Ice-Cream, Cakes and Helen Keller taught me the fundamentals of savings
Hullo! Today, we talk about how baking and ice-creams have lessons for novice savers We also celebrate the iconic Helen Keller, who was born today
Monday blues much? It's back-to-the-grind, folks! A whole week of deadlines, “arghh, when will this get over”, endless coffee rounds, and video call meetups that might as well have just been a voice note await you.
And if your weekend were anything like mine, you’d just want to stay in it. Last Friday, I plonked myself at the house of my childhood best friend, M. And among other things, M is a superb baker. So, I helped myself to endless yummilcious cake slices and tubs of ice cream, while the two of us watched Jab We Met for the n-th time!
Watching her bake while I was thinking about this newsletter stirred the writer in yours truly. What do cakes, ice creams, and baking have in common with the habit of becoming a saver?
Proportions matter
For starters, M is meticulous. To start, she measuredly poured 1 cup of milk, 1.75 cups of flour, and 2 cups of sugar. The exactness of the process was what took me in. Any ingredient in excess or deficit and the cake would be ruined.
Now, everyone goes gaga over how not to overspend and stay on a budget. Oversaving might not sound as ominous as overspending, but it is a thing.
And sometimes, people think over saving is a great virtue. It's NOT Yes, it is supremely important to save for the future. But absolutely NOT at the altar of sacrificing your present lifestyle and ambitions. Sometimes, those last-minute plans to Manali are worth the splurge!
Also, when you feel like you dont have enough to spend at present, you start resenting the entire idea of saving and managing money. And that’s bad. P.S 60/30/10 is a good way to start on this balancing act.
The value of time
M’s cake in baking was already testing my patience. She wouldn’t let me eat the batter. But 4 hours later, I was glad about that.
Remember the childhood pride you had in your OG bank, gullak? Depositing every bit of Re 1, Rs 50, or Rs 100 you got from your relatives? Once you broke that gullak to save the world, you had a lot of money!
That was because you persevered. Good things take time, dont they? There is no 21 din main paise double. Dont start saving with the expectation of unearthing a treasure trove in 3 weeks. Keep building your savings empire for atleast 2-3 years before any tangible results appear. Take this. If you just save just Rs 1,000/ month consistently for 5 years, you’ll have somewhere around Rs 80,000. And that’s just the reward for your patience.
The right time was yesterday
Ice-creams quickly turn into a sloppy mess and very un-ice-creamy, if not eaten quickly. And since I was fantasizing about my non-existent Aditya, I literally had to drink my ice cream. I was late.
And if you’re thinking about what the right time to start saving is, you’re already late. Savings only build over time. If you haven't already started, whatchu waiting for? Dont wait to start creating your savings fund. Start small, even Rs 1,000 bucks is fine. But the key is to START. And once you start, just do it every month to ace this.
Do YOU
Cookie crumbles, Rock-and-Roll, Seetafal, Gulkand, Apricot, Chocolate chip, Jaggery…
There is no end to the insane, mind-boggling number of ice cream flavors on the market. But you have a favorite flavor, right? The one that satiates your tastebuds like nothing else?
It's the same with your budget and savings map. You dont have to blindly follow the world. Not everyone is saving up for higher education, some just want to go on that solo trip across Europe. And both of these goals are perfectly valid.
Dont let the internet define your money management for you. Of course, have broad boundaries, like the 60/30/10, but keep it flexible, like Shakira!
Foofi’s Crypto ABC: Whats B-oiling?
There’s a crypto ABC you should know, and we’ll start right here. Every edition henceforth will explain to you 2 frequently used crypto slangs. Next in line is B
Bear
Bulls attack their prey by swiping their paws in a downward fashion. So, all this recent talk about the market being bearish? It’s just the cryptos experiencing lows. Coin prices are constantly plunging, and investors are not enthusiastic about the market condition. Losses and reds run abound. In short, everyone is looking to sell.
Bitcoin Maximalist
Worshippers of Bitcoin, who think the remaining 19,000 cryptos are trash. They think that only BTC will survive in the future. Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, is one such person.
This day, that year…
The iconic Helen Keller was born! She was just 19 months old when she lost her ability to see and hear. But that did not stop her from conquering the world. She mastered German, Latin, and French, authored 14 books, and even managed to develop speaking skills after 25 years of intense struggle. Superwoman!