I like running and I do it for many reasons

(3 min read)

The question that I constantly I ask myself. Why do I run? Why do I put myself through the pain of running? Reasons are plenty. My answer is always changing depending on the mood I am in. 

When I am in pain, I would like to run and embrace the discomfort. 

When I am anxious or too busy in my head, I run because it clears my mind and help me relax.

I run because it makes me feel strong to push my limits.

I run because it makes me believe in myself, I introspect and it makes me a better person.

How to never lose your wallet or purse

(3 min read)

From https://unsplash.com/@emkal

Have you ever wondered what could you put into your wallet to maximize the chances of it being returned if lost? If yes, then you are not alone. Many people like you and me have given a thought of putting items (other than the address) inside the wallet, that would influence the finder to return the wallet back to you.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, researchers interested in the psychology of helping carried out several studies in which they secretly dropped wallets on busy streets and then monitored the return rates. Perhaps the most prolific of these wallet droppers was psychologist HarveyHornstein from Columbia University. Very recently, Richard Wiseman author of the book, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot conducted a Hornsteinesque study.

Study

He bought 240 wallets and filled them with the same set of everyday items, including raffle tickets, discount vouchers, and fake membership cards. Next, one of four photographs was added to batches of equal number of wallets. The photographs depicted either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family, or a contented elderly couple. All of the wallets were then randomly ordered, and over a period of a couple of weeks were secretly dropped on the streets in areas of high pedestrian traffic. 

Result of the study

Why should the photograph of the baby have performed so well? The answer appears to lie deep within our evolutionary past. Brain-scanning scientists at Oxford University recently examined what was going on in people’s heads when they were shown photographs of either baby or adult faces. Activity in the section of the brain directly behind the eyes (officially referred to as the “medial orbitofrontal cortex”) kicked in within a seventh of a second after seeing the baby’s face but not the adult’s. The response happened too fast to be consciously controlled, and the part of the brain involved is associated with people receiving a nice reward, such as a big bar of chocolate or a lottery win. 

Many scientists think that this “babyawww” linkage has evolved over thousands of years and promotes the survival of future generations by making people feel good about, and therefore willing to help, vulnerable and defenseless infants. Other research suggests that this caring attitude not only applies to assisting babies but also increases the likelihood of people helping anyone in need. In this view, participants who opened the wallets containing the photograph of the baby couldn’t keep their brains from automatically responding to the image of big eyes, broad forehead, and button nose. Within a fraction of a second a deep-seated evolutionary mechanism caused them to rapidly get in touch with their inner parent, become happier and more caring, and thus be more likely to return the wallet. 

Whatever the explanation, the practical message is clear: if you want to up the chances of a lost wallet being returned, tuck in a photograph of the cutest, happiest baby you can find and make sure that it is prominently displayed.

On Note taking

(2 min read)

Picture from @andrewtneel in Unsplash

Did you know that most of us lose 60% of the information we learn in just 48 hours? Not only is there a learning curve, but there is also a forgetting curve. One way to remember more and learn effectively is note-taking.

Taking notes will help you recall information that would otherwise be lost. But taking notes the right way isn’t as easy as it sounds. It isn’t simply about jotting down everything that you hear. Taking notes is about summarizing core concepts as precisely as possible in your own words.

I read a lot of books, and if you do as well then you know how the ideas that we learn start fading away within days. By the end of the week, we hardly remember anything other than the main idea shared in the book.

Nothing is as empowering as active notetaking. It fundamentally changes the relationship between you and the information you meet. A good note-taking method will help you to review key concepts later on. It will help you to stay focused to pay attention and actively participate while reading books or any classes you attend.

