Hot take on savings

I started my career as a humble analyst in a tech company, worked my way into finance and venture capital and eventually am heading to a top tier bschool in USA, where I will be paying what it costs to go to an ISB/IIM yearly.

We have the Warikoos, and countless others breaking down personal finance and urging people to save. I have mostly done the opposite - i.e., spend liberally but not be profligate. Here’s my view.

We are a poor country. If you find yourself in a place with the resources to spend more than the average person you’ve grown up around, please do! Spend on what makes you happy, pushes you, drives you, and allows you to step change your life. Security can be achieved with a good insurance plan and decent emergency funds. Beyond that, please spend on experiences that make you a better person, give you access to better people and enrich your life. Eventually time is the most finite commodity we’ll have. We have 1000s of podcasts on savings, mutual funds, ETFs etc. Does anyone talk about spending effectively to enrich your experience? No.

I am pointing to a larger theme of a scarcity mindset that indians have, because we have grown up in a low-middle income country. It’s where we come from, but that doesn’t mean we cannot experience abundance. Life is short, don’t listen to people making money off you watching their personal finance videos.