Kailash Parvat ~AdiKailash ~OmParvat ~21840 ft ~FrozenTemperature ~Motoring ~Biking ~Trekking ~Hiking ~China ~Tibbett ~Nepal

“You dream of something very Tough and God award you that so Easy” and it becomes a milestone adventures trip memory of your lifetime……  exactly this happened with me in October 2024, when my DREAM of Motoring, Biking, Trekking and Hiking trip came true and we friends did adventure trip of Indian boarder with China, Tibbett and Nepal. 

We did dangerous Spiti Valley, toughest Lahoul Valley, SnowTrekking Anjaneshwar, driving Rohtang and thousand of Kilometers in Himalaya (in last 15 years).......but Kailash peaks nahi kiya, to fir life me kya kiya ???

~Altitude : upto 21840 feet height

~Temperature : +14 degree to -12 degree frozen, very chill winds

~Major attractions covered : Kailash Parvat, Adi Kailash, Om Parvat, Parvati Sarovar, Gauri Sarovar, NabhiDang, Lipulekh peak, Kalapani, VedVyas Caves, KalaDhola Sangam, JolingKong, RongKong, Tavaghat etc. real natural beauties with diversity of terrains.

~Food : Indian vegetarian pahadi food easily available

~Clothing : Strict warmest clothing

~Fitness : Medical fitness must

~Permits : need to obtain ILP and boarder permits in advance

~Solo or Group : Group of friends makes this toughest journey easy

~Luggage : try your best with minimum luggage as a backpacker

~Shoes : Trekking and Sport Shoes 

~Roads : Mountains not having bitumen roads, be ready for rough & toughest off roading and water crossing..... and belive me, its super funn for us, crossed 14 water passes

~Time : Minimum 08 days

Jab bhi mann kare, SUV uthao aur dosto ke sath Pahado me chale jao...... nothing better than this. Apne Bharat me itna kuch hai, life is short to do adventure in India. Sea to sand to sky to mountain to snow treks.

Biking starts.........

DharChula Water falls

Boarder Military Permit checking starts

Its 32 loops mountain road, super funn in driving Pin-bends with snow mountains, greenery, crystal clear green water river, zero pollution and serene Mount Kailash on the top....

Golden Sunrise from our tents in Himalaya.....

I am very lucky to celebrate Sharad-Poornima night.... (having moon-blessings by offering Kheer-Prasad) on Himalayan Peaks Nabhidang army area.... approx. 14800 ft, never seen such a clear moon and colours of sky, serene feeling on auspicious Sharad-Poornima.... its my lifetime memory

Sharad Poornima night stay in Himalaya

enjoying time with my travel buddie.... nature clicks

Colours of Sky and 3 different colours of terrains, ye sab dikh jaye....aur me photography naa karu, ye kese ho sakta hai...

Entry gate to trek Adi Kailash peaks

Lifetime memory of India Flat Hoisting at Kailash peaks..... happiness and serene feelings cannot be expressed in words...... its just Om Namoh Shivay at 20718 ft. frozen temperature

Fill up Parvati Sarovar holy water to home

Om Parvat..... see sharp on the top of my hand, word OM written in Hindi on the top of Mountain at 21810 ft, in minus temperature. Super Salute to Indian Army taking care of Boarder in super harsh conditions in frozen temperature and heavy chilling wind

Panchshul Gunners Army welcome you at Kali Mata Temple. Kali river origin from this temple. Very tasty food at Mumbai Choupati cafe by India Army.

Kailash Mansarovar peak........ ab kuch bhi kehna baki nahi hai. 

You are welcome at the home of LORD SHIVA

Jab bhi time milta, ham sabhi friends apni Scorpio SUV se nikal kar Biking hobby bhi puri kar lete.....

Life is incomplete without hobbies. Please take out few moments to enjoy hobbies of Biking, Driving, Trekking, Hiking, SnowTrekking, Solo travelling..... it just not travel, but its must to refresh our life, friendship and brainstorming for business assignments with serene feelings, with Bonefire & Karaoke Nights.......

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing blog, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or commercials and not responsible for any travel based on the contents.