My note-taking ideas and tips & tricks in few bullet points:

• Notes act as my second brain. I cannot remember everything I read, hear or see. I take notes and refer it to later
• I have created a WhatsApp group where I am the only member (yes, you can do that). I keep noting things on the go. Ideas which are very impromptu, some reading material which I can do later on, goes there
• There are many advantages with digital notetaking, so I would tell you to find a good App which you can use it everywhere. The cloud functionality of these Apps are gamechanger
• I use Microsoft OneNote app a lot (reasons are as follows)
• I can post my notes, hand drawings, screen clippings, and audio commentaries
• It keeps my notes well organized
• The main topics go on the far left of the page and I can add related subtopic in bullet points inside the main topics using indents
• Searching for topics is very helpful as tagging can be done to notes

Once you get a hang of it, note taking can revolutionize your life. It can make you productive and smarter. You can recall what you have learnt and become a better organizer of information by emphasizing what is important and what is not.

As a final thought, here is a good article which can help you with different note taking methods: Best note taking methods 

A layover in Vizag

(5 min read)

A story of an adventure which I didn't want, but was enforced upon me and I had no choice but to plan for it.

Prologue

"Is there nothing you could do?" I asked

"Sorry sir, we can't do anything else. There are only 2 things you could do. Either cancel the ticket and get a full refund or choose an alternate flight within 7 days of the travel"

I thought for a moment and said, "Cancelling is not an option for me. Is there any other direct flight in the next 7 days?"

"Sorry sir!" again from the other end. "No direct flight within a weeks' time."

I was dumbfounded. I disconnected the call. I sat there for a moment to decide on my next course of action. In the past few days, I had similar set of calls with the customer services of SpiceJet - supposedly the second largest airline of India in terms of number of passengers it caters to. And after the end of each of the calls I was left wanting for hope.

A month ago, I had booked a direct flight from Hyderabad to Kolkata which would take me only 2 hours. A week before the travel, I received a message from SpiceJet that due to operational issues my journey would have 6 hours of layover in Gwalior. Then, 2 days later I would receive another message that instead of Gwalior, the layover would be in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). A one and half hour journey to Vizag and then a stay of 16 hours and then a flight to Kolkata which would take another 2 hours. A 2 hour journey would become a whopping 20 hours journey. More than the duration of the journey my mind was focusing on the night sandwiched between the flights. Where would I stay? What would I do?

Customer is the king? Well, maybe not!

I tried few more options before finally accepting my fate. I tried Twitter - wrote an emotional post as a helpless customer. Got a reply to contact the customer service. I said I already did that. A response came, "Sorry sir!" 

Sent an email to the customer relations. Again, the response came, "Sorry sir!" I asked for compensation - an accommodation and couple of meal vouchers. Response came, "Sorry sir!"

On the fateful day, I reached the Hyderabad airport, vented out my frustration to the SpiceJet lady who asked me for my ticket. There too I heard the same words, "Sorry sir!" She also said she can have sympathy on me, but she can't be of any help. By that time, I had made up my mind to see how Vizag welcomes me. So, I told her she can keep back her sympathy. I also told her, that it wasn't my job to bear the problems of SpiceJet and that too without any compensation.

She wanted me to take my luggage with me while departing the Vizag airport and bring it back the next day when I will be travelling to Kolkata. I said that they are testing my patience and I wouldn't obey to this command of theirs. They should own this task and manage internally to send my luggage to Kolkata. They agreed without saying 'sorry sir'.

Help found in a surprising place

When I landed in Vizag, the first thing I checked on my phone was Google Maps. I was trying to see if there is any Masjid nearby. It was getting darker, and I was getting late for my evening prayer. Thankfully, I found a Masjid within 2 kms of the airport. I went straight to the place and offered my Namaz. The Masjid wasn't very big and the locality nearby wasn't much populated. After the prayers I spoke to the Imam (his name I got to know later was Muhammed Mustaqeem sb.). I explained my situation to him and told him that I would love to visit the beach and then probably find some place to spend my night before I go back to the airport.

 
"You can spend the night in this Masjid if you want" These words sounded so comforting at that moment, that I cannot explain here. A help straight from the divine. I thanked him profusely. I shared with him my ID card, just so that both of us can trust each other.

 
Imam Mustaqeem was probably my age if not younger. He explained to me the route to the beach and the places where I can have dinner. Another boy near the Masjid was about to leave to a place which was very near to the beach. I hoped on his bike and on we went.

