Where is the money going?
As inflation continues to soar and prices skyrocket, it’s not only the poor and the middle-class who is facing the heat. Even the reasonably affluent are now feeling the pinch. Savings have become a distant dream and what’s more disturbing is that everyone seems to be clueless about where the is money going.
While the national sentiment is evident with the political tensions at the Centre, the youth are taking to social networking platforms. A Facebook status reads, “My dear car, please learn to starve. I cannot afford a full tank of petrol twice a month now. If Anna Hazare can why can’t u?”.
“Most of my money goes on food. Going out and having fun is getting dearer. Actually inflation is affecting us in small ways and we often may not feel the pinch on daily basis, but the effects are evident at the end of the month. When I compare my expenditure to last year, I remember I could afford the same things at much lesser costs,” says Moumita Paul, 26, founder of the website Over Cloud 9.
On her mother’s advice, Bengaluru techie Jositta Francis, 23, has been saving ever since she started working. But now it’s getting tougher. “The cost of living has gone up hugely. Most of my money goes in bills and basic things like food, water and milk! I am now forced to to cut back on pleasures of socialising and shopping.”
For a lucky few who deal with foreign currency the effect is opposite. “When the rupee is weaker, the foreign currency conversion rate goes up,” explains Farhan Ali Khan, a businessman who deals mostly with Canadian clients.
Urvash Khanna, 24, head of Acquisition at Strategim Wealth Advisery, says it is not the system that is to blame, it’s the younger generation‘s spending habits. So what is the best way to start being aware of our spending habits? “There is something called mental accounting, wherein you have to understand and classify what your expenses are and allocate them accordingly. There will always be uncertainties in the market, so saving acts as a buffer against hitting rock bottom,” he says.
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