Indians are known to work hard to earn their money. They are equally famous for knowing exactly how to spend it! There are no lies in that statement. We are known to be efficiently frugal. Some of that we have learned through trial and error, but most of our financial knowledge has been passed down from our ever-wise parents. But a few among us still have not yet mastered the art of managing money.
About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI registered investment advisor. He can be contacted via his website plnr.in. Ajay is part of the freefincal list of fee-only advisors and fee-only India.
Also by Ajay
Being reckless with money is foolish, and these people will eventually have a huge dent in their pockets. You know what they say! You’ve got to respect money, or money will leave your home in a jiffy!
Here is a list of people who will never win at money in their lives :
The procrastinator or the “Kal kar lenge Bhai” type
The procrastinator is the one you will find in every Indian household- The Kal Karlenge Bhai! These are the people who’s idea of tomorrow never comes, and they put off or hold back on the most crucial financial decisions and actions for such a long time that eventually its too late to act. Whether its a family budget or individual expense, the procrastinator has several excuses for not having one. They are even late to invest for a retirement fund. From not having a clear budget, to opening an investment account later than usual along with never following through investing in mutual funds, these folks lose a lot of money just by procrastinating.
The pessimist or “Mera Kuch Nahi ho Sakta Bhai” type
The most pessimistic of the lot is that typical friend of yours who is convinced that life is a lie and money is something he will never see! The ‘Kuch Nahi ho Sakta’ type who does not take any risks and stops putting effort into things because ‘what’s the point?’ They won’t gain anything from it anyway. Their attitude is so negative that they neither want to save money nor invest money or pursue anything dear to them because it is already a lost cause in their heads. It takes a lot of time to come out of this head space but if you know a defeatist help them out because otherwise, they would just sit around the waste their lives for nothing.
Financially they need assurance and guidance and proof of good things happening so show them what a good investment looks like, how much interest you can get from saving money and why financial stability is the key to success, or you will have to listen to their self deprecating rant all your life!
The Hoarder or the “Sab Ghar mein rakhti hoon,pata nahi ab zaroorat padh jaye Behen” type
Every group has that one friend who buys so much makeup and clothes from either Sarojini Market or New Market but never uses any of it. They just hoard it and proclaim that they will use it in the future but alas! Everything goes to waste. Often you would find thousands of receipts in their bags because they won’t curtail their spending, but they also won’t put the money to good use and multiply its worth.
The other kind of hoarder is the one who keeps his money with them without doing much with it making his financial progress stagnant. They don’t save, or invest in mutual funds or any other instruments, therefore, missing out on incredibly lucrative deals! All they do is keep their money with them waiting for a rainy day or a bad financial phase waiting to happen. While waiting, they don’t realize that their money could triple in value. If you know a hoarder, you need to break their cycle of spending a lot by hoarding and then stagnating their own money.
The leech or “Mere paas paise thoda kam hain,aaj tu thoda de na” Mota Bhai!
We Indians have leeches everywhere. Whether it’s our extended family, our own brothers and sisters or best friends when they want cash from you, they will be their best selves. But this only lasts for a short while till they find someone else to leech off. Eventually, you realize their cons and they are unable to find their next target. If you have a leech stuck to you, you got to get rid of them! But its someone you care about giving them a piece of your mind. Encourage them to find a job and get money with their own hard work!
The Showoff or the “Dekh meri nayi car, naya phone,naya ghar!” type
How many of us are irritated at that one friend who changes his hairstyle, phone and car frequently and makes a complete show of it every time they meet you? The list is long. These people like to show off their brand new car or iPhone and expensive watches just because they want everyone to know they are Richie Rich! These people love looking down at others for not flaunting enough while they carry off the most expensive possessions to only feel financially superior. But all that glitters is not gold! Behind the scenes, these people have important bills piling up while crippling debt is just around the corner.
Well, Ambanis did not build Reliance in a day, but these people want to spend Ambani-like money in an hour! Even though they could have a well-paying job, the fact that looking rich is on the list of priorities while saving enough is not is a complete sign of vanity! You need to let them know that without financial stability you can’t be wearing stilettos for balance!
The denier- or the “The Sab Kuch Thik Hain” type
Remember that Uncle who buys the fanciest gadgets every day and eats at the best restaurants and then gets denied their credit cards to pay for the same? You would think they would understand their own financial woes, but the next day they are back to square one. The ‘Sab Kuch thik hain’ Uncle!
These are the deniers who bury their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge their monetary woes. Rejected Debit cards? No problem, friends are here to pay. No money to pay those house bills? The paycheck next month will cover it! No extra money for a rainy day? Family is there to pay it off. You can see it coming from a mile away!
We all know a few deniers in our friends group-always in a mood to party and never taking life seriously. Sadly for these friends, only a hard jolt like getting fired from their jobs or a medical emergency for a parent or family can bring back their senses and make them a responsible adult. If you know someone like this, you have to take them to a financial advisor and ask them to get their life sorted. In our present economy, we can’t afford to be blind about our financial situation.
The Martyr or the “Mother India” type
Admit it, we all know someone we call Mother India or Mother Teresa because they are just that good of a person! Always helping others, still going that extra mile for them, a total Bollywood Martyr! But there are many cons to being such a great human being, and one of them is freely giving away money to people who manipulate them. The mother who gives his son every penny out of love or that nice friend who always bails you out of bad financial situations even though they don’t have enough for the month- the examples are countless. These people give the shirt off their backs to help you but forget to take care of themselves. They sacrifice their own monetary stability to help you.
Even though one should be grateful to have such an amazing friend in their lives, you need to look out for them too and stop them from being such do-gooders that they forget to take care of themselves. Let them know that they should only help the ones truly in need and not all and sundry!
The Unaware or the ” Mujhe yeh pata nahi” Dada
We all have that one friend in the group who thinks ‘ignorance is bliss’. While that might be the case with other things, but when it comes to money, ignorance is stupidity. Anytime some financial conversation happens this friend will have a wide-eyed look on their face and you will understand they know basically nothing about money- stock or investment, interest rates, the advantages of a savings account, how to have a good credit score. Their own reaction to everything is a huge ‘Mujhe toh nahi pata tha’ which is frustrating because they are missing out on making so much money that way.
Now not all uninformed people are ignorant involuntarily. Some of them because of their own stubbornness and ‘I know everything already’ attitude fall under this uninformed category. Some of these people don’t want to learn either about finance hacks and deals they should be concerned with to make more money. If you know someone like this, it is your friendly duty to create awareness. Get them to read articles on monetary hacks, research personal finance websites so that they could learn a thing or two about money and budgeting! Get them out of their ‘andhera’ when it comes to the joy of proper money handling.
Final Thoughts
These are the ways some Indians typically deal with money and therefore have a hard time seeing any in their lives or keeping it with them if they do. We all have to face the reality that no one of us will be the next Ambanis, but it doesn’t hurt to try to get the best deals possible and make the best use of the money we possess. Whether it’s investing in mutual funds or properties or finally opening that PPF account, time is money, and if we don’t work fast enough to secure it, we will never win at money.
*Disclaimer- Nothing contained in the article is a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by me. If you have any doubts as to the merits of the article, you should seek advice from an independent financial advisor. Registration granted by SEBI, membership of BASL, and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. Investment in securities market is subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
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