When I was doing engineering bachelors, I never imagined or to be fair did not even had an idea that I will get a job before I go out the college. I had no idea how it works; the job search system. Well, somehow I got the job in my last years. I could not imagine it is true. Thanks to global recession, it did not become a reality, as the company did not recruit us. Somehow I managed to get to a Masters course and left my house again, after 1 year, to study. It happened to be a really good thing for me. I learned a lot of things during my masters that brought many changes. One of those was that I met a lots of different people from other parts of the country. This was, in some way, the beginning of my global connections and experiences. It was here that one of my classmates, who also happened to live in room next door, mentioned this to me, “Money not spent is money earned”.
It was only a statement at that time, as we were not really working at that time. Sure, we were getting monthly stipend, but it surely is different than when we start to get “salaries”. We still had to decide between eating food in hostel canteen or go outside to have a little bit better food. Food in the hostel canteen was special; sometimes we find some nails, other times some paper stickers or so. It was just somehow eatable; digesting it was a different question. Anyways, while struggling with these simple things of life, this statement happened to be just a part of a conversation. We never discussed it further for any academic analysis. May be because we were studying technology, not management or economics.
Although, in a simple sense, this statement is not correct. Simply because the money that I did not spent is the money I already earned. Just by not spending it, I am not earning it again. It is a different matter, if we add another statements of investing that money instead of spending it. But this will change the simplicity of the statement. To me, this statement in itself is beautiful, even when it is not technical correct. Independent of any detailed analysis, I realised how this simple statement is effective now when I am not earning. I left my job without knowing what I will do next. I simply knew that with whatever little money I have, if managed well, can help me stay out for about 2 years. Neither did I do major calculations, nor did I considered any countries and related expenses. I think, if I was doing that then I would probably still be working.
Not sure what feminists have to say about it?
On my travel, I need to check my expenses closely. I realised that a little bit change in lifestyle can make a big difference in the cash flow. Only a coffee a day, if taken in a café bar starts to look like a spike against other expenses. I think I am lucky that I do not have much problem adjusting my life style. This also helped to see the effect on my expense graph due to small changes. I allocate myself certain amount every month. This is in some way my salary. I need to manage my expense in that salary. If I go beyond it, then I need to go back to my bank to replenish my running virtual salary account. On the contrary, if I managed to save, the same money becomes part of my next monthly “salary”. So, in a way the money that I did not spent, became the money that I earned!
I do not remember now, what exactly were we talking about that day. I do not know how my friend came up to make this statement. I also do not know why it was only me who happened to listen to this statement. But today, it feels like that it was not just a random statement used in some gossip. It was somehow meant for me. One thing I do remember is that after hearing this statement, I smiled that day and now when I connected these dots, it made me smile again. I do not know, if it makes sense to others, but may be it helps to remind some coincidence than can bring a smile to them.
Love
Arundeep
Mulla Nasrudin and one of his friends were lying on the green grass beside a country road. Above them was the warm sun. Birds were singing in the trees. It was quiet, restful, and a peaceful scene. “Boy,” said the Mulla, “right now I would not change places with anybody not for a million dollars.” “How about five million, Mulla?” asked his friend. “No, not even for five million,” said the Mulla. “Well,” said the other, “how about one dollar?” Mulla Nasrudin sat up. “WELL,” he said, “THAT’S DIFFERENT. NOW YOU ARE TALKING REAL MONEY.”