Always ready to guide you for this trip (contact on email)

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Linkedin Profile Link : https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogesh-birla-323821229?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Corporate Office Success Mantra

As a Team Leader, my success mantra to the team, always:

1. Resolve the problem

2. Report the problem

3. Skip the problem (at time on priorities)

Let me explain:

1. RESOLVE :

First, attempt to resolve the problem yourself. This makes employees think on their own, problems get solved quickly, they develop courage to take decisions, and drain on the company working is reduced. It is important to make employees feel empowered and responsible. It is also important to allow mistakes made in good faith with the intention to learn from them and not repeat the same mistakes.

2. REPORT :

Next, if you cannot resolve a problem, then it is your duty to report it to your senior. If non-cooperation or non-completion by someone else, then email and cc the seniors. A problem may become problematic if you fail to report it. An escalation ensures things move towards the solution

3. SKIP THE PROBLEM :

Resolve and Report are for meaningful problems. Then, there is always going to be a long tail of problems in any organization. Learn to skip those, as the ROTI (Return on Time Invested) is not worth its while. Solving these problems will not move mountains. Hence priority is very critical.

Initially in my career I was very enthusiastic to solve every problem, but this realization dawned upon me; knowing which problem to skip for later is equally important to remain focused on the game. Hope this helps my colleagues and team mates in the industry, across the globe.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Women Entrepreneurship Schemes in India

 

We keep on talking on Women Empowerment initiatives to create a hype in our thought process, but logically not making them avail existing easy funding mechanism to fulfil their dream of getting really empowered. In USA 41.8% of all businesses are owned by women, alongwith 46.8% female labour force participation. Irrespective of all these schemes by Indian government, women comprise only 14% of the total entrepreneurs in India, with only 9.32% female labour force participation. We are hereunder summarising few of Government and Banking schemes to provide venture funding for women. Bring this awareness to make Nari Shakti on entrepreneurial platforms:

(1). Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP):

Mentorship, network, funding, skill training, Incubation, and acceleration program offered by NITI Ayog for women to support in their entrepreneurship journey.

Upasana Taku(MobiKwik) received support from WEP, their current valuation is ~₹5700 Cr.

Kavita Shukla(FRESHGLOW Co) received support from WEP, now has customers in over 35 countries.

Shradha Sharma(YourStory) received support from WEP, is one of the leading media platforms for entrepreneurs.

Radhika Aggarwal(ShopClues) received support from WEP, their current valuation is ~₹1,000 Cr.

(2). Mahila Udyam Nidhi Yojana

MUNY Offers loans upto 10 lakh to be repaid in 10 years for supporting women entrepreneurs to set up a new MSME / SME scale venture. It is offered by Punjab National Bank and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the rate of interest better than prevailing in the market.

(3). Bharathiya Mahila Bank Business Loan

This scheme offer loans up to ₹20 crores to female entrepreneurs looking to start a manufacturing business. Ease of collateral free loan upto certain amount is big attraction of this scheme. The Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with the State Bank of India, the loan programme is still active.

(4). Dena Shakti Scheme

Offers loans upto ₹20 lakhs at an interest rate 0.25% below the base rate for building a business in sectors like Partnership firm, business, Retail stores, Manufacturing sector, Microcredit organisations, Housing, Education, etc.

(5). Stree Shakti Yojana

Offers loans upto 20 lakh for industrial sectors such as housing, retail, and education. Also allows women to avail of an interest concession of 0.05% on loans more than Rs. 2 lakh.

(6). Stand-Up India Scheme

This initiative offers composite loans between 10 lakh and upto 1 Crore to women in SC/ST categories.

Kanika Tekriwal started JetSetGo with this initiative, their current valuation is ~₹100 Cr.

Rashmi Daga started FreshMenu with this initiative, their current valuation is ~₹210 Cr.

(7). Mudra Yojana Scheme

MYS offers loans of ₹50,000 to ₹10 lakh and ideal for setting up beauty salons, starting a small shop, home-based business, or starting your dream company.

Shanti Mohan started LetsVenture with this initiative, their current valuation is ~₹270 Cr.

Ananya Jain started Chai Break with this initiative, their current valuation is ~₹50 Cr.

Dream of Indian government of USD 10 Trillion$ economy in the next 10 years can happen true only if women contribute desired portion of per capital income with men. Wish all these initiatives bring women on a new horizon, with ease of funding and strengthen your entrepreneurial dreams to come true, and wish good luck to all the incredible women, who are making this world a better place to live.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Financial Independence and Retire Early - F.I.R.E.

