Among youth, financial independence is a goal that is increasingly gaining importance in today's society. Young people are realizing the significance of taking control of their finances and becoming self-reliant at an early age. Achieving financial independence empowers the youth to make their own financial decisions, pursue their dreams, and live life on their own terms.
Lakshita Gupta of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, tells MintGenie in an interview she used to save her money in cash form earlier but after learning the concepts of finance, she has started to invest in less risky but high-return sources. As a CA aspirant, her major interest lies in the finance/economics/research domain. She has recently started as a research intern under IIM Shillong professor Ashutosh Murty.
Edited Excerpts:
What does money mean to you? Is it the most important factor when it comes to your life decisions like what to study?
Money has become a criterion that defines how successful a person is. It's known for its uses and fortune, but for me being a student, it is a source of funding my expenses and helps me invest for prospective growth in the future. Being from a middle-class family, money is one of the major criteria for many decisions I make in my life. But for some decisions that concern the quality of my life, I do not give much weight to it like my education and the knowledge I get from reading books and learning skills that help me develop my skills.
What do you spend your money on every month at the moment? Can you give a breakup in percentage terms?
Currently being a student of chartered accountancy, my major expenses go on the coaching classes, transportation expenses, and my expenses on improving my lifestyle which include gym, going outside for solo trips, or a day with my parents. The break-up of my expenses would be 40% on coaching classes, 25% on traveling to college, 5% on the gym, 20% on trips, and the last 10% on basic necessities.
What are the things you want to spend money on?
Recently, I have started my fitness journey, and I am planning to increase my investment in the fitness field and activities in the coming months. I am also a sports enthusiast and a music seeker. Apart from this, I am planning to invest in improving my personal well-being and enroll in spiritual meditation sessions.
Recently, I received a suggestion from my friends to enroll myself in a short-term finance course regarding financial modeling and advanced Excel. I have invested money in the stock market in the past two years, and I am seeking to invest more so that I can earn a return on my investments and combat inflation.
Do you save money? If yes, how frequently and what do you do with this money?
As I am not an earning person, the major portion of the money I get is from my family and my uncle and aunts. I also invest in mutual funds, stock markets, and some high-return FDs so I get some return on them as well. I save the maximum portions of the money I get.
Earlier, I used to save my money in cash form but when I learned the concepts of finance, I started to invest in less risky but high-return sources from which I get some returns. The rest of my savings are spent on parties with friends, traveling, and some fitness activities.
What does having a job mean to you? What are the top two factors you will want to think about when deciding a company to work for?
I am not planning to do a job for a long period of time, not more than 5 to 10 years. Job, to me, is a stepping stone that will open doors for me to prospect in my career, it will help me in learning the things which are required in the corporate world to start something on my own. The job will help me in gaining confidence as well as act as a backup until I find my real interest area.
The top things which I will consider before starting or choosing any job will be the learning environment and the working culture. Since I will be going on to do something on my own, I will consider the learning environment as it will help me in that. Also, I believe that working culture is also a key area to be considered as it is important for mental well-being.
What do you think about investing your money? If you have a certain amount of money set aside, will you want to invest it in the stock market, mutual funds, or do you just keep it in your bank savings account?
I am a keen believer in long-term investments and wish to invest my money and savings in schemes that require a long-term duration, such as fixed deposits and National Savings Certificates, to yield good returns. Compounding is a very interesting phenomenon that I have learned from my grandfather. Being a government officer, he used to invest a major portion of his salary in fixed deposits, banking, and post office schemes, and used to earn interest on those schemes even higher than his salary.
I will invest in banking schemes, such as fixed deposits and profitable stocks. Recently, I have started to invest in mutual fund schemes as I consider them to be a safer option when compared to the stock market. Though the stock market provides lucrative returns, it is a risky source of investment, and there are chances of losing your money.
Do you think you have an understanding on how to save and invest? If yes, how did you learn? If not, are you trying to learn?
I am a budding learner, and I do not consider myself a person who has gained complete knowledge about savings, investments, and returns. So, I take inspiration from people's stories by following them on social media platforms. I try to consume data regarding finance and investment through YouTube as well, by watching videos regarding the same.
Inspiration from other people's stories helps me to identify and learn from them about how to save and invest money. Saving requires dedication and perseverance. Investment is a risky procedure, and I believe it should be done with precaution and care. To some extent, I have learned the basics that are required to consider an investment opportunity, but there remains scope for learning.
Do you follow social media influencers and follow their investment advice?
Yes, I do follow finance influencers and creators who upload content regarding finance and investment through several social media platforms. But I also consider checking the credibility of the content with the help of apps provided, as there are several finance groups trading fake propaganda.
Until informed knowledge is obtained, it is advised to be aware of the policies in which we are investing and not to follow someone's advice blindly. One should cross-check the information provided. Yes, I do follow their advice as I do not have complete knowledge about finance, but advice helps a lot in the learning process.
Do you talk to your mother or your father about money and learn from them or follow their advice?
Yes, I do talk to my parents regarding money. As my father is an MBA finance graduate, he has good knowledge of related topics. He shares with me the incidents in his journey that helped him learn about the investment process and also warns me about financial frauds, advising me not to fall into that trap. They have always motivated me to invest and save money since my childhood. They also advise me not to start my investment journey with risky opportunities and encourage me to invest in safer options.
