The ‘F’ word that causes concern amongst almost all of us is ‘Finance’.
I left a job that paid me a regular income in May 2018. The first month that I didn’t get any payment credit to my account came two months later, and that struck me hard. Many of my closest family and friends rolled out bits of advice.
“You ought to have been prepared for it”, “Welcome to the world of Freelance, if you cannot stand by it, then quit”, “Oh, you are stumbling already. You still have so much more to face!” and many more.
I knew they came from a place of care and concern. Nevertheless, I felt an incredible sense of shame. I was not ready to manage my finances.
I sat looking at all the expenses – credit card payments, insurance, subscriptions, EMIs, investment options and everything seem to fit when I have a regular income.
It is then that it hit me – I have to manage regular expenses from irregular income streams.
My bank statement, in the last 2+ years, reads like a heart monitor –
it was the induction to the ‘freelancers’ world’.
I majored in MBA Finance yet personal finances are a different game entirely that too from the lens of a freelancer, it gets tricky. This game significantly changed when I started juggling between the writer and arts management caps.
If only I got a rupee every time someone said, “Oh! you can’t even manage your finances.”
It set the stage for a lot of difficult conversations, especially with the inner circle.
Let’s take a moment to think when you or someone you know was reluctant to do something because they were careful with their expenses. It might be going on that trip, buying something expensive or having coffee at Starbucks? How often did those conversations go awkward or worse, problematic?
This scene from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. stands testimony to these conversations.
There is a desperate need to normalize these conversations, make it inclusive, share and learn.
The success was directly proportional to the income earned. I am not averse to money – it is the attitude towards money made me realise why it was such a touchy subject.
In an attempt to merge the human side – money and the educational side – finance, I try to break this complex field and make it more conversational.
As I work to bring you more on these lines, I would love to hear from you through either through the comments, DMs or you can always drop me a mail!
In the next page, delve just a little bit more on internal and external relationship with money that each of us have …
Hit on page 2 to continue reading (Look below related posts – its so tiny! )
I’m glad you decided to stop by!
Image by Frantisek Krejci from Pixabay
While I studied finance as a subject, nothing prepared me for this. The more I looked around, the more I started to notice.
The relationships each of us had with money had spread around like a web.
I realised the way finance affects us personally is based on these three factors
Our needs.
Frequency of our incomes.
Access to wealth.
When this interaction moved a little further away – the relationship your peers and with those whom you interact with also affect you.
Effects of capitalism and FOMO prompted over-spending. On the other end, were those who earned and could afford to spend, became snobs. Sometimes, these interactions were exceedingly transactional. At the office front, the culture of not sharing salary prompted unequal pay.
The deeper I looked; many factors highlighted their links with money. It was subtle, persistent and unhealthy.
These connections affected your spending and saving habits through group behaviour.
It prompts the question.
‘Why do we need to be quiet about finances when we can be more open, talk share and learn; at a personal level, and within reason.’
Reiterating from previous page
In an attempt to merge the human side – money and the educational side – finance, I try to break this complex field and make it more conversational.
As I work to bring you more on these lines, I would love to hear from you through either through the comments, DMs or you can always drop me a mail!