‘Stop pinching pennies’: Personal financial advice on saving vs investing sparks social media debate | Today’s news
Yashna Bhuwania challenged social media’s claims of building personal wealth. Bhuwania is the founder of the investment platform Dhan Saarthi.
The original advice says that no one gets rich just by saving. This discouraged cutting back on coffee, restaurant visits, and entertainment subscriptions. Instead, readers were encouraged to use their money more diligently through investments.
“You save ₹10,000 per month. ₹1,20,000 per annum. ₹12 million in ten years. That is not wealth. Stop pinching pennies. Start making your money work harder than you. One good investment will do in 3 years what savings will do in 30,” says the original personal finance advice.
Bhuwania questioned the stark separation between saving and investing. She wondered what people would invest in if they didn’t save anything. According to her, reduced expenses ultimately free up money for investments.
“The argument was: stop cutting coffee, stop skipping restaurants, stop pinching pennies. Invest instead. But invest what? That ₹The 10,000 you saved by cutting expenses is literally money you’re going to invest. I think this whole ‘savings vs investing’ debate is a bit silly,” she wrote.
People make money and avoid spending all of their income. This creates a surplus that can then be allocated to suitable investments.
Bhuwania acknowledged that skipping one coffee won’t make anyone rich. However, she stressed the importance of repeatedly creating an investable surplus.
“The habit of consistently building an investable surplus is absolutely important. The problem is not saving. The problem is saving and stopping,” she concluded.
Reaction on social networks
LinkedIn users responded to the personal finance argument.
“Savings and investing are not competing strategies ₹10,000 per month creates an investable surplus; with an assumed 12% return, the investment could build roughly ₹23k over 10 years, though returns are never guaranteed. Wealth is usually created through this discipline – not one ‘good investment,’” wrote one user.
“An often overlooked issue is the opportunity cost of savings. That ₹10,000 saved today could be capital that builds an asset tomorrow. How do you guide clients to balance immediate savings with longer-term investments?” wondered one user.
One user pointed out: “It’s a balance you have to find. A penny saved is a penny earned, which most parents would say loudly and repeatedly.”
“Balance is key, but sometimes we need a little push. What’s worked for me is the Income – Investments = Expenses mindset. It may seem extreme, but once you set a firm number for your investments, managing the rest of your money becomes easy,” came another.
