Personal Finance Mistakes

I started earning at a pretty early age of 18. I started small. I used to get paid 100 rs an hour, but back then, I was more than happy to spend it.

And I loved the money. Not because of the stuff it could buy me but because it gave me the independence to live how I wished to.

It felt great first to finally start earning. I learned how to make money but still need to learn the critical skill of saving and investing money.

Here are some personal finance mistakes I made early on -

• Excessive & Frivolous Spending on Food, Alcohol

I spent the money on eating out, drinking and buying shit I did not need to be a part of stupid groups of people I did not even like.

• Not investing in Experiences

I should have spent the money on experiences instead; that would have been much more long-lasting. For example, that guitar I wanted to learn, the kickboxing gym I wanted to join, and maybe travel to places in India. All these would have been money well spent and a lot more satisfying.

• Not investing

I should have started investing in PPF, mutual funds, rds, fd, or anything that would have kick-started my compounding journey. Even though I started earning, I still feel about missing out on compounding.

• Not Purchasing Health & Term Insurance

I purchased health and term insurance recently, and these same insurances would have been about 1/5th of the price per year if I had started buying it back then.

• Not Investing in Crypto

I heard about Crypto back then and thought about it, but I did not take action. About 100,000 rs invested back then would have ensured I would have never had to work another day.

• No periodic review of my expenses

This has to be my biggest mistake. It is essential to periodically review your expenses and understand where you spend most. Try to figure out the value of the money spent and then try to save wherever possible.

These were some of the mistakes I made. You live, you learn. I learnt some things from them and made some changes.

I would love never to make mistakes again, but that seems quite far-fetched, for now, I wish to make new mistakes and small mistakes that don't affect me in a big way.

Hopefully, I will get better along the way. Until then, I want to keep learning and keep growing.