This isn’t another one about Buffett’s wisdom on investing or life. It is about the relationship between time, health and money using Buffett’s wealth and age as clickbait. The author begins with “Would you rather have $0 and be 20 years old, or have $100 billion and be 90? Most people respond to this hypothetical with a resounding “Of course not, there’s no amount of money I would take to fast-forward to being 90 years old.””

“There’s a popular movement called F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early), where followers are devoted to living as frugally as possible so that they can retire as early as possible. While I agree with a lot of the merits of F.I.R.E. (namely the F.I. part), I disagree with the R.E. part. Retiring 10 years early at the expense of a considerable portion of one of the most valuable periods of life (your 20s/30s) seems absurd. 

For one, what is 10 years in the grand scheme of your life? On the back end, the last 10 years are almost negligible (besides, you don’t know if you’re going to live to 90 or 100 anyways). But on the front end, they’re considerably more valuable.

Secondly, work can (and should) be a large part of what drives fulfillment. Progress with whatever we're pursuing (whether we call it work or not) is one of the key drivers of happiness, so we shouldn't discount the value of work and its impact on our overall well-being.

Would you give up 10 years on the tail end of your life if it meant that you would have a more fulfilling 20s/30s? I think most of us would take that rather than the opposite — optimizing solely for wealth early-on to get an extra 10 years of retirement at the end.”

Buffett and Munger are perhaps the best example of deriving fulfilment from their work well into their 90s.

He then ties health, time and money together:

“Certain experiences that require peak physical health might only be possible in the 20s and 30s phase. For example, say you want to run your fastest marathon, or you’re like these two friends, Phil and Carter, and you want to journey from Beijing to Barcelona by bike. Sure, no one needs to do these things, but they’re experiences that would be incredibly enriching and novel.

And sometimes, physical health isn’t the constraint. If you have children, they will only live with you for 18 years of their lives, and before you know it, they’re gone. Any experiences you want to have with your kids, you have a limited time window to do those things. So, it makes sense that at this phase (the roughly 20 year period where you have children at home), most people would find the greatest fulfillment by optimizing for time spent with their kids — earning those experience points while that window exists.

A bonus of having richer experiences earlier in life is that you not only get experience points, but these early experiences pay “memory dividends” in the value of the stories they create — stories that can be retold time and time again.

Experiences yield dividends because we humans have memory. We don’t start every day with a blank brain… We wake up every morning preloaded with a bunch of memories that we can access at any time.

When you add in this concept of a memory dividend to the net fulfillment equation, something becomes clear: it pays to invest in experiences early.

Compounding works not only with money, but also with experiences.”

The author concludes with some brilliant graphic illustrations on why ‘Net Fulfilment’ over ‘Net Worth’ is a better pursuit in life.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Long Term Investors & Stock Market - 8 Lessons

"If you are a long-term investor, you should own high- quality stocks and close your ears to the siren song of those who say a rate rise will cause you problems.*

If you are not a long-term investor, I wonder what you are doing in the stock market at all, and so will you one day."*

- Terry Smith.......The "Buffett of Great Britain"

Terry Smith, often known as the English Warren Buffett, has once again shared his annual letter encompassing ideas on investment strategies positioned to do well, views on specific stocks and thoughts on the current financial world. 

Well-known in the UK among retail investors, Smith’s Fundsmith Equity fund returned about 18.6% in 2021 and holds 28.9 billion pounds ($39.4 billion).

Here are 8 lessons that we must take from his vision :

*1) No investment strategy will outperform in every reporting period and every type of market condition. So, as much as we may not like it, we can expect some periods of underperformance.*

*2) In investment, as in life, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so it is difficult if not impossible to find companies which are resilient in a downturn but which also benefit fully from the subsequent recovery.*

*3) In our view, it would be a mistake to sell some of these good businesses in order to invest temporarily in companies which are much worse but which have greater recovery potential.*

*4) Someone once said that no one ever got poor by taking profits. This may be true but I doubt they got very rich by this approach.*

*5) We invest in companies, not indices or countries and in our view, the country where a company is listed is largely irrelevant.*

*6) We continue to apply a simple three step investment strategy: Buy good companies, don't overpay, do nothing (i.e., minimising portfolio turnover to minimise costs)*

