Husain Journal

Let me confess upfront: I’m terrible at small talk. Social gatherings are my Achilles' heel, especially when faced with the challenge of creating engaging yet effortless conversations. However, last evening, when I met my cousin sister and her husband, I found myself thrust into the proverbial deep end of small talk. What could I possibly say to make the evening flow smoothly? As luck would have it, I discovered that my cousin’s husband works in a UAE bank. Aha! Finally, a topic I could tackle: money. Lately, I’ve become deeply interested in personal finance, particularly in frugality and strategies to save for the future. This newfound interest had nudged me toward exploring mutual funds, a topic I eagerly brought up. Why Mutual Funds Caught My Attention For years, I relied on traditional saving options like fixed deposits (FDs) and recurring deposits (RDs). While these tools offer safety, they fail to outpace inflatio...

Our minds are incredible, but they’re not always rational. Cognitive biases — mental shortcuts and errors in judgment — can often lead us astray, influencing decisions about money, time, and relationships. Here I’ll break down four of the most common biases, show how they play out in everyday life, and provide practical solutions to avoid them. 1. Anchor Bias What is it? Anchor bias occurs when we rely too heavily on the first piece of information (the "anchor") presented to us, even if it’s arbitrary. Everyday Example: Imagine you’re shopping for a shirt without a set budget in mind. The salesperson shows you a shirt for ₹2,000. You reject it as too expensive, so they offer a ₹1,500 shirt. Finally, you settle for one priced at ₹1,200. Here’s the catch: Your original budget — ₹800 — was never part of the conversation. Instead, you anchored yo...

"Frugality includes all the other virtues." — Cicero Managing expenses can often feel like a mental balancing act. It encourages frugal habits, motivates you to save for emergencies or special events, and most importantly, helps reduce unnecessary tension at home. Lately, I've been reflecting on my spending habits, and I've realized that the best way to manage them is to write everything down. After all, as the saying goes, "the palest ink is stronger than the fondest memory." A Clear Picture of My Spending I use the free version of an app called Spending to track my daily expenses, and it works like a charm. The app allows me to enter dates, choose categories, and add notes when necessary. Since it’s available on my phone, I can update my records while on the go or from the comfort of my couch. So far this month...