Why I was against investing (and why I was wrong)

It's not so much that I was against investing - I was indifferent to it. I've never been much good at maths and I tried to distance myself from related fields. Investing was always something adults, people like my father, were interested in. Fresh out of college, my focus was mainly on writing, earning, and enjoying.

To me, enjoying and investing did not sound synonymous. It could be because I always thought of it as a very specialised skill. I thought not being an expert would mean I would just lose money. I was fine not to dabble with it. I had a good enough idea of what I wanted my life to look like and I was prepared for it. That was until Noida auto-rickshaws hit-and-ran over my preparations.

The last line was exaggerated, but it's not untrue. The real culprit was living on my own and it all started with auto-rickshaws. When I joined Value Research, it cost me Rs 80 to reach the office. Two weeks in, the fare increased to Rs 120. Two months later, it became Rs 200. Within a few months, my basic travel budget more than doubled. It was shocking how fast the fares rose. And it wasn't just autos.

Everything - from playing badminton to home repairs - cost money, and prices just kept going up. Meanwhile, my father had me start investing in mutual funds to grow my wealth - so now I had even less of it. You can see why I wasn't the biggest fan of investing. Every week, Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) were taking away my much-needed savings under the garb of wealth-building. Soon, I had to halt most indulgences just to put out daily fires. The cherry on top was when my laptop died suddenly.

I called my father, expecting empathy and compassion. Instead, I got laughed in the face.

He then asked me if I had checked my mutual fund investments lately. I said no. This actually turned out to be a good decision. Checking my account months after I started investing made me realise that, even if reluctantly, I had saved up enough that I could buy a good laptop if I so wished. I wanted to take that money out, but I didn't.

Truth be told I was scared. I kept thinking whether you need to be an expert before you start handling your investments or not. I had only ever seen serious people talk about stocks. I work in an office surrounded by finance experts, so I went to them. I got told that just by starting an investment at my age, I was doing better than most. Is that really how easy it is? Could I really make more if I actually paid attention?

I asked my colleagues if I should dip into my investments. Everyone I talked to said no. That defeats the purpose of long-term investing. How can you grow a tree if you chop it every time the seed starts to stem?

I am fortunate enough that my father helped me start my mutual funds, fortunate still to work in an investment research company. Maybe that's why I can now see I was wrong to brush off investing early on.

You don't have to be an expert to be financially independent - just prepared. You might have people to fall back on when you're young, but that doesn't guarantee you will have them in the future. Money problems now might be an inconvenience but in the future, it might become a crisis. The smartest investment decision you can then take as a beginner is to just start. Investing principles are so basic they are taught to us in elementary school - sabar ka phal meetha hota hai (the fruit of patience is sweet).

Also read:
The cost of playing it safe: Why women need to invest
Your first fund: Stop waiting for the perfect investment

This article was originally published on March 08, 2025.