The Habit of Investing

Seema Mishra

Thursday, May 2, 2024

My son’s favourite web series, Kota Factory, set in the educational hub of Kota, sheds light on the struggles of IIT aspirants. In a memorable scene, Jeetu Bhaiya imparts wisdom to the protagonist, Vaibhav, about the 21-day cycle of building or breaking habits. He emphasises that consistency over 21 days can lead to lasting changes in behavior—whether it’s studying, exercising, or any other habit.

We come to Kuwait from various parts of India. We come from different educational, social and cultural backgrounds. And we belong to different income groups, ranging from a few hundred dinars per month, enough to arrange basic bread and butter, to decent thousands of dinars per month, sufficient to live a decent life.
Those of us, who are in higher income group, save a good portion of their income. As they have access to financial expertise, they invest their savings properly. The situation is different for people belonging to the lower income group. Generally, they save a larger portion of their income. But whatever they save goes to homeland and there is no track of how and where the money is invested.

Those with limited income need to be rather more cautious about how and where their hard-earned savings are invested. There exists a resilience against the safe and disciplined investment options. The resilience might come from the fact that the safe and disciplined investment options are not lucrative enough to counter ponzi schemes.

People must select some regular commitment to investment and keep on investing small portions of their savings for some time. And as Jeetu Bhaiya suggests soon, may be in 21 weeks, one develops a good habit. The habit of Investment.

Investing a portion of our savings is a smart financial move that can have several benefits. Let’s explore why it’s important.

By investing, we give our money the opportunity to grow over time. While keeping cash in a regular savings account is safe, it doesn’t provide the same potential for wealth accumulation. Investments, on the other hand, can yield higher returns and help us build wealth.

Investments can generate future income. Whether through dividends, interest, or capital gains, our investments can provide a steady stream of funds beyond what we save from our regular income. Investing is crucial for retirement planning. As we age, our ability to work will decrease, but our expenses won’t. Investments help create a financial cushion for our retirement years.

Even if we are well into middle age, it’s never too late to start investing. We should Set clear investment goals and take action. every investment begins with the first dinar, regardless of our age, income, education or outlook.

Seema Mishra, BA, B.Ed., a homemaker, an educationist and an insurance consultant, has been educating and creating mass awareness on financial freedom. She firmly believes in education as the sole weapon to fight against income imparity in society.

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