A little while ago, I was invited to participate in an informal gathering of humanities students from various institutes. We watched the movie, Hector and the search for happiness and there was a presentation by a student who was studying the movie for a mini-project and a discussion on ‘what makes us happy’. The title, Side effects…

Last week I had written a post about exams: Do marks determine the future of our children? and received many insightful comments (as always). Two comments rang  a few bells in my head. Hence this post. Context: I wrote, Marks represent effort. Marks do not represent knowledge or intelligence. Mr. Arvind wrote: there is a difference between ”…

Every March, thousands of households are stressed out because of school board exams. The 12th standard exam is considered as the make or break exam in determining the future of a child. How important are marks/grades in determining the future of our children? Do board exams represent a do-or-die situation? It is very easy to say…

When questioned about his opponents style and technique, Mike Tyson is supposed to have said, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.”  Soon, people who recognised the power of  this quote embellished it to the title of this post. A look at how relevant…

Due to increasingly specific demands from the boy and girl, arranged marriage is becoming harder and harder to accomplish, at least in urban setups. Has it become an impossible challenge for some communities? A few decades ago, it was important to have a steady job (assuming other more important metrics like caste, religion, sect, sub-sect,…

I have fond memories of my BSc days. From the pressure cooker situation of 12th standard, we found ourselves suddenly having a lot of time in hand. A LOT of it Thankfully, cable tv was at its infancy and there was no internet. So I had the most creative and productive years of my life…

When you can spare the time, go to Google, and type, ‘Money Can’t Buy Happiness’ and click on images. You will find a host of interesting memes and quotes. Please don’t do that now, for your presence here is valued, and your response is requested. The title should remind those  familiar with the Beatles of…

I am a movie buff. Here is a list of my favourite movies with a financial theme.  This is an off-beat listing and is obviously non-exhaustive. When  I ask myself to make a list, many wonderful movies escape my memory. This is all I could muster. All posters are from Wikipedia and all storylines and…

A list of people, who through their work and sayings, have had a lasting influence on my life.  Manish Chauhan Not the Manish of ‘team’ Jagoinvestor.com that you see today, but the Manish of yore, when Jagoinvestor was a fledgling.  When articles were written for DIY investors. I learnt about asset allocation, rebalancing, how to…

Chinese philosopher Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) is supposed to have said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. I am among the lucky few who can claim to have this luxury. I love my job. Today, on the occasion of  fathers days, I would like to recount the…

What is your best money saving tip? What practice has significantly reduced expenses for you? Here is a compilation of responses from members of the facebook group, Asan Ideas for Wealth. Please do add your money-saving tip in the comments section. Ashal Jauhari (read his interview here) There are only 2 kinds of people in…

To me, personal finance is nothing more than common sense.  Commonsense is simply nothing but mathematics expressed in a spoken language. Before I started the blog, I knew nothing about investor behaviour and aspects of behavioural finance.  It was irrelevant to me. Now I find myself learning about the different ways in which people handle…