Recalling Phil Knight's memoir

On my way to the beach, rain came pouring down. It was a proper welcome in Vizag. A couple of pit stops later I reached RK beach. On one side to me was a brightly lit Beach road, while on the other side was the roaring sounds of Bay of Bengal, fully dark with no moon to light it. Only a few boats at a distance would set up twinkling dots on the sea.

A sense of accomplishment engulfed me. I thought, "I was not supposed to be here. The weather wasn't kind when I landed in Vizag a couple of hours ago. Now, I am standing here and witnessing something brilliant." Although not completely visible but splashes of waves on the rocks beside the road would put me in state of immense gratitude.

Not long ago I had read Shoe dog by Phil Knight - the founder of Nike. At that moment I remembered he wrote that how often he would go on a run. Without thinking twice, I started running on the pavement beside the road. I looked up to the sky, drizzle falling on my face, the sweet sound of the waves - I wanted nothing but to keep running. I would have run a kilometers or so, when I realized that I had to go back to the Masjid.

Wait for an early day tomorrow

It would have been a10:30 PM when I reached the Masjid near the airport. I met with the half-asleep Imam. He was kind enough to provide me with a pillow and a mattress (which he had it in the Masjid for weary travelers like me). Before I dozed off, we exchanged our stories, talked about our native places, and about the locals surrounding the Masjid and their likes and dislikes. He also explained to me as this is an airport area, police would often do a round and ask about people's ID (hence I was asked to share my ID earlier).

The Imam woke me up at dawn for an early morning prayer. We had breakfast together and after that I bid goodbye to him not unknown to both of us of a mutually formed friendship.

Epilogue

On reaching Kolkata, I reflected on the memories that I have gathered, on the new friendship that I built. All these were good memories, happy memories. But I couldn't forget what SpiceJet had done and the treatment I received. In one of our conversation with the customer care executives, I told them without any hesitation that they have lost a customer in me. 

Problems are one thing but the way you deal with it is another. 

I guess that I applies to both me as an individual and SpiceJet as a company.

Is audible similar to reading a book?

“Audiobooks are like cheating”, someone mentioned to me once. She meant they’re not really like reading a book. Technically she was right. Listening to an audiobook isn’t the same as reading a physical book.

People learn differently. There are 8 different ways to learn. Audio and visual both works for me. Human beings have been sharing information orally for tens of thousands of years, while the printed word is a much more recent invention.

Few things I have observed, while experiencing both physical books and audiobooks and they are as follows:

• You want to feel a book? Get the essence? Hold a physical copy of the book or a kindle
• Want to kill time productively? Audiobooks should be your friend
• Multitasking? Listen to audiobooks while jogging, running, cooking food, washing dishes, etc.
• I always listen to fiction books on Audible. For non-fiction I prefer to sit down with pen and highlighter to take notes, which I couldn’t do while listening
• Audiobooks are relatively quicker. You can also increase/decrease speed according to your choice
• Comprehension wise audiobooks should be avoided. Hence a novel is preferred for audiobooks

A love of reading shouldn’t have parameters or rules as to what type of reading “counts.” Personally, I have found an immensely rewarding common ground in my reading life with both audiobooks and reading. Each creates differing experiences and memories, but neither is better or worse than the other. I can’t imagine my reading life without an abundant mixture of both audiobooks and reading.

Why I do not read all my messages and why you shouldn't too

Look, I acknowledge this is not a very popular opinion. I feel guilty when I do not respond as quickly as the concerned person would have wanted. I also admit that I feel insulted when someone doesn't text me back right away.

