your child, you can go for a combination of high-quality company FDs, and bank FDs. For example, there is the KTDFC Company FD, which is offering an interest rate of 8.25%, against banks which are offering a rate of just 6 to 6.5%. Another is Deutsche Bank, which offers an interest rate of 7.75% per annum.