Dear Reader,

In the 1980s, if you held shares in some of the 'best companies' of the time, once-dominant market leaders in textiles, automobiles, or manufacturing, you were considered a savvy investor. These were the undisputed giants of their day.

Fast forward to today, and many of these giants have faded into irrelevance.

This isn't just a history lesson. It's a powerful framework for wealth: What made you wealthy yesterday will not necessarily keep you wealthy tomorrow.

Yet, so many of us build our financial lives on outdated ideas or scattered advice. We see families making the same costly mistakes:

1. Panicking in a Crisis: The Sensex has grown 800x since its base in 1979, surviving scams, wars, recessions, and pandemics. The single biggest mistake is exiting the market in fear instead of staying invested for the long term.
2. Ignoring 'Real' Returns: We feel safe earning 6% in a fixed deposit, but when inflation is running at 7%, our 'real return' is negative. We are not growing wealth; we are slowly destroying our purchasing power.
3. Buying the Wrong Products: Many families lock their hard-earned money into policies that mix insurance and investment, which often fail at both. Insurance should be for protection; investment should be for growth.

Perhaps the biggest mistake? Treating finance as a solo activity. True financial success only happens when the entire family, spouses, parents, and even children, shares the same mindset about saving and investing.

The Turning Point: A Framework for a New Economy

So, what is the right framework in a changing world?

It's a shift in focus. Instead of picking today's 'hot stock', the goal is to invest in India's long-term production and growth story. If the Indian economy grows over the next 20 years, the markets will inevitably follow.

It's about having a system. A system that:

• Protects Capital First (Rule #1): A broad market index can never go to zero (as some sectors always benefit, even in a crisis), but a single speculative stock can.
• Beats Market Timing: Uses systematic SIPs to average costs. It doesn't matter if you invest at the market high or the low; over time, you win.
• Defines the Real Goal: Understands that "retirement is not an age; it is a number." It's the number you need for your assets to generate income equal to your lifestyle expenses, whether you're 40 or 70.

To help you and your family build this very framework, The Economic Times is hosting the Financial Freedom Awareness Workshop, a 3-hour live online session led by financial educator Varun Malhotra.

This workshop is designed to transform how your family thinks about money and align everyone on a practical, systematic path to wealth. It will provide actionable frameworks on planning for every age group, calculating your 'retirement number', and avoiding the costly mistakes that derail financial independence.

We invite you and your family to join this transformative session.

Date: 2nd November, Sunday

Time: 10 AM - 1 PM (IST)

Access: Live Online Workshop

Reserve your Free Seat

Sincerely,

The Economic Times