One of the most crucial things you can do to have a healthy, happy, and secure life is to develop good money management skills. Every part of your life is impacted by how well you grasp the fundamentals of budgeting, saving, paying off debt, and investing. The earlier one begins to develop the habit of saving and investing, the sooner one will become proficient at it. Because habits are like a thread that is weaved every day and only becomes stronger over time,
Ria Kapoor of Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi tells MintGenie in an interview about how having a job equals learning how to build your general personality and your communication abilities as well as the skills necessary for a certain career. As a second year student, she is currently pursuing a major in mathematics with a minor in economics. Although she claims to not be the greatest at clearing up mathematical problems, she does like to rank herself as an amazing problem-solver in general.
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, career and so forth?
Although we often think that money doesn't really matter, it does in the long run. Since most actions that might change your life are somewhat financial in nature, I think money is a very significant factor. Being from a middle-class household, I can affirm that money is one of the most crucial factors when making decisions about things like studies, careers, and other aspects of daily life.
What do you spend your money on every month at the moment? Can you give a breakup in percentage terms?
As a college student, I regularly make the trip from my home to the south campus of the University of Delhi. Therefore, I spend the most of my money on transportation (40%) followed by dining out (10%), saving (20%), and shopping (10%).
What are the things you want to spend money on?
I don’t really like to spend a lot of money. I prefer to save a lot since I might want to pursue a master's degree overseas. I want to save my money as much as I can in order to provide a better future security for myself.
Do you save money? If yes, how frequently and what do you do with this money?
Yes, I do save money. I have seen my parents also saving money wherever they can. Money is a very important aspect and adds a lot of value. So I manage to use it in the most effective and efficient way possible.
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?
Having a job would entail an entirely new type of learning experience for me. Learning how to build your general personality and your communication abilities as well as the skills necessary for a certain career. The learning and growth scale, I suppose, would be the main determining variables I would take into account.
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 learning about the stock market and mutual funds steadily and I would love to learn the different concepts of investing and eventually invest my money in stocks and bonds. As of now, I’m just a beginner in this, so I refrain from investing right now.
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?
Yes, I am aware of how to save money and realize its true value but as of now, I’m learning how to invest my money in form of bonds, stocks, mutual funds etc. I would much rather learn about these ideas by enrolling in investing-related seminars and courses.
Do you follow social media influencers and follow their investment advice?
Yes, I do follow social media influencers but I don’t take financial advice from them. I guess all of us come from different backgrounds and have different methods to invest and save money so I might not have the same opinions as them. I would rather learn about these investing concepts from certificate courses and take my decisions from certified financial advisors.
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 about it and have learnt a lot from their experiences on spendings and savings. I value their opinions the most in my life and most of my life decisions revolve around the learnings I received from them.
