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If you want to figure out how to be a wiser, better individual, Westeros is not a bad place to start. Particularly if you are looking for tips on personal finance. Game of Thrones is full of financial lessons simply waiting to teach viewers, if only they open themselves up to the vast possibilities and sort out the scary things from the ones that make sense.
Just like the “living” in the Game of Thrones are eyeing the Iron Throne, you too can eye your “Personal Finance Throne” by taking important lessons from this series. After all, GOT offers so much more than just white walkers, dragons and pure epicness!
Few personal finance lessons that you can learn from GOT are as follows:
Always Pay Your Debts
‘A Lannister Always Pays His Debts’
You must have surely heard this line through the span of the different GOT seasons. House Lannister may have a history of avarice, betrayal and even murder. However, when it comes to paying back their debts, you can depend on all the Lannisters including Tywin, Queen Cersei and Ser Jamie. In fact, this excellent reputation helped them to become one of the wealthiest families in the Seven Kingdoms.
The advice that holds up in real life is that whenever you borrow money, make sure to pay it back on schedule. Doing so will improve your credit score, thereby, establishing your creditworthiness with banks or financial institutions.
Taking Shortcuts is not the Option
The House Greyjoy (Ironborn) has pirates and thieves known for taking shortcuts and taking whatever they want. Ned Stark took Theon Greyjoy as his ward, but Theon took his own easy route and later seized Winterfell. While he thought that seizing Winterfell was his win, it didn’t last long. Soon he was captured by Ramsay Bolon and tortured appallingly.
Finances act in a similar manner, taking short-cuts in securing your life financially can also seem right in the present but can backfire badly in the future.
For instance, if an individual invests all his hard-earned cash in one stock (rather than diversifying the portfolio) that too without researching the same, he will be devastated if he finds out that he picked the wrong stock and lost all his money.
You Can't Know What The Future Holds
Brank Stark lost not only his ability to walk but also his brother and parents. So, in the wake of everything Bran dealt with, it only seems fair that he became a Three-Eyed Raven, having the ability to see into the past and catch glimpses of what's to come.
But, you don't have any such power which can allow you to peep into the future. You can't perceive what's coming down the road in your life; an accident, a major illness or even death. Any of these events can bring a major emotional, mental and most of all financial setback in your family’s life.
While you cannot gauge what the future has in store for you, you can at least safeguard it financially with an online term insurance plan.
An online term insurance plan can secure the goals that you have planned for your family, even in your absence, including:
Children’s education
Their marriage
or Your spouse’s retirement
Simply put, the payout received after your unexpected demise can act as a dependable ‘Samaritan’ for your dear ones and take care of their needs and other household expenses.
But before buying one, research and carry out term insurance plan comparison and make sure to buy one from a reputable insurer having a solid track record of claim settlement ratio.
This will ensure that your loved ones do not face any hassles at the time of claim. Currently, Max Life Insurance is one such leading insurer having the highest claim settlement ratio– 98.26%.
Invest in Your Future
Daenerys Targaryen was not always the Mother of Dragons or Khaleesi or Breaker of Chains. She was stepped upon by her brother and then her better half. It was only when she got her Dragons did she become powerful.
A major personal finance lesson that can be learned here is that investing money towards your future is important; it doesn’t matter even if you start small. Always remember that investments done in prudent financial instruments today can help you accumulate a more significant corpus in your future.
Don’t be Like Jon Snow
We can’t stress how indispensable it is to always be prepared for financial winter, pay your obligations, invest your money and build a nest egg. Most importantly, to successfully navigate through the personal finance route, arm yourself with the right financial knowledge. If you don’t, you will just be like Jon Snow, knowing nothing!