Investing at a young age teaches you a habit of financial independence and discipline. Early investment explains the true distinction between saving and investing. You can allow compounding to work in your favor by making regular investments when you are young.
It is never too early to invest, thus youngsters should never believe that being young is a barrier to doing so. Your future financial situation will benefit from the small amount of money you invest today.
In this series, we aim to collect the views of students and young working professionals on investing and finance. Naman Bhaswar of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata tells MintGenie in an interview about how money can be the second most important factor while deciding your career if not the sole most important reason. As a student of Bachelor in Statistics (Hons), he describes himself as a avid learner with a keen interest in coding and mathematics.
Additionally, he has a strong inclination towards music and just launched his own YouTube channel, Bhaswar Studios, where he discusses his college experiences, talks about his time in Kota, and pursues his musical love.
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?
Money is one of the most basic necessities in today’s world. You need money for quality education, proper healthcare and what not. Money is definitely very important factor while taking decisions about one’s career but for me interest in the field is equally important. I was good in both Mathematics and Biology.
There’s money in both the fields but I had special interest in computers and coding since quite an early age so I chose Mathematics as my primary field. But, yes money gives you a freedom to live your life as you want and this is the reason why it can be the second most important factor while deciding your career if not the sole most important reason.
What do you spend your money on every month at the moment? Can you give a breakup in percentage terms?
I am a hosteller staying away from my home so more than half of my money goes on the food. The remaining amount usually goes into outing with friends or into buying stationery items, etc. But I do try to save some money for the future and emergency situations.
What are the things you want to spend money on?
I am a kind of techy person so I usually spend on my digital gadgets and on other necessities like food, clothes, travelling, etc. In the future also I would like to spend my money mostly on updating my gadgets and having quality and nutritious food and maintaining my health.
Do you save money? If yes, how frequently and what do you do with this money?
Yes, I always try to save money and use it judiciously for any emergency need in the future. Saving money gives you a kind of freedom in life and I would suggest everyone to save something for the future.
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 gives you a worthiness, an inner satisfaction and security. It gradually becomes your identity. You are known by the work you do. To me it also gives me power to do something good for the society, for the betterment of humanity and affect it in any capability I can. I want a work environment where I can grow as an individual and also as a professional.
It should provide me with means to utilize my potential and gain quality experience and exposure. The money I earn should be sufficient enough for my needs and should be enough to make me able to lead a quality life and also contribute for the betterment of my society.
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?
One should think about investing money and should gain proper knowledge about the stock market before investing. Within the remaining years of my college, I would definitely want to learn more about stock market and mutual funds. I will obviously keep some money in my savings account for meeting up with the financial needs of not only me but of my family and for any emergency situation, but will also invest a certain amount.
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 an avid learner and believe in saving money. I see my brother investing in mutual funds and try to learn as much from him as I can. He is the one who introduced me to these technical stuffs first. I also learn from my seniors and my friends.
Do you follow social media influencers and follow their investment advice?
Yes I do follow social media influencers and I am even in contact with some as I want to know more and more about the possibilities of this world. I keep myself updated with what is happening around the globe but my main source of advice is my family.
Do you talk to your mother or your father about money and learn from them or follow their advice?
Yes definitely, as I said earlier my main source of advice is my family. They guide me in everything and I do follow their advice. My parents gave me everything I needed but they did make me learn the value of money and to respect it and I am very thankful to them for their teachings.