My WhatsApp unread chat count

As you can see from the screenshot above, I have too many unread messages. Yes, I know it is 'too many'. Some may feel it's too messy or I am too unorganized.  But before you judge me further, let me clarify few things:

1. I am part of many WhatsApp groups where both way interaction is not required; groups where information related to jobs are posted. I can share any information about job vacancies (if I have) and choose to ignore the rest of the message (since I am not the recipient)
2. Most of the unread chats ended with "okay", "fine", "Thank you" and other such concluding remarks. I choose to not open the chat to read them. Those are anyway seen from notification panel
3. I could be at work. I choose not to get interrupted while I am at work. Text messages are a high value interruption, especially if we respond to each other right away
4. There are many family groups, uncles and aunts who keeps wishing everyone Good morning and good night. I can choose to ignore those kind of messages without any repercussion
5. Too many festive greetings. Some friends and groups are there only to wish festivities. I look away from those (well most of them, not all)
6. I may not be in the mood. I could be a bit cross with certain things in my life and I may not be in that situation to respond emotionally
7. One very important reason of not responding it soon enough is that phones and messages were made for me, and not the other way round. I don't want to be slave to a mobile device. When I find time I read text message. It could be on weekends, or later in the day

It's not like I am too busy. I am very much active in the chats where my attention is required. But the good thing is that I can choose the time and duration of this wonderful technology. The technology does influence us how we think, but let it not drive us crazy. I do respond to each text, wherever required. 

In no way I am defending certain people who:

• Is too lazy to respond
• Reads the message and ignores and never replies back because they 'forgot'

See, it's your life and you only get to live it once. Live it to its fullest. And it’s too short to worry about people being mad that you don’t reply to their text right away.

How to start investing in stocks?

For a few months till now, I have been having a lot of discussion with many of my friends on stocks, share price and about finance in general. See, a lot of people in India are not financially literate. In fact, India hovers at around 24% in financial literacy rates, which compared to 55 per cent in developed countries, is woefully insufficient. I too would consider myself among the unfortunate 76% illiterate in finance. But things have changed a bit in the past 1 year. Our life revolves around a lot of things related to finance and hence it is incumbent upon all of us to educate ourselves with regards to things related to money. I have previously written a post about how important it is to be financially literate, you can find it here.

Basic points to act upon while being in 20s and 30s

Lack of knowledge in money, loses money. We are unable to save, and even if we save, we are not able to invest it further to make it grow. Now, these are the points which hurt us a lot. We may not be earning much, but if we are aware of things which I am going to mention now will help to alleviate the money problems.

• Start saving. No matter how tough the situation is do save whatever you can
• From the part of saving, keep investing your money
• There are several places one can invest money on. Mutual funds, real estates, PPF, Fixed Deposit, Stock market, etc.
• To me stock market is best place to put your money in. Because for others we need more knowledge and in some case we need more money. In stock market, we may even start with 200 INR or less
• Play a long game. Invest for long term - don't even think about getting back the money before 10 years. Power of compounding will take effect and you will be surprised. Experienced people say that compounding is the 8th wonder of the world

Why to invest long term?

 - No need to track the stocks regularly

 - Tax benefits

 - If you don't sell every now and then, you save a lot of transaction fees

 - In the long run, worrying about loss fades away as its proven without a doubt that Indian market has grown over a period of time(factually beyond 7 years, it has surely given profits)

Once you make up your mind that you're going to invest in stock market, what do you do? Of course you need a demat account from where you can buy and sell your shares. There are several stock brokers which provide demat account, few of which I am listing below. Charges of having an account is different for different brokers (check out the cost online - freely available in several places including YouTube). 

Zerodha
Samco
Upstox
5paisa 

Groww

HDFC, ICICI, Motilal Oswal, etc. also provides demat account. But, I have preferred Zerodha for my demat account as the charges are very minimal to none. Complete tutorial to open stock investing brokerage account | Ankur Warikoo Hindi - YouTube

Once you have finalized the stock broker, next step would be shortlist the company in which you would invest. Again, there are several ways to shortlist that and I would highly recommend you to learn that on your own. Do watch some videos on YouTube, there many good presenter who have done a great job in making it easier for us common people. 

