Finance
Top 5 mantras for millennials to achieve financial freedom
By 2030, millennials and Gen Z together will make up more than 50 per cent of India’s population. Known for making sound financial choices, millennials are much more advanced. When it comes to millennials, their investments in mutual funds, stocks, real estate and other assets are at an all-time high, for them a cookie-cutter method does not fit well and when it comes to financial protection – they opt for multiple options to put the method to madness. In the midst of the digital age’s relentless surge, millennials find themselves at the forefront of an era characterised by unprecedented connectivity and information access.
Achieving financial independence remains crucial for personal empowerment and long-term security. It allows individuals to pursue their passions, retire early, and handle unexpected challenges without financial stress. In today’s rapidly evolving digital era, leveraging technology and innovative financial tools can simplify this journey.
Let’s explore some of the top mantras to follow on this road.
Start early & invest regularly
Don’t wait for the perfect moment to begin investing—start your personal finance journey with your very first paycheck. While the retirement age has stayed the same, life expectancy has increased, necessitating a larger corpus to support a longer life. Additionally, many of us aspire to retire by 50 to pursue other interests, making early planning essential.
Consider this: if you start investing ₹5,000 per month at age 25, you could accumulate a corpus of ₹1.76 crore by age 55, assuming a 12 per cent annual return. However, if you delay and start at age 35, you’d need to invest ₹17,500 per month to reach the same amount. A 10-year delay can triple the amount you need to invest monthly. Investing early leverages compounding and the time value of money. When you’re young, you can take on more risks, benefiting from high-risk assets like equities and mutual funds.
Create multiple sources of income
Diversifying your income streams can protect you against job loss and economic downturns, while also accelerating wealth accumulation. Consider options like freelance work, side businesses, rental properties, investments in stocks or mutual funds, and passive income sources such as dividends or royalties.
During unforeseen circumstances like sudden medical emergencies, layoffs, or unexpected major expenses, having a financial safety net can mean the difference between a temporary setback and a lasting crisis. Experts recommend saving 12 months’ worth of living expenses to ensure adequate coverage.
Digital banking apps facilitate this by enabling seamless fund transfers and automated savings plans, making it easier to consistently allocate money to an emergency fund. These tools also offer features like goal tracking and notifications to help maintain regular contributions.
Eliminate debt strategically
Start by listing all your debts, including credit cards, loans, and any other liabilities. Prioritise them by interest rates, focusing on high-interest debts first, as these cost you more over time. One effective strategy is the “avalanche method,” where you pay off debts with the highest interest rates first while making minimum payments on others. Alternatively, the “snowball method” involves paying off the smallest debts first to build momentum and encourage continued progress.
Consider consolidating debts to secure lower interest rates and simplify payments. Additionally, create a realistic budget to free up extra money for debt repayment. Avoid accumulating new debt by using cash or debit for purchases instead of credit cards.
Insurance – a big must!
Before making any investment, ensure that you have adequate life and health insurance coverage. As your liabilities increase, so should your coverage amount. Prioritising insurance safeguards your financial stability and provides a safety net for unforeseen circumstances, allowing you to focus on growing your investments with peace of mind. Purchasing life insurance at a younger age offers the benefit of lower premiums, which remain constant throughout the policy term. Younger millennials too find term insurance appealing because of its simplicity and affordability, coupled with the digital era which equips them with real-time financial data, market insights, and most importantly – investment tools that can assist in making informed decisions for insuring safety and security.
All that being said, India’s millennials are still relatively new to the concept of achieving financial freedom and its imperative for them to have a roadmap in place. India has the youngest population globally. So, if our youth is financially secure, it means India’s future is also safe.
Published 19 August 2024, 01:01 IST
Finance
Anne Arundel County Launches New Finance and Procurement Platform
Anne Arundel County is preparing to launch a new finance and e-procurement system to modernize county operations and improve how businesses interact with local government.
