Earlier this year, Paytm conducted a social experiment to demonstrate the lack of financial literacy among women. The video soon became popular and was all over the internet. I did not watch it until my teacher shared it with the class and asked us to make sure that we as women learn the importance of financial literacy and independence in our lives starting at this age only. When I watched the video for the first time I realized that I had no idea about almost all the concepts that were talked about and that was the turning point in my financial journey.
I graduated this year in June and I had started earning through my internships in May 2021 till date. I have always been an impulsive spender. Every time I bought something I knew that I am wasting money but I would still do it because my mind had better control over me. So getting a stipend every month meant looking for reasons to spend that money instead of saving it.
I knew that I have to start investing, and honestly, I did. I started with a SIP of Rs. 500 every month. I know it’s nothing but it is something. The goal of doing this was not to eventually gain sums of money after a number of years, the only aim was to start with it even if it’s with the least amount. Apart from this SIP, all the money that I earned, I spent all of it for the first three months with zero regrets.
Thankfully I realized the mistake that I was making. I had started following so many accounts on Instagram that talk about finance and explain things related to it in simple ways. I bought books to educate myself about managing my own finances. They motivated me to get my finances under control, but it never happened.
I did not put all that I learned to practice for a very long time. But you learn by your own mistakes and that’s what I did. I did not expect myself to change my spending habits in a day. What I did was, I gave myself 5 minutes to think if I really need something that I am about to purchase? That made a huge difference.
There were so many days when I bought something useless on Amazon and the whole day I would regret that I have spent my money on something I do not need at all, and luckily, we have the option of cancelling an order so I ended up doing that and it always felt great. So soon, the happiness I felt when I spent money impulsively that was eventually followed by regret turned into a more conscious behaviour and instant regret which allowed me some time to repair my mistakes.
This does not mean that we should not spend money at all. We deserve to treat and reward ourselves with our favourite food or things from time to time but we need to understand that there is a very thin line between purchasing something to reward ourselves and making your purchasing behaviour a coping mechanism in your life. I try to follow the 50/30/20 rule and to be honest, it has also helped me immensely.
When I talk to my dad about finances and how I should go about investing, he always says that I should read and learn about it myself but the real confidence comes when you learn by making mistakes.
At first, I thought that it was so not smart to make some investment when you know you might lose the money but after making so many mistakes while spending my own money, I understand that it’s important. There is a lot to learn about finance theoretically but you cannot rely on just that, you need to do it yourself to see what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right.
I cannot say that I am even one percent aware of everything that finance is, but I am glad that I have started. I know I am going really slow but what matters is that I am moving.
I hope this article gives every reader a chance to reflect on what they learned about finance or money-managing this year and how they plan to go about it in 2022.
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