Head of Internal Audit

There's a finite number of questions you can ask on Grapevine, then what?

After few years, aisa kya hi naya puch logo jo pehle 50 baar nahi pucha

Hot take on savings

I started my career as a humble analyst in a tech company, worked my way into finance and venture capital and eventually am heading to a top tier bschool in USA, where I will be paying what it costs to go to an ISB/IIM yearly. We have the Warikoos, and countless others breaking down personal finance and urging people to save. I have mostly done the opposite - i.e., spend liberally but not be profligate. Here’s my view. We are a poor country. If you find yourself in a place with the resources to spend more than the average person you’ve grown up around, please do! Spend on what makes you happy, pushes you, drives you, and allows you to step change your life. Security can be achieved with a good insurance plan and decent emergency funds. Beyond that, please spend on experiences that make you a better person, give you access to better people and enrich your life. Eventually time is the most finite commodity we’ll have. We have 1000s of podcasts on savings, mutual funds, ETFs etc. Does anyone talk about spending effectively to enrich your experience? No. I am pointing to a larger theme of a scarcity mindset that indians have, because we have grown up in a low-middle income country. It’s where we come from, but that doesn’t mean we cannot experience abundance. Life is short, don’t listen to people making money off you watching their personal finance videos.

The clock ticks faster than we realize

I came across these two images, and they hit me like a wave I wasn’t ready for. I’ve been postponing my plans for so long, always telling myself, “later, when the time is right or when I have enough saved.” Somewhere along the way, I stopped planning altogether, quietly accepting a habit of compromise. Reading this reminded me of something we so often forget, we have finite time. We spend so much time postponing, assuming there will always be “next time.” But what if there isn’t? Last year, I read a newsletter by Sahil Bloom where he laid out the numbers, if your parents are in their 60s and you see them two or three times a year, that’s only 70–80 more visits. (Considering average age of 80) That said, living in the present doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind. You can’t book every trip or spend every moment without thinking of your responsibilities. Planning for the future is equally important, it ensures you can sustain the life you want. The key is finding the balance: prioritize what truly matters. Save, but don’t hoard. Plan, but don’t delay endlessly. So, here’s my promise to myself: no more postponing. More phone calls. More trips to explore. More “I love yous”. Because life isn’t just about the years we think we have, it’s about the moments we actually make.