The distribution of wealth cannot be even among the members of a society/country. This is just not practical. Oxfam International’s global inequality report released this month points to the world in which the gap between the rich and poor is alarmingly getting wider. In this post, I discuss how to make (statistical) sense of this wealth distribution. In later posts, I shall point out how this behaviour is identical to many other situations like stocks prices, coastlines, snowflakes and even the dust collection! read more

An exposure to equity is not necessary to beat inflation or finance our future if we know how to account for inflation by other means. It is merely a choice. Many of us did not have any equity exposure when we started managing our money. We read about it; thought it might a be a good idea to invest there; started small; got surprised as to how much it can move up and down; then got used to it; started investing more; felt superior to our friends who still sat on insurance policies; thought we could beat the market; pretend that loss is all notional and good, etc. You know how the grind works. read more

The surge in cashless transactions since Nov. 8th is not a sign of India moving towards a cashless society. It is merely a sign of merchants making do, while situation the gets better. From what I see, the “situation” has gotten worse and is expected to be that way until the new Rs. 500 notes get into wide circulation.

When I make a cashless transaction these days, I avoid the possibility of long queues at ATMs or banks and perhaps some fringe benefits, aka cashback. But I am also shifting my inconvenience to the merchant with whom I am transacting.The merchant, in turn, could shift their inconvenience to their employees. read more