D-clutter — Personal Finance

We (my family) lived like “urban poor” for most part of my childhood. My dad and granddad were into many businesses — some successful, others not so much.

My dad is the OG hustler, even before the term came to be used in mainstream. (Most Indian dads are!) He explored computer hardware industry (back in the ‘96!), real estate, hotels, solar/renewables and what not. He is a maverick vs. most of his peers. This was 2nd generation of post-independence India — most of their lives revolved around survival; so that now my generation has the luxury of “ambition”. My dad is different — he truly embraced the dialogue — “zindagi lambi nahi, badi honi chahiye”

My mom, a senior pulmonologist at a reputed hospital chain in Hyderabad, India, on the other hand, worked 9–5 and even beyond, and slowly climbed the ladder in her institution. She believed that small steps and consistency lead to great success.

Well, we as a family experienced a rollercoaster X hurricane! There were days when we were asked to leave our rented apartment for not having paid rent for a couple of months, struggled to put food on our plates, and now, there are days when we have 2 cars, a bungalow and a driver.

The full-story for another day.

But these hardships gave me insights — about money management, crisis management and about the Indian society in general — and made me methodical about money (more about what I did in the coming blogs).

So, now when Kunal Shah (Founder: CRED) talks about how India is a “status-driven” society — I know EXACTLY what he is talking about!

I truly believe that “being wealthy may or may not make you happy, but being poor will truly make you miserable”. Wealth and stability makes you truly “free” — the notion of being able to make choices of your own and not be bound by financial situations.

I see most of my peers (millennials and GenZ) avoid discussing personal finance or get intimidated by it. I wouldn’t blame them — the circus created by financial institutions, and lack of education during schooling are to be blamed for.

Well, so what now?

I am here to breakdown the Personal Finance with a touch of empathy!

I am going to cover the following broad topics and provide simple trick (without jargon) that will help become more aware about PF and improve.

• Insurance — why the hell do we even need it? various products involved, how to read a policy document and how to select the right one for you and your family
• Making your money work for you — Investments, savings, stock markets, real estate and other asset classes — There’s no one size fits all! I will provide frameworks for you to figure out your own size.
• Expense tracking — Probably the first thing everyone needs to do, but we don’t. Here is where you stop the leakages!

Oh! BTW — I am Kashyap Mahavadi, a 26year old from Hyderabad, India. I am an engineer from BITS Pilani. I am curious about the intersection of finance and technology, and have been excessively reading about it. I love the word “DISRUPTION” and I want to be a part of it. My northstar is to create disproportionate value to customers through my upcoming fintech startup (more on that soon!)

Follow me — Kashyap Mahavadi | LinkedIn