*7) You may have heard a lot talked about the so-called 'rotation' from quality stocks of the sort we seek to own to so-called value stocks, which in many cases is simply taken as equating to lowly rated companies.*

 

*8) Inflation: It is a bit like trying to light a bonfire or a traditional BBQ on a damp day. If you put an accelerant like gasoline on it you can go from no fire to a loud ‘Whoosh!’ and find that you have also set fire to the garden fence.*

The good news is that we do not invest on the basis of our ability to forecast inflation or any other macroeconomic factor. We invest in companies not countries, indices or macroeconomic forecasts.*

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Getting Wealthy vs Staying Wealthy

This weekend brings a valued book reading and sharing learning from The Psychology of Money, few bullet points:

#Good investing is not necessarily about making good decisions, It’s about consistently not screwing up.

#There are a million ways to get wealthy, and plenty of books on how to do so…..But there’s only one way to stay wealthy: some combination of frugality and paranoia.

Even if “wealthy” is not a word you’d apply to yourself, the lessons from that observation apply to everyone, at all income levels.

#Getting money is one thing………#Keeping it is another.

#If I had to summarize money success in a single word it would be #Survival

#Capitalism is hard. But part of the reason this happens is because getting money and keeping money are two different skills.

#Getting money requires taking risks, being optimistic, and putting yourself out there.

But #Keeping money requires the opposite of taking risk. It requires #humility, and fear that what you’ve made can be taken away from you just as fast. It requires frugality and an acceptance that at least some of what you’ve made is #attributable to #luck, so past success can’t be relied upon to repeat indefinitely.

#Michael Moritz, the billionaire head of Sequoia Capital, was asked by Charlie Rose why Sequoia was so successful. Moritz mentioned, We assume that tomorrow won’t be like yesterday. We can’t afford to rest on our laurels. We can’t be complacent. We can’t assume that yesterday’s success translates into #tomorrow’s good fortune.

Not “growth” or “brains” or “insight.” The ability to stick around for a long time, without wiping out or being forced to give up, is what makes the biggest difference. This should be the cornerstone of your strategy, whether it’s in investing or your #career or a #business you own.

#Compounding only works if you can give an asset years and years to grow. It’s like planting oak trees: A year of growth will never show much progress, 10 years can make a meaningful difference, and 50 years can create something absolutely #extraordinary.

#But getting and keeping that #extraordinary growth requires surviving all the unpredictable ups and downs that everyone inevitably experiences over time.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Is Paying Dividend, a Healthy Reinvestment favouring Shareholders

 

Paying dividend may not always be the best option. Many investors are very serious about dividends and they consider receiving Dividends is very important part of their Investing. They invest only in companies that have a good dividend history and avoid other that are not generous enough with their dividends payouts. But a high dividend-pay-out ratio may not always be the best take for investors. A healthy dividend pay-out is often lapped up by markets. The stock gets a thumps up and all parties, the company and its shareholders are happy about the outcome. But dividend largesse may not always be in the favour of investors value creation mechanism. Companies could deploy that cash into existing growth opportunities to remain competitive and best in the game. According to our investing matrix, a company can utilise its cash in four ways.

First, Reinvest the proceeds back into the business

Second, Go in for related acquisition

Third, Repurchase shares and…

Fourth, finally pay out dividends

See how paying no dividend could impact the fortunes of companies; If Infosys had paid no dividends and simply repurchased shares, or developed new software and IT centres, it would have created more value for its Stakeholders, since ROI of their funds / business management is much higher that money in the hands of shareholders. Since investors will use their dividend money to buy other shares, or to buy bonds or to make bank FDR or spending. Other than spending, all other modes of reinvestment by shareholders will be lower than using that money by companies for betterment of their businesses. This concept that Utilising cash for other than dividends, is not the standard thing that is taught in the corporate finance department of our major universities. Why do we debate negatively, rather than applying this simple idea to make business stronger with internal accruals. Fund manager’s preference for no dividends do’not mean that they disapprove dividends that they gets from their investments…. but they vote in favour of more deeper value creation for shareholders.

