Year 2003: Crash of the space shuttle or the Year of the cease-fire ?

The Americans were recuperating post the dot-com bust that followed the Y2K scare. To make things worse, the 9/11 attacks had intensified the 2001 recession.

As an aftermath, the days of 100% placements at PICT had sunset. I was coming to terms with the fact that I had not landed a placement through college. I graduated with a distinction, and my maternal uncle helped me take up my 1st job. For contracting as a programmer with the National Informatics Center (NIC), INR 7000 was what I earned as my 1st salary! 

My 1st purchase was 3 months into working ! 14K blown off in less than 45 minutes, on "couple watches" for my Parents. Later that week, my parents take me to the Titan showroom to return the watches and buy gold instead, from Tanishq (thankfully, both being TATA enterprises made the exchange possible).

I had learnt my first lessons in managing money - A penny invested, is wealth multiplied ! The price of 10 gms of 24 carat gold was Rs.5,600 in 2003 - Today it is Rs. 42,430 ! A whooping 657% return on investment ! 

As I look back today, the seeds on living minimally, by refusing to buy more of what you already have and making wiser financial decisions were sown by my parents almost 2 decades ago. It has in a lot of ways, paved the way for a Minimalist Lifestyle, which I have repeatedly struggled to adapt, but have been proud of the fact that I've never let go off my attempts !

--------------------------------------------------

In a hope to do more of what I love, more of what gives meaning to my life, more of dedicating time to what I do for a living vs. what I do for Joy, more of trying to influence people positively through my experiences, more of hoping to help people live better... a series of posts on the "Financial Timeline of My Life " so far.. this was the first of those series and I hope if you dint find something you already knew, you at least found a way to teach it to your children ! :) 

Stay Tuned, Stay Safe & Stay @Home ! :)
-Sayli
(sending you love n hugs from the 'Corona Virus' Lockdown of April 2020)