Few tips to identify a good company which would grow in the long run and hence give good returns:

• The company should have been in existence for at least 10 years
• The revenue growth should be at least 10% year on year
• Market capitalization (price of stock multiplied by number of stock of that company) should be more than 100 crores
• The company should have good brand value
• The company should have a competitive edge
• Understand the business and make sure you are aligned with the company's vision and mission

You should also check for other fundamental details of a company before shortlisting a company. This video would be very helpful - Investing In 20s Simplified | Top 3 Tools For Fundamental Analysis Of Growth Stocks - Ep. 3 | 2021 - YouTube

There's a free stock market classes, do watch it here - Playlist by Pranjal Kamra

I have shortlisted few stocks, which I have invested in and also plan to invest in future:

• Hindustan Unilver
• TCS
• Reliance
• Infosys
• Mindtree
• IRCTC
• Pidilite
• Nestle
• Zomato
• Asian Paints
• LT
• DMART
• Titan
• Relaxo
• Deepak Nitrate
• Navin Fluorine
• Laurus labs
• Ultratech Cements
• Marico

These are just few among 1000s of companies listed in the stock exchange. As advised earlier, do your own research, get comfortable and invest long term.

Do reach out to me on Twitter if you have any questions.

I have read 19 books in the past 6 months. Here are my Top 5

There's no denying the fact that books are best friends. It is no different for me. And like friends you can be selective on who you pick. There are more than a million books released every year and 1000s of them each day. One can only read a handful of them in their lifetime. Hence, it is very important to pick good books to read. Based on the goals and time one have, one can choose the books to read. Being a parent  to a very naughty kid and full time employee in a Data Science company, I am quite picky with what I read in my limited time. 

I set up goal every new year and keep revising them every quarter. At the start of 2021, I intended to read books on finance and leadership and few famous fictions (award winners mostly). Almost, every book teaches me something new, some more than the others. I have read more than 15 books in the first half of this year. Here are my top 5 (in no particular order).

1. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Image from Goodreads

If you want to read only just one book about finance and wealth - this is the one. It is one of the those books that lays the fundamentals required for investment and saving your money without pushing and punishing with a lot of jargons and technical terms. According to the author - as opposed to the popular idea, numbers on spreadsheets don't determine financial decisions. A person's psychology does. That's why, with some rational thinking, you could set yourself on the path of raking in handsome rewards with your investments.

This is definitely a more than one-time read book.

Few lessons from the book are: 

1. Save, save and save

2. Believe in tail events, only few will give you huge returns

3. Luxuries don't impress anyone but yourself

4. Money is what you don't see. Rich people do not spend unnecessarily 

5. Keep room for error. There will be times when things go wrong. Be okay with that

6. Be a long term player, make friends with long term outcome instead of short term spikes

7. People respond to their experiences. Don't judge them

8. And for many more - read the book

2. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

Image from Goodreads

We have been made to believe that in order to succeed in this competitive world you need to be specialist. David Epstein tries debunk that myth. With enough examples, he showcase his discovery that in most fields - especially those that are complex and unpredictable - generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. 

I have been a fan of being a generalist and this book gives me enough evidence that I wasn't an exception.

Few learnings from the book:
1. Instead of specializing, especially early in your career, he says, explore and diversify your interests
2. Don't feel behind -Approach the personal voyage and projects like Michelangelo approached a block of marble, willing to learn and adjust as you go, and even to abandon a previous goal and change directions entirely should the need arise
3. Compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not to younger people who aren’t you
4. Interleaving - For knowledge to be flexible it should be learned under varied condition
5. Hypercorrection effect – the more confident a learner is of their wrong answer, the better the information sticks when they subsequently learn the right answer. Tolerating big mistakes can create the best learning opportunities
6. His final message is to remember that there is nothing inherently wrong with the specialization

3. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Image from Goodreads

The story is a beautiful tale of love, integrity and hope from one of the most gruesome war of human history. Eva, the protagonist starts forging documents for identification for Jewish in order to save them from the cruelty of German Nazis. As the story unfolds how Eva did what she did to save the people and the support she received from well intended people; we also get to know the love she has for books in general. The story is indeed beautiful and engaging and leaves you with all the more optimism, that can bloom even in the darkest of the times.

