5 Money Habits Making You Bankrupt | Money Savvy

YOLO Mindset

When I open Instagram, I’m immediately transported to the beaches of Goa, the mountains of the Himalayas, and the concerts of singers I don’t even know.

When I ask my friends if they have started investing their money, I get laughed off.

• Who invests so early in their lives?
• But I want to travel the world.
• Who knows how long you’ll live?

I’m not against any of these but social media glorifies the “treat yourself” culture, and seeing influencers live lavishly triggers FOMO. Spending becomes a way to avoid feeling left out or less accomplished.

Short-term happiness drains long-term financial stability.

Yes, I agree, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (Hindi version of YOLO) but you’re not living in Zoya Akhtar’s universe either.

Your “YOLO” moment today could mean “Oh No” in retirement.

We don’t always need to spend lavishly to enjoy life. Sometimes, it is the small things that make you happy. I used to love dancing in the rain. I get up at 5 AM to watch a test match (cricket). I love long drives with friends without going to a particular destination.

Happiness can be derived from these small yet deep experiences.

The fix: Redefine “YOLO.” Prioritize meaningful experiences that don’t cost a fortune, and set a budget for guilt-free indulgence

Black Friday Day Trap

In India, we didn’t have this concept of a ‘Black Friday‘ sale on such a huge scale. Yes, shops would offer discounts during certain weeks of the year. But in 2014, Flipkart did something unimaginable for Indians.

They came up with their own version of the Black Friday sale and called it the ‘Big Billion Day’ — a day where every product on the website would be available at a discount.

I remember purchasing a television, a mouse, and a webcam. I felt happy that I saved 5k on this purchase.

But honestly speaking, I barely use the mouse. And I’ve stopped using the webcam once I upgraded my laptop.

When you shop during a sale, you tend to purchase more than what you need. Psychologically, it’s the fear of missing out (FOMO) that pushes us into these traps.

Trust me, I’ve got a tracksuit that hasn’t seen the light of day.

Once, I even fell for a Buy 2 Get 1 Free trap and I didn’t even like the third pair of jeans.

But I’ve gotten a bit wiser now.

I avoid shopping during the sale. And I’ve stopped buying things just because they’re on sale. If I really need something, I’ll purchase it irrespective of the discount.

The fix: Introduce the 7-day rule. If you still want it after 7 days, you can go ahead and buy it.

Netflix and Chill: Subscription Overloaded

Every app I have downloaded on my smartphone wants me to become a ‘subscriber’. Every YouTuber I follow, wants me to click on the ‘Join’ button.

I miss the era of television when you could pay your cable operator a fixed amount and he’d have all the channels on your TV.

Right now, I have a subscription of:

• YouTube Premium (because I hate ads coming up when I try to meditate)
• Amazon Prime (because who would like to pay for delivery)
• Google Cloud (because my Google won’t let me have it for free)

These are the only 3 I use every day.

But in the past, I used to have subscriptions to 3 dating apps (the worst investments of my life), a physical fitness app (that I barely opened once a month), and an e-newspaper that I never read.

With the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime, Sony Liv, and Hotstar, we have been overloaded with content to consume.

Honestly, now I subscribe just to watch some Live Cricket. I’ve stopped consuming OTT shows.

I’m not saying that you should watch content illegally, but do you really need that subscription to Alt Balaji?

Solution: Do a monthly audit of your subscriptions. If you haven’t used it in 30 days, it’s time to unsubscribe.

Buy Now Pay Later Mindset

E-commerce websites have discovered an irresistible way to make you purchase items from them.

Let’s say I want to purchase an iPhone 16 Pro Max (I’m poor but let’s still assume).

The original price is listed as 1,37,900 INR (about $1600).

An average Indian can’t afford to spend this much on a smartphone.

But just below this price, they write — EMI starts from 6686 INR, which is about less than $80.

Most Indians fall for this trap and end up in debt for the next 36 months.

No wonder the sale of iPhones has exploded in India.

Because you’re already paying an EMI for a product that barely justifies its purchase value, you have nothing left to invest.

In what universe can you justify paying 16% interest to your bank?

You can’t do your SIPs, you owe your friends 700 dollars, and you avoid meeting them because they’ll ask for their money back.

My simple rule is — If you can’t purchase anything twice, don’t even purchase it once.

If you’d like to use Buy Now Pay Later, why not do it for courses that upskill you?

And then buy what you want from the money you earned from this skill.

Ignoring the Small Expenses

My friend has an addiction.

He can’t survive a day without ordering food online.

He is a serial orderist.

He’s even become good friends with the delivery boy now.

A 150 INR order doesn’t seem huge. But multiply that by 30 and you have a flight ticket from Delhi to Mumbai.

A part of me feels happy because I own shares of Zomato. But this isn’t the way I’d like my company to grow.

Psychologists call this “habituation,” where recurring small expenses blend into the background.

When I want to eat a burger, I always end up adding fries and coke to it. So, my 129 INR order becomes 249 INR.

The “what’s another $5?” mindset tricks you into believing small expenses don’t matter, but over time, they add up.

The fix: Tracking your expenses is a good place to start. You’ll be surprised to see what your expenses have been hiding.