This week on our MyMoney series, we talk to Sushmita Sundaram, a marketing/communications manager based out of Bangalore. Sushmita says that her biggest challenge has been planning her savings towards long-term goals.
"One of my goals for 2017 is to be more aware of my spending and saving habits. I definitely don't save as much as I could - every month, I end up saving about 10-20% of my take home salary, and it just sits in my savings account.
One of the things I want to do this year is to set up a FD into which I automatically transfer 15% of my salary into. This is the only way I think I will build savings consistently.
My Dad is very conservative with money, which he has passed down to me. Like him, I tend to wait a long time or avoid making big purchases.
Still - I think I am thrifty because I don't make big purchases, but in reality, I spend more recklessly on "smaller" but more frequent purchases. I spend a lot on entertainment and indulgences like eating out. All those Swiggy orders add up! My Dad saved for things like property, his children's education, cars, and so on. I haven't set such goals for myself.
When I want to buy something expensive, I tell myself I am only allowed to buy the item after I have saved double the amount it costs. I'm very wary of loans or EMI payments, because I think my lack of organisation would lead to forgetting payments. I also worry I wouldn't be able to repay a loan. A smart thing my Dad did, was to save up the full amount required, but then choose to pay by EMI or get an interest free loan - he said having cash in hand was always a good thing, in case the full payment was ever needed.
Demonetization made me realise how privileged I am. I managed to remain cashless for weeks after November 9, paying for everything online and through the digital wallet. I only decided to withdraw money when my maid told me she preferred to be paid in cash.
For a few weeks, I spent Rs. 130 on a roll in a coffee shop, instead of Rs. 30 from the roll wallah in the street, but now even he has a PayTM account. However, having spoken to a lot of these small business owners who primarily transact in cash, I know that they are still experiencing a sharp decline in business. The changing rules from the RBI don't help either. Not having access to my own money whenever I want is infuriating, and feels utterly unfair. It is worrisome to me that I can't withdraw a huge amount whenever I want, so I can only imagine how fearsome it is to people who don't have the social protections and financial cushion that I do.
