Here are some common misconceptions about frugality and frugal folk. What is frugality? Wikipedia makes a wonderful reference to a behavioural science research paper titled, “Lifestyle of the Tight and Frugal: Theory and Measurement” The authors state, “Frugality is conceptualised as a lifestyle trait reflecting disciplined acquisition and resourcefulness in product and service use. Frugality…

‘Price discovery’ refers to the way in which the market arrives at a price for a commodity driven by supply and demand. The government is gradually moving towards a regime of 100% price discovery. That is, interests rates will be marked to market. I think it is high time we promote price discovery of our college…

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…