PV Subramanyam

OK, not exactly poor. But you are 30 years old, married to a 28-year-old; you're earning well, but you're broke. Poor maybe too harsh a word â€“ but if all you have to show for 6 years of working is, say, Rs 10 lakh in the bank, well, you are almost there.



Your story? Let me tell you my observations. Remember, these are the observations of a 50-year-old â€“ born and brought up in a country with rations, shortages, tough job conditions, etc. To that extent, there is likely to be bias â€“ but liberalisation happened when we were 30 years old. So, we too did get the benefit of the 8 per cent growth!



Here are the reasons that I think keeps you poor.

1. You don't understand finance

- Absolutely no attempt was / has been made by your parents, our education system, etc. to teach you finance. So you do not know it. I wish we kept saying â€˜financial learningâ€™ so that people would have made an attempt to â€˜learn,â€™ instead of expecting people to â€˜teachâ€™ them financial planning.

2. You are financially scared

- The only finance you learnt is from your parents, who were financially illiterate. This meant you thought money should be kept only and only in pillow covers, bank fixed deposits, government schemes, and so on. While this is excellent for the Government of India, it is terrible for you. You are losing money to inflation.

3. You cannot postpone consumption

- You see a thing; you want it. Period. It hardly matters whether it is a Rs 3,000 t-shirt, or a Rs 1,50,000 KTM from Bajaj Auto. Add to this peer pressure, parental pressure, and the ease of borrowing, you may find yourself to be suffering from the 'spend syndrome.' I am happy to be a shareholder of HDFC Bank because they thrive on you.

4. You are not good at joint finances

- You and your spouse's joint understanding of finance means fighting; because it is like six blind men and an elephant - you, your wife, your parents and her parents. So, your personal finances are like 'Humpty Dumpty.' Honestly, it will require all the king's horses, and all the king's men to set it right, if at all.

5. You â€˜investâ€™ in things you do not understand