Like any other girl, Nora Fatehi too is a fan of handbags and designer accessories. In a recent conversation with Instant Bollywood, the Royals actor opened up about her shopping sprees and the impact that has on her bank account. When asked what was her first luxury purchase, Fatehi revealed it to be a bag.
“It was a luxury bag. I love my bags. My handbags have broken my account. My Moroccan manager has had to like do interventions on me, sit me down and say — “Look at your statement, it says LV, Dior, enough. You need to invest in your future. So I had to change the way I was spending.”
Sharing deeper insight into her mindset back then, she added: “It’s like a complex, when you are younger you see people with all these things that you can’t get. And then you’re like, one day, I’ll get everything.”
Understanding her mindset
Counselling psychologist Priyamvada Tendulkar calls Fatehi’s behaviour a prime example of ‘scarcity mindset’ – a concept that began from the popular economy mindset aka the fixed vs growth mindset. The economy mindset starts off on the premise that things in the world are “zero sum” and thus, for you to win, others have to lose, or if others win, you lose.
“While this is not necessarily wrong — this is how schools often make us think too — it sets us up to compete in a very zero-sum way. Despite attempts to balance it out with collaborative events and team work through sports, projects, class, houses, etc,” she explains. However, when this becomes your core mindset, Tendulkar says that the world is ruled by the fear of losing. One is caught up in some competitive race-format — they do not try to become better and are constantly trying to be risk averse.
Designer handbags are all the rage right now (Source: Freepik)
Once you tackle your scarcity mindset, next comes building a robust financial discipline, which includes an essential foundation of understanding financial instruments.
Mukesh Pandey, Director of Rupyaa Paisa, told indianexpress.com that in this day and age, it is no longer a matter of choice — having even a basic understanding of key financial instruments like Fixed Deposits, Mutual Funds, Public Provident Fund (PPF), Health & Life Insurance, National Pension Scheme (NPS), Share Investment Plans (SIP) will allow you to keep some control of your financial journey and decisions.
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According to Panday, India is still far behind in financial literacy. “A SEBI survey found that only 27% of Indians are financially literate. This suggests that almost three-fourths of our population may be investing without fully understanding where their money is going and what risk issues a particular instrument is associated with,” he shared.
Getting started
Today, digital accessibility has already made financial products a click away, but with that ease of access comes responsibility. “Understanding how to benefit from compounding through SIPs, tax-saving opportunities through ELSS or PPF, or even knowing the difference between term insurance and an investment-linked policy can change your financial journey,” stressed Pandey.
Instead of just letting someone else manage your money, he believes it is crucial to create awareness around your money; ultimately, awareness is the biggest asset you could have. “Consider that simply making a habit of 15 minutes a week to inform yourself about a financial concept will change the game of financial understanding and ultimately planning,” she said, adding that “financial awareness is not about knowing all – it is about knowing enough and protecting your future”.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner/an expert before starting any routine.
