Financial advice is like health advice. It is hardly brought into action by people who consume it. 

A big part of saving and investing money is attached to our personality and how we perceive our environment. 

Discretionary expenditures are linked to how one perceives oneself. If a 1.5 lac rupee phone makes you feel valued in your circle, no Ankur Warikoo can convince you to buy an Rs75 k phone and invest the remaining in ETFs. 

Potential to save money depends on how you perceive the future. 

Systematic investments depend on how disciplined an individual is. 

That’s how the economy works. Our behaviors and core personalities drive it.  

Stock markets work on information disparity. There is buying and selling because you and I think differently about the market and money. And that is important. Diversity in the manner we assign meaning to money matters.

However, our knowledge about money doesn’t really influence the way we handle money.

Then why there are so many financial influencers in the business?

That’s because money discussions sound cool, they are entertaining. If you talk about money, they make you feel smart. Drop in some ROCE, PE ratio, and Zomato valuations in your sutta break conversations, and you might get a different high, and feel more inclusive in the group.

The influencers have brought more financial content into popular culture. Their business models are designed around content and spreading it efficiently to the masses. Making it quirky is the incentive they have.

I believe accumulating more knowledge about money and talking about it incessantly is just like talking about protein shakes and ketosis but never hitting the gym.

Finance knowledge is addictive but how many of you will really apply it?

What do you think?