Change is the only constant thing in this world. Everything changes and nothing stands still. Lets see what all has changed in the past 2 decades.
Repaired vs New : In 1990s, WhenI used to be young, we got the torn clothes stitched by tailor, broken shoe mended by cobbler, Electrical appliances repaired and quikfix/ feviquick was almost applied to all the broken/ torn things- Specs, bags, wall paper . If something could not be repaired, was bought new.
Now in our households, there is concept of replacement and not repair. All the things are replaced immediately- Shoes, Bags, electrical appliances without giving any chance to repair.
Just Clothes vs Branded Clothes : We talk about high inflation whereas there is a term called lifestyle inflation. We used to buy clothes which looked good on us. These days, along with that brand is also considered.
We can still buy clothes which are low priced, however, we choose to wear branded clothes instead which are priced high because they have a brand value attached to them.
Offline vs Online Shopping : Offline shopping trips are planned ones which are made keeping the purpose in mind – be it grocery, clothes, electrical appliances etc.
Now a days , we shop at a click which is convenient and can be done from anywhere , anytime and saves a lot of time. I personally have starting shopping online for almost everything- yes everything- Bread, milk , eggs, grocery, stationary, clothes, furniture.
Take Away vs Home Delivery : I remember my mother calling my father once or twice a week for carrying home food on his way back from office. Concept of home delivery was there, but not at all restaurants, all the time and there was minimum order to be placed which could be delivered at home.
Unlike these days, with coming of Zomato, Swiggy, Uber eats et all, you can order from any location, anytime and no minimum order plus cash back offers which lures you to order again and again. It is super convenient.
Own Car vs Cab : There are more number of cabs these days on the roads than self driven cars. We have two cars, planning to sell one as it is no more used as I prefer taking cab than driving.
It not only saves me bucks but also saves me from the hassle of parking and driving.
Traditional vs Modern Investment Options :Earlier, traditional investment options were there namely- Bank Fixed deposit, Post office instruments, chit funds and life insurance policies.
With increasing inflation and changing economy, lot of investment options have come up or we can say , were there earlier also and now become popular- Mutual funds, Portfolio management services, Bonds, Alternative investments.
Also, with change in our spending habits because of changing times, there has to be change in our savings and investment habits too.
Have You Changed with the Changing Times?
About the author: Gurleen Kaur Tikku is a Financial Consultant and devotes her time to her company www.hareepatti.com. She has done her Bachelors in Finance and Investment Analysis(BFIA) from College of Business Studies(CBS, Delhi) and MBA from IMT, Ghaziabad.. She can be Contacted at gurleen@hareepatti.greatestdesignever.com