The new platform, called Harbor, is scheduled to go live in July and will replace the County’s legacy procurement system with a centralized cloud-based platform built on Oracle Fusion Cloud.
County officials say the new system is designed to streamline procurement and financial processes while making it easier for both existing and prospective vendors to do business with the County.
From the press release:
“Harbor is a much-needed upgrade that will streamline services for our county agencies and those who do business with the county,” said Anne Arundel County Chief Administrative Officer Christine Anderson.
The platform will serve as a single portal for supplier registration, bid opportunities, invoicing, payment tracking, and contract management, consolidating what had previously been spread across multiple systems. County leaders say the transition is part of a broader effort to modernize operations, improve efficiency, and lower barriers for businesses seeking to compete for county contracts.
For counties, procurement modernization remains an important operational priority as local governments look to improve transparency, strengthen vendor engagement, and simplify access for businesses of all sizes. Anne Arundel County has encouraged interested suppliers to review training materials and registration information ahead of the July launch.
Finance
Quadient Recognized as a Leader in the 2026 SPARK Matrix for Accounts Receivable Applications
Quadient demonstrates continued innovation in AI-driven invoice-to-cash automation and unified finance operations
Paris
Quadient (Euronext Paris: QDT), a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, announced today it has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a Leader in the 2026 SPARK Matrix™ for Accounts Receivable Applications by technology analyst and advisory firm QKS Group. Quadient strengthened its position in the report year-over-year, with a notable improvement in Technology Excellence, reflecting continued innovation in its AI-driven invoice-to-cash solution.
According to QKS Group, Quadient’s leadership position highlights its evolution into a comprehensive, AI-powered platform that delivers strong predictive accuracy and straight-through processing. The analyst firm also emphasized the capability of Quadient’s solutions to unify accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP), offering finance leaders greater visibility and insights into their business finances to make faster, better decisions on working capital management.
Earlier this month, Quadient announced the release of its new cash dashboard capability for AR and AP that allows finance teams to bring together traditionally siloed data in a single view. An AI assistant summarizes key metrics and provides analysis that helps finance leaders accelerate cash on hand, improve forecasting, reduce risk and uncover opportunities to optimize working capital.
“Quadient has established a strong position in the 2026 Accounts Receivable Automation market through its focus on intelligent automation, cash flow optimization and integrated financial operations,” said Sanjeevi C R, associate vice president, Enterprise Research at QKS Group. “The platform’s evolution from predictive analytics to AI-driven autonomous collections execution represents a meaningful step forward in reducing manual effort across the invoice-to-cash cycle. What differentiates Quadient is its ability to combine collections management, cash application, and payment processing with a unified accounts receivable and accounts payable ecosystem, providing finance leaders with a more holistic view of working capital performance. By enabling greater automation, enhanced cash flow visibility, and more efficient receivables operations, Quadient continues to deliver measurable value for organizations seeking to modernize their financial processes and improve liquidity management.”
QKS Group highlighted the following key strengths for Quadient AR:
Finance
G7 Recommits to Development, Investment Finance to Drive Shared Prosperity
The G7 Leaders’ Summit took place in Évia
-
Atlanta, GA1 minute ago
Seahawks Travel To Atlanta And Alabama For A Civil Rights Learning Tour
-
Minneapolis, MN7 minutes agoMinneapolis City Council approves 5-month pause on data center development
-
Indianapolis, IN14 minutes agoIndiana veteran completes 250-mile march for semiquincentennial
-
Pittsburg, PA16 minutes agoHoffmann family makes very good first impression: ‘You will win in Pittsburgh’
-
Augusta, GA22 minutes ago
Nancy H. Bowers Obituary Jun 24, 2026 – Platt’s Funeral Home
-
Washington, D.C29 minutes agoWatch: Americans visit Great American State Fair in Washington DC
-
Cleveland, OH32 minutes agoU.S. Marshals arrest suspect in murder of Northeast Ohio rapper
-
Austin, TX36 minutes agoNew podcast searches for accountability after 2025 Central Texas flood