Financial Planning for Major Events – Part II

This article looks at financial "smartness" during a function. The actual event often happens at such speed that smart decision making is difficult. While enjoying the function, from a financial viewpoint the two main factors are liquidity and safety.

Liquidity – Compute before hand the cash payments, which will need to be made during the function. If necessary, negotiate the payment mode with the vendors beforehand to make sure that you do not have to carry large amounts of cash. Do maintain a buffer for emergency expenses.
Event Insurance – Today event insurance is available from several Insurance companies. This ensures that in case the event does not happen, then insurance is available to cover the fixed expenses which have already been incurred. The amounts involved are nominal and is worth the peace of mind. Do consider the riders for theft, natural calamities etc. Typically Insurance for Rs 10 lakhs comes to around Rs 6000. Approach any general insurer for the necessary cover.

Locate the nearest ATM – Try to find out the ATM nearest to the venue where the event is being held. This is helpful, if sudden cash is required.

Find a custodian – Try to delegate the cash management to a reliable person who is not an active participant in the function. They can manage the cash without getting distracted by the events of the function.

Managing cash receipts – Giving gifts is a standard practice in our functions. Often this is in the form of cash. Decide before hand on who would manage the cash for you. Apart from keeping the gifts safely, it is also essential to maintain a record of who has made each gift. This is often difficult for cash gifts. Hence, smart and speedy record keeping is vital J Of course the physical gifts also need to be collected and stored safely.

Gifts from friends/close relations – One of the joys of receiving a gift are the surprise element. At times close friends/relations prefer to ask you what you would prefer as a gift. So do keep a list of a few handy things you would want (at different budgets). Nowadays gift cards are also in vogue. If there are no preferences then remember Cash is always king!!

Safety – Functions are a time to display the jewels, designer clothing, silver vessels and other valuable items. Make sure that individual people have responsibility for specific items. Of course at the end of the day, we would need to keep a personal eye on major items.

Recordkeeping – As always, record keeping is vital. Several big ticket expenses/receipts happen during the function and one should keep a note of the same. It will help us analyze the expenses and also compare the actual expenses against the estimates, made before hand.