Experience Vs Savings

I watched one podcast today, and one question came out What should college students start investing in? As young people saw much content in which they saw that if they had just ignored buying dominos' pizza and invested in the stocks of Jubilant FoodWorks, they would have created a good corpus of money. And because of that, college students started investing money very early, which is a good thing but is it the right thing to do every time.

The conclusion of the decision came out that college student should invest their money early, not in the stock market but in experiences like going on trips and trying out something which they haven't had the privilege to experience.

Some people might wonder what's wrong with starting to invest money in the stock market from college only. As the power of compounding relies heavily on the time parameter. So, let me tell you what I think and understand from the conversation, then you can make the decision yourself.

I totally agree with the conclusion of that podcast. Because during my college life, I saw most students can't save more than 500-1000 bucks per month. If they start investing this amount in the stock market or something, it's not like they will save a very large amount and see the power of compounding in the college itself. For example, if you save around 1000 bucks a month for 4 years of college, you will invest 48000 bucks +  investment returns. If we see it's a big amount but is this return greater than 4-5 trips you will make in the college? I would say no because when you go on trips with your friends, you create some memories which will be there with you for a lifetime, and it might be the memory that will cheer you up when you are feeling low and give you and your friends a really good laugh when you reunite after a long time. Not only this, the relationship with the people you go on the trip will get stronger. Apart from this, you will experience different cultural vibes and will start looking at the world from a whole new perspective. Like when you go on a trek, you see how people survive in the mountains without proper electricity and internet connection which we guys can't even think about in our dreams. You might make new connections over there, and many more things which can change your whole world. And man, the nature's energy you feel on those treks can't get out of your mind. From my personal trekking experience, I remember the view, calmness, and nature's vibes present on the path of the trek as clear as it was yesterday. Sadly, I haven't been able to witness the best view, i.e., the view at the end of the trek that I have done.

It's not like you shouldn't invest or save money in college, but in my opinion, you should save or invest money if you are not sacrificing the experiences. Even after college, when you have just started earning money, you should spend your money on experiences. And it need not be just going on trips and all. It can be anything, things that might expand your comfort zone or things that your family and friends dreamt of, like starting your own venture. It need not be a success, but it will provide you lots of learning. Because at the end of the day motive behind investing money is to have financial safety and the ability to fulfill wants for us and our future generations. But investing in the experience can lead to adopting new skills and transferring good values to your future generation so that they become self-reliant.

So, I want to just say that it need not be a very big experience to do some small things. Maybe just go to the 5-star hotel and have tea and come back. Surely, you will buy the most expensive tea of your life, and you might not like it (most people are afraid to admire expensive things because they fear it will become their daily lifestyle) or take your family for dinner at 5-star when you start earning money. But just try it out, man I am sure you will remember these experiences and feel a little more confident. For example, I recently visited Mumbai to meet my cousin and explore Mumbai a little bit. One day we were just standing outside the 5-star hotel, and we weren't even dressed properly we were in tracksuits and slippers. So, we weren't feeling confident initially to went inside the hotel. But we did go inside the hotel and explore it a little bit and came out. We even talked to some hotel staff initially, we were very unconfident in talking to them, but we started feeling comfortable after some time. So, it will seem to be a very stupid decision. But we felt a little more confident after this don't know why.

So, it's better to end here only as it got too long. It was my first blog, so all feedbacks are welcome.

PS: This mindset is started to adopt as India has started drifting towards more of a value-driven market than value for money market. That is, people are willing to pay extra for a good experience.