Few quotes from the book which I will keep close to my heart:

- We are only responsible for the things we do—or fail to do—ourselves
- I know it's sometimes hard to believe the best. Isn't it better than believing the worst, though?
- He had taught her to love reading, one of the greatest gifts a parent could give a child, and in doing so, he had opened the world to her
- I’ve always thought that it’s those children—the ones who realize that books are magic—who will have the brightest lives

4. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Image from Goodreads

I was told by my book club colleagues that read anything by Matt Haig. I started with the Midnight library and I wasn't disappointed. This book is sometimes philosophical and tend to repeat the same message again and again at few places. But in general I found it quite intriguing. Nora the protagonist meets a librarian on the day she took her life and then is taken in for a ride. 

This is indeed a well written book, which will make anyone contemplate their life choices, regrets, decisions and life in general. Found so many lessons - more importantly to not lose hope under any circumstances: 

- Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another, the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which in turn leads to further variations . .
- You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it
- Dream big . . . You can be anything you want to be. Because in one life, you are
- Well, that you can choose choices but not outcomes. But I stand by what I said. It was a good choice. It just wasn’t a desired outcome
- She didn’t want to die. And she didn’t want to live any other life than the one that was hers. The one that could be a messy struggle, but it was her messy struggle. A beautiful messy struggle

5. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Matt Haig

Image from Goodreads

Getting to this book was not planned. Amazon was giving this in huge discount. Bought it and then read it and did not regret it. The book is easily read within couple of hours but I think it kind of motivated me to be proud of what I do. The book won’t drastically change your life and most of the things it mentions are logical things but it was kind of good to read these things. The book is full of good advice that's to the point and easy to follow.

In today's world everyone is an artist or creator in a sense. Everyone creates something or the other. This book will help you how to bring one's creation out to the world. Austin teaches you how to introduce yourself at a party, how not to be human-spam, to tell good stories, to share something small everyday, to build a mailing list. But then there are good life lessons like being grateful, stepping away from what you are doing, or starting over, teach what you know, think process not product, and so much more. The book uses examples and points and drawings which make it very digestible and fun to read! I Hope I do apply some of the things I learned here.

I really recommend this. If you're looking to boost your output of creativity you'll love this.

Honorable mentions

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval's wisdom and experience from the last ten years, shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews and poignant reflections. This book is available for free on navalmanack

The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking

The Decision Book is a reference book, not a book to read linearly from cover to cover. The book is structured into 4 main categories: 1. How to improve yourself, 2. How to understand yourself better 3. How to understand others better 4. How to improve others

So You Want to Know About Economics

A short, sweet and simple book takes on a huge task of explaining economics in a very lucid way

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

This incredibly wholesome and hopeful book will leave you charmed with uplifting messages

Leadership U: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve

Leadership starts with starts with 'U' but it's not about 'U.' In Leadership U: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve, Burnison lays out a framework--his "Six Degrees of Leadership"--to show leaders how to create change: Anticipate, Navigate, Communication, listen, learn and lead

Disclaimer: Clicking on the links for the books will take you to Amazon site for book purchase. If you buy it using that link I will get some commission (as per the affiliate program)

Is financial literacy important?

Let me start with asking few questions. The below table consist of 2 columns. Each column has a set of questions, you must answer each question with answer of either “Yes” or “No”. Read the question and see if you can answer it or not. I do not need the answer - I just need to know if you know the answer or not. Confused? Let me clarify – Say the question is “Who won the Bengal election?” If you know the answer, then say “Yes” otherwise “No”. Similarly do that for the below set of questions. Give yourself 1 point if the answer is “Yes” and 0 for “No”. And then sum it up separately for both the columns.

Column A	Column B
Can you recommend me the best app among these: Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok?	What is compound interest? Does it affect us?
Who won the last cricket world cup?	Why do we pay taxes? Can we avoid it?
Which place creates the best cake or the best pizza?	If I give Rs.1000 can you earn 200 by using it within a week?
Where to buy clothes from? Amazon, Flipkart or Myntra?	Can you save money in today’s age of inflation and high expenses?
Can you listen to 5 songs in 20 minutes?	Why does credit card charges interest amount?
Do you have notes for next exam?	What is inflation? How to prepare for that?
Do you have a job? Or do you own a business?	Where would you keep your money for it to grow? Bank? House? or someplace else?