The one thing I will tell you is the worst investment you can have is Cash. Everybody is talking about cash being king and all that sort of things. Cash is going to be come worthless over time, but good businesses are going to become worth more and costlier over time.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Importance of Digital Literacy in Education & Economy

Digital literacy is the ability to learn, understand, and adapt to technology-inclined changes in a constantly evolving digital world. The pandemic has re-emphasized the importance of being equipped with the right skill set to efficiently use technology to sustain and even preserve the “normalcy” of our day-to-day lives. The idea is to have in place a system so resilient that, despite severe disruptions, life can carry on without having to come to a screeching halt. Today, digital literacy is just as important as any other subject that children and young adults are taught at educational establishments and could even be leveraged as a teaching platform in itself.

The future has enormous potential to be transformed into a digital world; in fact, we are already witnessing a technological revolution. From ordering medicines to delivering shipments using drones, the future is set to be one where digital solutions are going to be able to cater to a myriad of requirements. The youth of today should be educated and well-versed in tech-enabled solutions as it is going to be their future. Industries across verticals have already begun adopting automated solutions that reflect a strong impact on numerous facets of their business, both internal and external. Tech will continue to govern numerous facets of our lives, from becoming a medium of teaching in itself to adopting digital solutions that provide better career and life prospects. Going forward, digital literacy is going to be an imperative aspect of our education system.

Companies which are consistently been investing in and adapting to new technology, which includes redesigning ERP to a microservices-based design and launching future-ready solutions. The intent is to make sure that decisions are based on data and not just instinct. Deploying ML also enables us to drive operational efficiencies through optimised routing, address correction, and also aids in operations by predicting volumes and manpower requirements. We keep exploring new avenues and areas where we could make use of AI and ML to impact operations and drive efficiency and optimization.

How the youth can be digitally empowered, what kind of exposure and engagement opportunities in the educational curriculum can educational institutes implement to raise the interest of youths to up-scale their digital skills, and should it become a must for schools, colleges, and other educational institutes to conduct workshops or crash-courses programmes to drive the importance of technology for businesses ???

Teaching and learning is a two-way street. The future necessitates individuals who can remain resilient by adapting to the needs of the hour efficiently. Therefore, schools and colleges must start building a technologically inclined foundation for students to help them adapt better to the world of tomorrow. The in-school curriculum must be tailored to include programmes that induct individuals into adopting tech solutions; this in turn will help them leverage their strengths to do more rewarding tasks. Currently, some institutes have an IT component as a pre-requisite course. However, the level of depth with which the subject is being taught needs to penetrate much further to truly make an impact. Courses to familiarise children with such subjects can also be introduced at an earlier stage with a much simpler explanation provided. We all begin school by learning the alphabet in order to speak fluently in any language; technology and automation should also be considered a language, allowing children to learn the basics, setting up a strong foundation for them and then banking on it to further increase their knowledge and agility in the long-run.

Having said that, schools and educational institutes can only do so much. Growth can only be witnessed if the individual is also willing to learn and invest well in themselves by looking online, finding the right courses, and actively working towards the pursuit of When asked what advice as an IT leader would he give to the youth considering their career in the technology industry, what should they know about the industry before starting their career, and what challenges they could face and how do they overcome the challenges, he said, to anyone looking to begin their careers in information technology or any of its sister streams, my only insight on this front is: opportunities and more opportunities! The industry is growing at an exponential pace, and the opportunity for career growth is optimal. Especially in a post-pandemic world, the significance of the industry has been propelled to much greater heights and shows immense promise. My only advice would be to grasp every opportunity coming your way and consistently invest in updating your industry knowledge.

Children of the present and in the future too, have and will grow up alongside technological leaps. Having said that, networking across industries and age groups will also be incredibly important. While technology and digitalization are the future of tomorrow, it is crucial to not entirely eliminate the element of human touch while interacting with a customer. Challenges on this front could arise. However, leveraging the insight of your seniors and curating solutions that are a combination of artificial and augmented intelligence is the best way forward to negate those challenges.

Getting introduced to learning more about industries and businesses early on is also a very important aspect of bridging the learning curve. This will assist students in connecting theory to real life and comprehending the impact of technology on actual business. Mentors also play an important role in guiding youth to take the right steps to achieve their goals; their experience and wisdom enrich one’s learning.

Understanding design concepts is another important step in this journey, and the earlier one begins, the better. Mathematics and physics are also important subjects to master, particularly for engineering, AI/ML, and analytics.Understanding the concepts in detail can help develop better solutions for businesses and customers in the future.

