Golden rules for successful investing

At the outset, let us be honest. Every year, towards the end, we repeat this particular column. And the reason for this is that we feel the principles laid out herein are so vital for one's financial health that they justify the annual repetition.

The basic premise behind these financial principles is that the simpler you keep it, the better your chances of making money. Markets by their very nature will react to domestic, international, political, geo-political and economic events. However, the fact is that nothing is permanent; you shouldn't take anything for granted.

Which in turn means that even the current tumultuous environment is transient, this cycle too will change. In the meanwhile, as an investor you should ignore the ambient noise and stick to a goal based financial plan. Towards this end, the column offers readers the basic building blocks of sound financial profile. Though each individual's life situation is different, the following principles of financial planning are universally applicable.