Once you have the points summed up, compare which column did you get the maximum points. If total points in column A is more than column B, then you’re in for the ride. Then this write up of mine is of significance to you – do not stop, continue reading. If you get more points from column B, then too continue reading and let me know if I make sense.

Knowing answers to questions from column A is good for general knowledge but not beyond that. But knowing what is being asked in column B directly affects us. You may not know but if you have answers to questions from column B, then you are sorted with money matters of this life. And you would be called financially literate.

What does It mean to be Financially Literate?

Before I answer that let me tell you what finance is: The money for any project or a business is called finance. Finance is also the activity of managing the money. Taxes, insurance, loans, budgets, banking, credit cards, expenses, savings are all part finance.

Financial literacy is the union of financial, credit, and debt management knowledge that is necessary to make financially responsible decisions or choices that are integral to our everyday lives. Financial literacy includes the skill to understand what using a credit card really means, where to invest, and how to avoid debt. It also gives you answers to questions asked in column B. Financial literacy has a direct impact on us as we try to balance our budget, buy a home, fund our children’s education, and ensure an income for retirement.

The absence of above-mentioned understanding is referred to as being financially illiterate. According to an accredited financial literacy survey, traditionally, India hovers at around 24% in financial literacy rates, which compared to 55 per cent in developed countries, is woefully insufficient. This means nearly 76% of Indian adult population does not understand even the basic financial concepts. This reveals the pressing need to educate the masses about finance. Financial illiteracy puts a burden on the nation in the form of higher cost of financial security and lesser prosperity.

Despite having the world's 10th largest and Asia's oldest stock exchange, low per capita income, education inequality, non-banking habits and informal borrowing and lending, ruled the country for years. Thus, it is imperative for the country to now optimize its resources and boost the economic and financial backbone of the nation. India’s financially literacy rate, albeit abysmal it’s increasing. Not long it was around 15% and now it 24%. Recent reforms like push for bank accounts, digital payments, increase usage of mobiles for payments is significant, as India is already the world’s second biggest smartphone market with over 220 million smartphone users. There are enormous possibilities to go digital and create new opportunities to engage and share financial knowledge with consumers.

How important it is be Financially Literate?

Financial literacy is important because it prepares one with the knowledge and skill to manage money effectively. Without financial literacy, the actions and decisions one make or do not make with respect to savings and investments would lack a strong foundation. Financial literacy helps in understanding financial concepts better and enables one to manage their finances efficiently. It also enables an individual to prepare for future, create himself or herself with enough wealth for his or her retirement.

It is important to inculcate financial awareness at an early age as that would benefit the people in planning their investment properly at a later age. The introduction of financial education at an early level will also help the students to identify whether to narrow down to the same career in future or not. As currently, they are able to take this decision only when they are undergoing graduation.

How would you benefit if you are Financially Literate?

Managing bills: Bills for electricity and such, loans, rent can easily be managed

Savings and expenses: What you earn should be divided into two parts: savings and expenses. Education in finance can help you know how to divide it better

Building wealth: One should be wealthy and not rich. Money with education makes one wealthy

Protecting oneself in case of emergencies: A sound knowledge in finance can be helpful in creating an emergency fund

Achieving goals: Without financial education one mostly lives life from paycheck to paycheck with no goals and ambitions to aspire

Retirement planning: How to save, where to invest – knowing answers to these questions will help one to prepare for their retirement

Lead a tension free life: Being financially literate will also help you stop stressing on your expenses

How to Become Financially Literate

There is no dearth of knowledge in today’s digital age. One only needs to do a simple search in Google or in YouTube to get multiple responses to a single query. I am listing down links to few videos which I hope will be helpful to the seekers of financial wisdom.

