One of the golden rules of financial planning is to understand that it’s not all about the money. When it comes to securing your financial future, focusing only on making or saving more money could end up with your portfolio turning into a disaster. When you sit with your personal financial advisor, it’s important that you base your financial decisions on important life goals and upcoming life events. Without taking a holistic approach to financial planning, you will never be able to build a well-balanced portfolio.

Unfortunately, some investors with a well-balanced portfolio also end up making certain ‘smart’ financial decisions that end up backfiring quite badly. Here’s a look at some of the worst financial moves that you should never attempt to make.

• Choosing Low EMIs Over Shorter Tenures

If you ever have the option of choosing between paying a low EMI or choosing a shorter tenure, avoid going for the former. True, low EMIs do ease any immediate financial strains you may have, but in the long run, you stand to lose a lot more than you gain. As the tenure for your loans increases, so does the total amount of interest you pay.

For commodities like home loans, where large amounts of money are involved, the cost of paying EMIs for just one year longer will increase the interest amount quite significantly. In fact, if you know that you can afford it, a marginal increase in the EMIs you pay is well worth the amount of money you will save by opting for a shorter tenure for your loan.

• Saving More Than You Should

Allocating all your funds into savings instruments is one of the worst things you could do for your financial portfolio. Not only do you receive low-interest gains on this money, but you also lose out on the countless investment opportunities that are designed specifically to help you put your money to work.

Having money in the bank is great, but watching your money work for you is even better. If you have any apprehensions about investing in equity, hire a certified financial planner or wealth management firm who will help you make safe investment decisions that will help you achieve your financial goals much faster.

• Avoiding Risk

No matter which certified financial planner you go to, every single one of them will suggest making investments, which, on paper may look quite risky. Add to that the numerous ‘experts’ on the internet who keep telling you that getting into investments is risky business, and you’ve got an investor who’s unwilling to take on risk. As we mentioned in the previous point, pumping all your money into fixed deposits instead of allocating some to, let’s say, a mutual fund, isn’t a very bright idea.

If you really want your portfolio to grow, take your financial planner’s advice and diversify your portfolio to include both equity and savings investment channels.

• Selling Off Equity During Volatile Periods

Don’t get worked up by sudden dips in the market and sell your stocks as soon as the next peak arrives. Even if you don’t make the expected ROI for a few months in a year, you’re only going to lose out on the money you’d make when the market stabilizes. Plus, if you’re working with a certified financial planner, chances are, your portfolio is designed to deal with market volatility to keep your investments safe.

There are a lot of other things that you as an investor can do wrong as you move closer to your financial goals. Even if you make a mistake, do not let that bother you emotionally and always think with a clear mind about how you can avoid such a mistake and make better financial decisions. And if you’re ever in doubt, the best thing to do is to talk to a certified financial planner who can help you get the most out of your investments.