It is all about MONEY, honey!

It is that time of the year when my employer asks me to show the proof of investments I have made for tax saving; a gentle reminder that being a defaulter would lead to deduction of tax at source from my next month's salary. So, basically I need to part away with my hard-earned money- either park it in some financial plans (ashamed to admit, I'm yet to start with one) or let my next month's salary get shrunk post tax deduction at source. Even though I would be more interested to save the money and splurge it on myself, I'm bound to think about the terms like savings and investments (which is good somehow for a wayward investor like me!)

So, how an investor like me behaves in a year? In the first month of every new financial year, I'm high on hopes about managing my money well, taking wise decisions about investments and savings. Trust me, I take this resolution every year. On the first day of the first month of a financial year, I spread out my financial plan. After taking a look at my long-term and short-term plans and goals (yes, I'm talking like a financial planner!!!), I calculate how much I can save from my meager earnings. Not much, but optimism is in my blood. Savings targets are set and I promise myself to meet them diligently.

Now comes the difficult part- execution of the plan. And lo!! It is Friday! I struggle between my resolution to save and my inclination to shop (don't blame me, I'm a girl!!!). I try to recall the wisdom quotes about saving to keep my mind away from thinking about that beautiful black dress I saw the other day. I know, you can imagine me being trapped in the game of "See-Saw" with spending and saving at either ends. Weekend pizzas and alcohol, shopping festivals, holiday trips to home via flight as well as ever-increasing rent of accommodation, inflation, increasing onion prices....the hole in my pocket keeps increasing as well.

Execution is tough, but I refuse to get defeated. The review has not been that bad; at least for the last two months. I have saved a few thousand rupees and I'm aiming to save more..I think). Usually, my resolution gets strengthened as my cell phone beeps with an incoming message- "Salary credited" (The second most beautiful message in my inbox!!! ). With Pink Floyd's "Money" playing in the background, I'm in a philosophical mood. "Money can't buy happiness" but "There is no such thing as a free lunch"!

Comments

Protective Mothers or Rape Deniers?

Who else can teach a young boy about the meanings of 'consent' and 'harassment' better than his own mother? (Image credit: Pixabay) I came across an interesting article in The New York Times last month about a group of mothers defending their sons who had been accused of sexual assaults at college campuses. In the U.S., the guidelines on campus sexual assaults had been pretty stringent so far. However, these guidelines have been blamed to presume the accused students as guilty, who are usually suspended or expelled from the college campuses for a certain amount of time. Needless to say, most of the accused are men. These mothers are on a mission to save their sons who, they believe, were “wrongly accused.” As protective mothers, they had compelled the college authorities to relook into their sons’ charges. Some of them consider themselves as feminists and hold opinions that how girls today have misconstrued the definition of sexual assault. ...

Lost & Found!

It was a cold December morning. I had to catch a flight to reach Mumbai by afternoon. As fate plays foul, due to foggy weather and delay by the flight to take off, I landed up in Mumbai by six in the evening. My destination was Pune, so the journey continued further with a cab ride. Finally, by ten at night, I reached. The next part was catching an auto-rickshaw to go home. I happily hired one and suddenly to my horror, I realized that MY WALLET WAS MISSING!!! It was late, I was alone, the road was quite deserted, the auto-rickshaw driver looked scary and my wallet was missing. All sort of random thoughts were flooding my mind. Three words to sum up my condition, I was the "Damsel in Distress". After taking a few deep breaths, I called up my "Knight in Shining Armour" (read my best friend , staying in another city) to rescue my money by blocking the debit cards left in my wallet. Somehow I reached home, borrowed money from my local grocery guy to...

Cupid Came & Went Away !

Valentine's Day - A day of corny posts on social media! It is that time of the year again! Spring is knocking at the door - the warm sunshine feels great amid the slight chill in the air, a delicate scent of flowers lingers in the early morning breeze, and even my neglected garden tries to look good without any help. And I almost forgot that it is the season of love too; through branded merchandise, and corny posts shared on social media. Valentine's day has a long history. I particularly enjoyed reading through Devdutt Pattanaik's Return of the Love-God about the origins of the day and similar celebrations across different cultures. I also unsuccessfully tried to overlook any news covering vandalism caused by certain groups who, every year, make their presence felt on this day by harassing hapless couples. Well, it is hard to ignore the other side of the coin! While I absolutely hate the commercialization of emotions (and that does not restrict to Valen...

Books and Coffee

As ridiculous as it might sound, at the end of a long tiring day, a perfect date for me means a large cup of coffee and an interesting novel to read. Yes, you have the liberty to label me as an anti-social and a nerdy introvert! I find it pretty amusing when someone tells me that reading novels is a wastage of time. Or that someone likes to go through work-related books and not elaborate literary pieces. An introvert raised as a single child, I have always found solace in my books. My love for storybooks started with Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Little Mermaid. My father introduced me early to the monthly kids magazines- Tinkle, Champak , Nandan and Chandamama . I do not know if these magazines still exist. Billu, Pinki and Chacha Chowdhary followed soon. The Famous Five and The Little Women too entered into my life. Being a true Bong, Anandamela was an absolute necessity during Durga Pujo. The lazy afternoons of summer vacations were sometimes spent on Tagore...

Love to See You Cry

The other day, I got a forwarded message on WhatsApp. I had a good laugh going through this image. I do not know about the authenticity of this news but Google came up with a few links related to this crash course on crying. You can check too ( This New Crash Course will Now Teach Brides How to Cry on Their 'Vidaai' ) and thank me later for a ROFL moment! While I am marveling at the entrepreneurship skills of that lady who came up with such an innovative course, I am recollecting the events during my 'Vidaai' . Yours truly got married in the year 2015. Let me tell you about the years before my marriage. I started staying on my own since I was twenty-two. The first time when I left my sweet home to go to the humble college hostel, I cried my heart out. Being the only child of my parents, I was a pampered and overprotected kid. Staying on my own was a liberating yet frightening thought. My parents were unhappy too. How was their kid going to survive on the hostel ...

The Transformation of a Foodie

Being a Bengali, I was taught to appreciate the taste of prawn, crab, Hilsa, Rohu, chicken, and lamb from a very tender age. Though vegetables are termed as "Ghaas Phoos" (that literally means grass) in a typical Bengali household, I was fed with quite a generous amount of spinach, okra, bitter gourd, beetroot, bottle gourd, and eggplant as well. I could not evolve as a fussy eater, thanks to my mother's stern looks at the lunch or dinner table. However, I also could not realize my love for food until I started staying in a hostel. Poha, Upma, Chole Bhature, Daal Baati, Gatte ki Sabzi, Malaiyo, Raw Mango curry, Thalipeeth, Appam, Pooran Poli, Pithala Bhakri- I was introduced to new flavors from various parts of India. At the same time, I started missing "Ghar ka Khana", the much sought-after homemade food. "Those who love to eat do not necessarily love to cook." -Writer of this blog post It is said that people who love to eat can also cook...

My Diary Pages

Search This Blog