Financial literacy for all - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWU3DYvnP0s

Investing in your 20s simplified - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsCUE7kzFHA&t=2s

3 money management tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TITs-R1BM-M

Best money management tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNfT6B2Hqg

Best personal finance strategies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbrkmJTuGoY

Source for the writeup - The facts and figures are taken from the following sources:

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/f5xo11OSPqxGWUdaWKVb8J/Why-India-needs-to-work-on-financial-literacy-now-more-than.html

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/why-encouraging-literacy-in-finance-matters/articleshow/78060694.cms

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/100615/why-financial-literacy-and-education-so-important.asp

6 things to learn from Eva and her love of books

Recently I finished a book called "The book of lost names" by Kristin Harmel. The story is a beautiful tale of love, integrity and hope from one of the most gruesome war of human history. Eva, the protagonist starts forging documents for identification for Jewish in order to save them from the cruelty of German Nazis. As the story unfolds how Eva did what she did to save the people and the support she received from well intended people; we also get to know the love she has for books in general. Here are few excerpts copied from the book which I have noted down for myself and something I totally align myself with. I want to keep coming back to these quotes and remember how wonderful book lovers/readers are.

1. The protagonist (Eva) thinking about her father

"He had taught her to love reading, one of the greatest gifts a parent could give a child, and in doing so, he had opened the world to her."

2. Eva while visiting a bookstore and meeting its owner

"Eva refused to believe that a person who had made a life from books could have evil in her heart."

3. Eva while visiting the church's library for the first time

"Books, wherever they were in the world, always felt like home to her."

4. The church's priest talking about the what bookstore's owner felt about Eva

"When she came to see me, she said that anyone who saw the magic in books had to be good.”

5. Old Eva while waiting for her flight and watching a preschooler engrossed in a coloring book

"I’ve always thought that it’s those children—the ones who realize that books are magic—who will have the brightest lives." 

6. Old Eva while visiting the library in modern day Germany

"Once you’ve fallen in love with books, their presence can make you feel at home anywhere, even in places where you shouldn’t belong."

Get yourself noticed

A few days ago I was reading a book called "Show your work" by Austin Kleon . And like it always happen, I was trying to relate it to my past experience. First thing first, the book is a wonderful source through which the author conveys his action plan to get oneself noticed. The simple yet profound insights which also includes his creative images, anecdotes and examples will surely leave impact on reader's mind. The book is definitive step by step tool to showcase ones creative talent.

Now, coming back to the experience which I was reminded of while reading the book. I was on my way to Asansol (a city in West Bengal, India), where we stopped midway at a place called Shaktigarh for meals. The place beside the highways is crowded by sweetmeat shops, coconut water, chaats (an Indian street savoury snack which is a mixture of sweet curd, puffed rice, boiled potato, etc.). Among everything else I was attracted mostly to a man who had decorated his stall in such a beautiful manner that one could not take eyes off him. I was astonished to see the process and efforts he had applied for him to get noticed. I quickly got my phone out and took his photo. 

Here’s how we are trying to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Our country is navigating through a worst kind of pandemic. The current situation is not unknown to us. While few run around the city to get a life support for shortness of breath, few others are on phone searching through their contacts to get beds and oxygen for their dear ones.

A few days ago, couple of us were on phone to find a bed for a relative whose oxygen saturation was way below a normal range. We tried calling any and many hospitals in Kolkata – called for more than 5 hours without getting any positive response. Most of the time the numbers shared on social media were un-reachable. The difficulty was clearly visible, it wasn’t a horror story from children books anymore. We could imagine the pain faced by so many people across the city and country as a whole.

A group of friends got together and decided we would go through all the contacts that are circulating in the social media, and call them one by one and see which one are genuine. We would only keep them and circulate those among the needy ones. And hence this idea gave birth to https://cov-aid.github.io/resource/ - a portal where contacts for oxygen, beds, hospitals and vaccines are updated real time (by a bunch of volunteers). We call the source every day and update the information based on their response.

This portal provides information for Kolkata only as of now. For pan India, this site should be useful https://indiacovidresources.in/ (Please do note that most information available on the website is vetted by third parties. So you might have to do some due diligence before transacting with these suppliers)

We hope our sincere efforts are of use to the families in need and we also pray that our efforts are rewarded hereafter.

If you want to contribute as a volunteer, then please fill up this form – Google Form