save in grace

sadhuji

Saving is an art that very few have mastered. It was an attribute inbuilt in the growing up periods of the girls and a legacy they carried into their married lives. They learnt it from their mothers and grandmothers – keeping aside a handful of rice in a separate container every day or carefully hiding the leftover coins in an earthen pot under the cot or behind those large jars of pickles. These handfuls of rice and the loose coins were assets they could latch on to in case of extreme emergencies. These were the traditions in villages when banks had not invaded the interior heartlands.

Later, as people moved out of villages and settled in cities, they came to know of banks. They also learnt that locking up money is not a wise move; money has to move for it to multiply. Opening a savings bank account was the first step in this direction. People were encouraged to deposit those small coins and notes in the bank rather than keep them hidden from prying eyes – the incentive was an automatic addition to the kitty in the form of the annual interest. There were accounts for school children also and it was a novel method of propagating the message of ‘save for a rainy day’. Along with the regular savings bank there were recurring deposits and fixed deposits. All these were voluntary schemes. However, the provident scheme was a forced saving thrust upon all salaried persons. The intention was to ensure that at the end of his service period or in case of untimely death, there were adequate funds to fall back upon. A modified version of the provident scheme was the public provident scheme where both the salaried and the non-salaried could deposit money. The returns were attractive when the saving in income tax is also taken into account.

However, over a period of time, the concept of saving has changed. In the age of plastic money, when swiping the credit card to record transactions is more fashionable, hardly any one saves for the rainy day. They become members of groups and these groups take care of sudden needs of finance – the repayments are spread over a period of time. Whether it is hospitalization or holiday travel, the tendency now is to have it, then pay. Not like when the philosophy was – first have the money, then spend it.

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mooning over a moon journey

john.sw

My brother and sisters and I were brought up to save what we could, to spend money wisely, and not to spend money we didn’t have.

Unfortunately, in Blair’s Britain we are encouraged to go heavily into debt from a very young age.

Student Julia Prague confronted Tony Blair on TV over her medical college tuition fees. The 19-year-old medical student gave the prime minister a grilling on fees, saying "I don't accept that it is acceptable to get into £40,000* of debt."

"I face the prospect of being 25 without a mortgage and a £40,000 debt," Ms Prague pointed out.

Like so many other students in the England, Ms Prague faces frightening debt because of our government’s greed. I don’t think she’ll be able to save very much!


*
• Rs.3128245/-
• US$ 71,000
• AU$ 94,000
• CA$ 81,000

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www.nilgiris.asia your guide to the Nilgiris, Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur

muzzi

Everyone should read "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason.

A wonderful story, and I do believe, without it, I would never get to India. Because of it, my girlfriend and I have a fair amount saved up, so when she finishes uni, we are off to India for as long as we can

Incidentally, the "The Richest Man in Babylon" by Thievery Corporation is a fantastic CD, full of dub style music, if your into that.