Money Money

 

Money has become my favorite topic to discuss. Because finally, after 12 years of financial independence, I have learned money management. I have figured it all out. What role money play in one’s life, how to control it instead of letting it control you, how to make the best use of money, what to spend it on and what to not spend it on. Everything.

Here are the lessons that I have learned in money management:

1. Loving money and pursuing enlightenment are not mutually exclusive.

People, especially in India, have this notion that the more you love money, the less spiritual you are. So, in order to answer the existential questions and to become an enlightened human being, you must renounce all the worldly pleasures that money can bring. This is one theory. Then there’s a counter-theory. The theory of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which states that only after your physiological needs (food, water, shelter, etc.) and your safety needs (security, employment, health, etc.) are met, can you strive for love, belonging, esteem and self-actualization.

In fact, the first theory is not wrong. We just misinterpret it. We are supposed to renounce the worldly “pleasures” that come from money, not the worldly “necessities”. We must fulfill our physiological and safety needs first in order to get enlightenment. More importantly, what Indian philosophy emphasizes on is that the joy or pleasures of life are irrelevant to money, which is absolutely true, which is why a poor laborer would sleep peacefully in his hut and eat his Ragi Sangati joyfully with his family while a millionaire in a mansion might not be able to sleep on his orthopedic mattress after eating a seven-course meal.

2. The best thing you can buy with money is time.

We Indians secretly hate money. We believe in nonsense like paisa toh haath ka mel hai. This is not a healthy outlook toward money. Being a divorced mother who is singlehandedly raising a human being, money is my best companion. Money is my most reliable life partner. We are taught that money can’t buy everything in life. Yes, true, but it can buy you most of the important things in life. I’ll tell you what money buys for me. Money not only gives a roof over my head and food on my table, I can buy equally important things for myself and my child, like, health, safety, comfort, education, freedom, respect, peace of mind, and secure future.

However, the best thing that money can buy is time. Time is the most expensive commodity. You can’t create time. We all have the same amount of time. The only difference between unsuccessful, successful and very successful people is how they use their time. I have learned in life that if you can buy time with money, buy it. It’s the best deal you’d ever get. For example, I have always lived within 2 km radius of my workplace. It’s often in a more expensive neighborhood. I can find a cheaper rent a bit farther but what’s the point? I get restless if I have to spend more than 10 minutes on a commute to work. I’d rather pay more rent than waste my time on commute.

3. Minimalism

No matter how much money you make, you should always show money its place in your life. Money should never feel it has enslaved you. You are the master and money is your slave. I was raised in a family where I was taught to get every penny worth. A penny saved is a penny earned. I think most of us who were raised in a middle-class household are taught these values which are gamechangers. We don’t thank our parents enough for this wisdom. I live by the code “paisa vasool”. I have to get complete worth of every penny I spend. It is ingrained in my DNA. I’d give you an example. Every time I come back from a nice refreshing trip, I’d call my mom to let her know I have reached home safely. After enquiring about my wellbeing, the first question she’d ask me is – paisa vasool thaya? – meaning was it worth your money? If it wasn’t, what’s the point?

I am a minimalist. When my salary was $300/month, I lived comfortably with that money. I lived comfortably when I was making $3000/month, and even now, I live comfortably. The art of living well within your means is a superpower of Indians. We can survive in all kinds of difficult circumstances with bare minimum resources. All we have to do is to practice minimalism which we are taught since childhood.

I have never owned a car. I never felt the need. I leased a car when I was in the US. In India, it is a total waste of money, especially if you live in a metro city. If you look at my wardrobe, 90% of my clothes are older than one year, 50% are older than five years and 25% are older that ten years. I rarely buy new clothes; I simply recycle them. When I get bored of one set of clothes, I put them away and take out another batch of old clothes and wear them. I use the most basic phone because I was taught not to waste money on the things that are going to depreciate. A phone’s job is to let you make calls and use the apps you need, if a 20k rupees phone is doing it fine, why would you spend 1lac rupees on an iPhone? It is beyond my understanding.

I have no fascination of branded phones, clothes, cars or accessories. I do not attach my self-worth to what brand of phone I use or what brand of clothes I wear.

Minimalism is an essential skill in life. At the end of the day, your real wealth is not the car in your garage or the clothes in your wardrobe. It’s the money you saved and invested wisely. One of the greatest joys of life is to watch that money compounding.

4. Your returns in life are in direct proportion of what you give.

There is a difference between being stingy with money and being wise with money. I spend generously on a lot of things that matter. For example, I have never bought an iPhone for myself but ever since I started making money, my little brother has only used iPhones. Even he is a paisa vasool guy, so he uses one iPhone for 5 years, but the point is, he loves iPhones and I love buying it for him.

Spending money on your loved ones, giving back to the community and helping the ones who are in need, if you are not doing these things then trust me, even if you made a fortune, it won’t stay with you for very long.