A Chaotic Bond Between Finances and Emotions!
I love excel sheets!
All of my financial decisions are simulated on it!
Or are they?
Before I answer that, why did I choose this topic?
You see, I learned a lot about finances on YouTube.
There was a common trend I noticed for any major financial decision.
They pull out an excel sheet and show you the Math behind it…
All of their calculations are near perfect.
And, well, they’re not wrong!
But they tend to miss out on one thing…
Incorporating our emotions into those calculations.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a factor that rules our financial decisions (at least mine)
I’m not afraid to admit that I might never be able to separate my finances from my emotions, and I have my reasons!
What exactly are my reasons?
*flashback noises and screen effects*
My financial situation growing up was dire!
I remember my parents scrambling for money
All to make sure my school fees were paid on time
They just managed to scrape through…
But there were times it would go overdue
And since our education system is messed up,
(especially my school, where it was profits over everything.)
I’ve been called and shamed in front of my class a bunch of times. All because the fees weren’t paid on time!
I remember when I came back home and cried a little one day.
Not only that, though. I’ve seen and we’ve been through -
🠚 Bad investments
🠚 Not having many luxuries
🠚 Living on debt to make ends meet
So, it’s clear that money has been a sensitive topic for me and will continue to be so in the near future!
I won’t take major monetary decisions without thinking it through.
Your backstory may be similar, worse, or better.
Either way, if you’ve read through it so far, you get where I’m coming from, and this is what many of us relate to.
And this is where we segue from ideal guides to practicality!
Diving into the ground reality!
Most of us aren’t born with a golden spoon.
Or we aren’t going to be millionaires.
People in those categories might be able to think about finances independently.
But the vast majority of us won’t.
And when it comes to taking major financial decisions, a lot of us turn for guidance…
*cues to YouTube videos and their advices*
Purchasing a car?
↳ Rent it or use Uber!
Buying wedding clothes?
↳ Rent them as it’s too expensive and you won’t reuse it…
Buying a brand new house?
↳ Renting is a better financial decision in your 20’s (conditions apply)!
Well, that sounds simple. Right?
It is, till you bring emotion into the picture!
I will be buying a car even though I know it’s a depreciating asset and a financially bad decision.
I’ve grown up with friends who owned vehicles and it will make me happy to own one myself!
Keeping aside my happiness and convenience…
It’s an untold and unspoken dream of my parents to have one.
And there is no way in the world I’m not fulfilling that
Either way, it will be an emotional decision.
And that’s my truth.
See, the advice, albeit good, doesn’t account for where I’m coming from.
Until someone has been in my shoes, they won’t know the emotions that go behind my financial decisions!
(don’t be financially reckless, though; this can’t be a justification for it.)
But it’s not only about me now, is it?
So, what’s my final opinion?
It depends! (oh, how I hate answers that start with this.)
Can finances and emotions be separated?
Theoretically, yes!
So, is my title clickbait?
Not exactly!
You see,
99% of us won’t be EVER able to completely separate our emotions from monetary decisions…
Why?
Because we’re scared of losing it all
Or making a bad financial decision that we might regret.
The fact of the matter is…
Even if we do, breaking out of the money attachment mindset is tough and we’ll always be cautious.
Is it a good thing?
Yep!
Can it turn bad?
Heck yes!
Being overly cautious will hold you back from enjoying life!
And trust me, we don’t want that!
From my previous story, you know my struggle with the mango milkshake!
You might get into a toxic relationship with money forever.
One of the best pieces of advice about money I got was -
“If it makes your heart or your family happy, you can’t put a price on it or jam it into your Excel sheet. All life and financial decisions can’t be simulated on excel. We’re humans, not AI!”
— Aadi Fernandes, 1999
Yes, I quoted myself, sue me!
And if you do sue me, I might need my lovely excel sheet after all…
