Our money adversaries

Until the time you are living off of someone else, be it your parents, grandparents, siblings, etcetera, you are in your own little imaginary bubble of never-ending money supply and don't really understand the hardships, planning, sacrifices, frugality and level of importance that has gone under it behind the scenes. It is only when you start living off of your own income, you start to realize and understand these intricate details. Eventually, when push comes to shove, you automatically start giving importance to each of the related aspects and plan accordingly.

Now, through this blog, from the few years I have started living off my own finances, I want to pen down the enemies that our money has that often get hidden in plain sight but really stunt our growth financially. In my opinion, these are the factors that should prudently be taken into account when planning for our finances.

1. Inflation: No matter how much you try to stay indifferent towards it, the moment you start buying things for your own needs on a regular basis, you will notice that that line on the graph is constantly rising and there is no escaping it.

Source: Unknown

Source:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBmEfgyUIAEssbb.jpg

2. Taxes: The more you earn, the more you pay. The more you invest, the more you are taxed on the income from your investments. The key here would be to looks for investments where there is no or hardly any taxes on the income from the investment. For example, PF, PPF or Govt. Tax Free Bonds, etc. And of course, the longer the investment in terms of time, the better the benefits. Therefore, this will need to be planned on a need basis - how much money will be required by when.

Source: http://www.freeduh.com/2011/02/27/i-feel-fine
-its-my-standard-of-living-thats-in-poor-health/

3. Standard of living: This is a funny yet a very dangerous one. This is because once you are at a certain level, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to come down from it. We are accustomed to a certain lifestyle that automatically chalks out the "need" bar very high. If, by any means, this bar is pulled down, our happiness quotient gets a hit and starts affecting other aspects of life, be it - health, relationships, social well-being, professionalism and so on.

The only remedies from my experience that I can think of here, are -
a. To make sure your income shows that increasing graph line
b. To make sure you invest wisely chalking out your financial needs in a chronological order.

Source: http://sachachua.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/blogging-and-goals1-640x177.png

Remember - Investment is NOT an option. It is a necessity.

I want to add a little disclaimer here stating - having learned all these factors affecting money growth, it does not, at all, mean to say, I have perfected my financial planning or that I know everything there is to know about it. There is still a long way to go for me on this journey and as I go along, I hope to incorporate my findings as I chalk out my future plans.

The time I attended a Catechesis...

"Catechesis is nothing other than the process of transmitting the Gospel, as the Christian community has received it, understands it, celebrates it, lives it and communicates it in many ways." The word catechesis comes from the Greek meaning "to echo the teaching" meaning that catechesis or the teaching of the faith is an interactive process in which the Word of God re-sounds between and among the proclaimer, the one receiving the message, and the Holy Spirit.

I was invited to a Sunday Catholic Catechesis this week. Having inherent curiosity towards learning various religions of the world and what they preach, I decided to attend. Not knowing what to expect, not knowing how to dress up, I made up my mind to know about just one more faith hoping to get some answers in my journey of life.

I reached before time when there were only a couple of people seated so far. Being intrigued by a new face, a lady came up to me and introduced herself wanting to know more about me. After telling a bit about myself and my interest in learning new faiths, she looked surprised for sure but introduced me to a few more people. I was happy to notice such warm welcome for a new comer and how I was immediately made to feel at home. My friend who invited me arrived and introduced me to a few more people. Learning so many names in such a short span of time was a challenge but I did my best to remember as I found this community to be very lovely, sweet-hearted and blessed.

The Catechesis started with a nice little prayer and then a song about the Lord. After that, the Catechist told us about the need for us to know that God does show himself in the concrete form and blesses us. Then, he invited a young girl to share her story with us in order to prove the same. She told us about how her father had left her mother, brother and herself at such a young age due to an illness. Because of this, she was always in her own shell blaming God for inflicting plain upon herself with the ups and downs of life. Eventually, being active in a community, she did feel the presence of Lord in her life and noticed how he had indeed blessed her with the perfect job, loving mother and brother studying abroad.

The Catechist then apologized the audience in advance for having them put on the spot answering some of his questions. To my pleasant surprise, he asked us the ultimate question of lifetime:

                  "Who are you?"

Having attended talks of various other religious and spiritual forums, I had already contemplated on this question. even though I had an in-depth and thorough answer, when I was asked to answer I settled on a simpler version saying – I am just someone looking to become happy and that’s what everything I do, eventually, contributes towards. It may be because of my probable inadequacy in explaining it, not wanting to confuse the audience members or because it was my first time in this community not really belonging to it and I was caught unprepared to answer. One of those reasons.J The Catechist made us realize how important this question was and to get an answer to it before carrying on with the daily routine so we can truly live in all its essence. Another fine young lady was invited to share her take on this question. With various anecdotes, she made us realize how we are caught up in our daily chores; as if that was the only thing we have been born for.

The ultimate truth of life, the Catechist said, is death. After knowing the ultimate truth, we can live our life to the fullest knowing what our ultimate fate is going to be and hence, worry less.

However, I wonder, is death really life’s ultimate truth?

The question of knowing who I am is all pervading, eternal and I think, we will keep trying to answer it throughout our lifetime. If we were to settle on an answer, will that be the end?

Let us continue to think whilst living, on the side…