Being Frugal

Everything about my dad and the biggest lesson from him

Jun 18, 2023

I did not grow up with the lifestyle I have today. We did not have generational wealth. I have seen my parents work day and night, sacrifice and give up on so many things to reach where we are today. We have had hard days, we have had good days. If you ask my dad what he does, he’ll tell you “I am a Kabadi” which means, I am a scrap seller. This is when he owns a factory and has a very successful business. He will always undersell himself.

When we moved to this city 18 years ago, we didn't have money for the train we took, a place to live, money for school fees or anything at all. Dad reached out to his friends for support. A friend’s family gave us a rented place to work, and another friend gave us the downpayment on the house. We didn't have money for school fees, a bed to sleep, we had nothing. Two years after shifting to a 1bhk, I remember Mom and Dad discussing whether to buy a sofa or go on a 2-day trip to Nainital. We didn’t invite people over because it was already 6 people living in a tiny place. But somehow we always had people over, because everybody loved being around us.

Over the years, we kept saving, sacrificing, and trying to expand assets. We started to slowly set up things, I have seen him come back home at 3 am because a truck was loading or someone came unannounced to buy. Mumma was a pillar of support too. After working out of a rented place for 6 years, we bought an office in the heart of the Industrial area. There was no looking back from there, in the last 11 years, we shifted to a bigger place, set up a factory, got a car we dreamt of and have everything we could have asked for. Yet, amidst the newfound success, my father has remained incredibly humble. Despite the transformation in our circumstances, he has not let it change who he is at his core or how we operate. His humility serves as a constant reminder of the values that guided us through our humble beginnings.

Newspaper clipping from the day of the Inauguration

Lessons and More

Growing up, my dad always reminded me of the dangers of ‘lifestyle inflation’. As he would say, "As you get rich, you want a driver instead of driving, domestic help for everything and better watches, shoes, and bags. You'll ditch fast food for fine dining, take your car instead of a metro, and do luxury vacations instead of economical ones." We have seen all the lows of our lives, so we follow the golden rule - "Lifestyle once updated doesn't go backwards."

As I got older, our lifestyle was definitely inflated and my sister and I also started earning, I realized how right he was. Now, I always stop and think before making a purchase - is it worth the price I'm paying? Can I get it for cheap? We have seen all kinds of days when we did not splurge at all and had to make ends meet so we understand how important money is. And the thing about being frugal is that it doesn't mean you have to give up on all the things you enjoy. It means you have to prioritise and choose the things that matter most to you.

I recently read about Hedonic adaptation is the tendency for people to quickly adjust to changes in their circumstances, such as income, and return to their baseline level of happiness. This means that as you upgrade your lifestyle, you may experience a temporary boost in satisfaction, but soon you will get used to it and want more. This can lead to a cycle of dissatisfaction and discontentment, as you constantly chase after new and better things

After years of hard work, we do have the ability to afford things, but I cannot take frugality and resourcefulness out of us now. While I do have the means to buy things, I choose not to unless absolutely necessary. For instance, I will not change my phone until it wears off and stops working while I can afford to buy the top model as soon as it launches.

During my upbringing, I witnessed and heard stories of people who built lifestyles they couldn't sustain and resorted to loans to maintain them. As a kid, I thought people with nice cars and big houses were rich. Now I have learned how a lot of the people with nice things are broke and bankrupt, they have lifestyles running on loans because they need to LOOK RICH. As Will Rogers aptly said, "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like."

So, the next time you're tempted to splurge, take a step back and ask yourself if it's really worth it and if you will get used to repeating that spend. I think this has been the most valuable advice dad has given me, thus far. Being rich but frugal.

Links I’ll whatsapp you if we were friends:

(On some days I’m only writing because I know the 5 people who will definitely read this and write back to me. I love when you write back to me and tell me how you felt, what you liked or what you think can be improved. You can just reply to this or drop a text on any of my socials, I appreciate it so much and I’ll get back to you soon, Promise)

Stay Curious, Remember to drink water.

Until next time,

Best,

Janhavi