The stages you go through with evaluating your financial health is pretty similar to when your health checkup comes calling. Here are these stages of realizing the same ->
1. You over hear your friends talking about their financial worries
2. And then it strikes you, “Why am I not worried about my finances?”
3. You then sit down and try to recall when, where and what you have invested
4. *vigorous searching of email and random document folder happens*
5. Also, you try to access your current portfolio and account balances
6. Online magazines and sites convince your finances are in a bad bad shape
7. You organize all the deposit slips, PPF receipts and tax documents to make sense of what you have been doing with all your money
8. At some point, panic overtakes and you do some desperate dialling to your dad/mom
9. You then realize you should ask them for the contact number/mail id of the CA uncle
10. Nothing great comes out of that talk and it convinces you need the help of a real CA
11. The real CA gives you a 10,000 volt reality check shock by first mentioning his fees and then outlining all that is bad for your finances
12. You prepare for the worse when he says he needs to examine your finances
13. You have your fingers crossed when he makes up detailed excel sheets with all your FDs, annual investments, loan details, insurance schemes
14. He goes through your stuff and keeps making small gestures which you aren’t able to decipher
15. Finally, he gives his verdict on the state of your finances and even though you have mixed emotions, you heave a sigh of relief
16. You review and then take the financial planning lessons imparted for the future with the sincere hope the next check-up is far far away
So yeah, you have gone through all this for the sake of your financial health. But guess what! A quick check can also be done using these simple yet super-awesome financial calculators too.