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

Saving Economy v/s Spending Economy; which is better……

Indians wastefully save…. Ask them to spend, on imported cars and, seriously, even on cosmetics!  This will put India on a growth curve. This is one of the reason for MNC's coming down to India, seeing the consumer spending. Does it not look true, with our traditional thought, let’s examine the same with global facts…

The Japanese save a lot.  They do not spend much.  Also, Japan exports far more than it imports. It has an annual trade surplus of over US$100 billion. Yet the Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing.

Americans spend a lot and save very little. Also United States of America (USA) imports more than it exports.  USA has an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion. Yet, the USA economy is considered strong and expected to get stronger.

But where do Americans get money to spend? 

They borrow from other countries like Japan, China and even India. Virtually others of the world have to save for the Americans to spend.  Global savings are mostly invested in USA, in dollars.

India itself keeps its foreign currency assets of over $50 billion in US securities.  China has sunk over $1.1 trillion in US securities.  Japan's stakes in US securities is in trillions.

RESULT :

The USA has taken over $5 trillion from the world.   

So, as the world saves for the USA - It is the Americans who are spending freely.   

Today, to keep the USA consumption going, that is for the USA economy to work, other countries have to remit $180 billion every quarter to the USA, which is $2 billion a day, to the USA!

A Chinese economist asked a neat question. Who has invested more, USA in China, or China in USA?   

The US has invested in China less than half of what China has invested in the USA.

The same is the case with India.  India has invested over $50 billion in the US.   

But the US has invested less than $20 billion in India.

Why is the world after USA?

The secret lies in American spending, that they hardly save for.  In fact they use their credit cards to spend their future income.  That the USA spends is what makes it attractive to export to the USA.  So USA imports more than what it exports year after year.

The result is…..The world is dependent on USA consumption for its growth.  By its deepening culture of consumption, the USA has habituated the world to feed on USA consumption. But as the USA needs money to finance its consumption, the world provides the money.

It is like a shopkeeper providing the money to a customer so that the customer keeps buying from the shop.  If the customer will not buy, the shop won't have business, unless the shopkeeper funds him. The US is like the lucky customer….and the world is like the helpless shopkeeper financier.

Who is America's biggest shopkeeper financier? Japan and China of course.  Yet Japan is regarded as weak economically.  Modern economists complain that Japanese do not spend, so they do not grow.  To force the Japanese to spend, the Japanese government exerted itself, reduced the savings interest rates to almost zero, even charged savers for keeping their money in the bank.  Still the Japanese did not spend (habits don't change, even with taxes, do they?).  Their traditional postal savings alone has over $1.2 trillion.  Thus, savings, far from being the strength of Japan, has become its pain.

CONCLUSION: That a nation cannot grow unless the people spend, not save. Not just spend, but borrow and spend.

This is a very Interesting article written by an Economist about the world economy. Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

The Power of Money & Happiness Index

#Down_to_earth_&_very_practical_approach_to_happiness_with_Money

(Life experience, as written by a #youngest_billionaire at 26 yrs.)

Some of you may already know that I travel around the world pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct meets at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and China. I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is traveling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.

This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires').

#Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich #because the moment they earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

#The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.

Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).

I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. #However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO, a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business), I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5 m, #travelled economy class and some even drove Toyotas and Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, BMWs..

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, #when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. #This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.

#Thank_God_my_rich_dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' 

#The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.

#Material happiness never lasts, it just gives you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life..

#Instead, What makes me happy is........when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. 

What makes me happy is when I see my companies and teams reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.

What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails from people touched and inspired someone's life.

What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. #This_happiness_makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that #happiness_must_come_from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product.

#keep_sharing_this_with the children, and make them read this article, every year to follow....

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com

USD v/s Rouble.... bigger trouble matrix for EU and favourable for India

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yogesh-birla-323821229_if-the-eu-refuses-to-pay-gas-in-roubles-activity-6915636815701921792-5L-5?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app

Disclaimer : This is purely a knowledge sharing article, not offering or influencing any deal or transaction or investments.

CA Yogesh Birla

Director
Birla WP Management Co.
read my blogs : www.YogeshBirlaCA.Blogspot.com