The Chat GPT frenzy, a gold solution to a fictional problem and the absurdity of paid carry bags
Hey people!
“Welcome to the latest edition of Finshots Sunny Side Up, your weekly dose of positive financial news and analysis.
In today’s newsletter, we look at the companies and individuals who are making headlines for their innovative ideas, impressive growth and impressive achievements in the world of finance.
We also provide some expert commentary on the latest trends and developments in the industry, as well as some tips and advice for readers who want to take control of their own financial future. So sit back, relax and get ready for a dose of sunshine with Finshots Sunny Side Up.”
Well, it wasn’t us. It was Chat GPT.
And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Chat GPT, OpenAI’s text-based artificial intelligence model, has gone viral—it crossed 1 million users in just 5 days. The model is trained with many resources and can respond to any type of writing, math solutions and even stories.
One guy on social media even asked Chat GPT to solve a CA final exam question on direct tax! And let’s just say the model did a good job, although it wasn’t entirely accurate with its answers. 😄
Anyway, we thought we’d check it out and see how Chat GPT will introduce this edition to you. And we just love how it describes Sunny Side Up as ‘your weekly dose of positive financial news and analysis’.
Do you agree?
Here’s a soundtrack to get you in the mood 🎵
Desire by Chirag Todi
It’s not often that we get songs by the singer/songwriter himself. But our reader Chirag decided to ‘shoot his shot’ and sent us a bunch of his songs. We loved the clips! So here is his debut single for your Sunday listening.
Hope it makes your day, Chirag! 🙂
What caught our eye this week 👀
An ATM that dispenses gold. What??!
Indians love gold. They will buy it during festivals, weddings, or just as a plain old investment. In fact, according to a survey by Axis My India (a consumer data intelligence company), 53% of people prefer gold as an investment instrument.
As much as you now say that digital gold is the future, the present is still the physical version of the metal. See, only 10% of people invest in digital gold. So Goldsikka, a Hyderbad-based firm thought of a way to capitalize on India’s love for the physical metal. They have launched an ATM in Begumpet that dispenses gold coins!
All you have to do is key in your debit card, credit card or even UPI and you can withdraw all the gold you like. You can even do it in the middle of the night if you feel like it. It is open 24×7. And it will spit out gold in different denominations – from 0.5 g to 100 g. You also get a tax invoice at the end of the transaction!
For now they have started with a gold ATM in Hyderabad. And plans to expand across South India soon. But the bigger plan is to spread around 3,000 ATMs across India.
But wait… why wouldn’t people just go to their neighborhood jeweler to buy or invest in gold? After all, gold isn’t really what you’d call an ‘impulse buy’. Moreover, jewelers even have schemes for regular gold investments.
Nor is it the first gold ATM in the world. There are a few of them peppered around the world (Abu Dhabi being the first) and they’ve actually been around since 2010. So the question is – what problem does the ATM actually solve? Or is it simply a novelty and a marketing gimmick?
Infographics 📊
It didn’t make the cut ✂️
You are paying for bags that should be free
On Friday we told you about the Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) – a new way to deal with plastic waste. Remember that?
When we now dive deep into all the problems with plastic, we found something quite surprising. Some might say that it is even shocking!
See, back in 2011 the Plastic Waste Management Rules were amended to include charges for plastic bags. Vendors could not hand out goods in free plastic bags to customers. They had to charge a fee for it. The idea was to discourage people from using plastic bags. And the minimum price will be decided by concerned urban local bodies (ULBs).
ULBs will get a cut of this income. And they can use it to deal with the plastic waste created by these sales.
But the rules did not tell how the vendors would share these costs with the ULBs.
So they amended the Rules in 2016 and asked sellers to deposit a fixed fee of ₹48,000 every year. It would go straight to the ULBs. In turn, the sellers could recover this money from their customers by charging them for plastic carrier bags. Shopkeepers took advantage of this and started charging high prices for these plastic bags. Consumers were not happy about this.
So the government stepped in again. They made another adjustment in 2018. They completely removed this deposit system.
But here’s the thing…soon enough, more sustainable alternatives emerged. We are talking about paper and cloth bags. Many shopkeepers have realized that people are now used to paying a ‘fee’ for a bag. Any bag! So quite shockingly, they continued with the practice of charging a ‘fee’. This, despite the rules clearly stating that this fee was only for plastic bags.
And that’s how we end up still paying a fee for bags.
So we probably need the government to crack down on this practice first. Get the shopkeepers to bear the cost of the bags.
Or maybe that’s a good thing? Because most of us go shopping these days with our own carrier bags. Reduce, reuse and recycle, right?
Money tips 💰
Last week we created our budget on a spreadsheet. It is therefore now time to set broad guidelines to better manage the budget and money. But a one-size-fits-all solution to budgeting won’t work for our unique lives. You just have to find the budget that suits you!
There is for example the percentage method
The 50–30–20 budget is one of the most common rules you can follow. You set aside 50% of your monthly take-home pay in a “mature” bucket for things like rent, groceries and other bills. 30% goes into the “Splurge” bucket to spoil yourself with the little things in life. And 20% goes to the “Future you” bucket where you save for the goals you have in life.
But you have to remember that this division is not for everyone.
You may have moved back to your hometown thanks to remote work and you are no longer paying rent. Or you might think that spending 30% of your income at the movies or restaurants is a colossal waste of money. Maybe you have big plans for the future and want to save. The beauty of the percentage method is that you can split it any way you want.
Maybe a 40–30–20–10 budget works for you. The first 40% is for the “Future You”. The next 30% is for your rent or home loan. Another 20% is for your groceries and other bills. And the last 10% is for “splurging”.
You see, you can customize it any way you want and get it to fit your lifestyle and goals.
The only thing is – you have to be disciplined. As soon as you get your salary, move the bit for the ‘Future You’ (the 20% or 40%) to a separate bank account. Lock the debit card associated with this account in a dark corner of the drawer. And set up your investments from this bank account.
It will make your life easier.
Next week we’ll talk about some non-traditional methods of budgeting. In the meantime, tell us which budgeting method you’d like to follow!
Oh, speaking of the ‘Future You’, don’t forget that it’s a good idea to protect your future goals. We are talking about talking a term insurance policy. You see, according to a survey, only 17% of Indian millennials (25–35 yrs) have bought term insurance. The actual numbers are probably even lower.
But why do you need term insurance?
For starters, it will protect people who depend on you – spouse or children. And even parents! Even if you have taken out some loans, you don’t want the burden of repaying them to shift to your dependents in your absence. And the sooner you take insurance, the better. You can get a pretty good bargain on term insurance prices when you’re younger.
So if you’re a millennial and you’re reading this, you might want to reconsider buying a term plan. And don’t forget to talk to us at Ditto while you’re at it.
1. Just go to our website by clicking on the link here
2. Click on “Book a FREE Call”
3. Choose Term Insurance
4. Choose the date and time according to your convenience and RELAX!
Readers recommend 🗒️
Numbers don’t lie by Vaclav Smil
Thanks to our reader Kiran Jain for this book recommendation.
“From the earth’s nations and inhabitants, through the fuel and food that energizes them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world – and how it all affects the planet itself – in Numbers don’t lieProfessor Vaclav Smil takes us on a factual adventure using surprising statistics and enlightening graphs to challenge lazy thinking.”
We like to think that Finshots also does something similar – interesting statistics and informative infographics! No? 🙂
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And with that, it’s time to screw up about Monday blues. I’m just kidding!
We pack for now, and see you next weekend.
But before you go, here’s something we wanted to say. We are currently hiring Performance Marketing Managers and Influencer Marketers for our team at Ditto. If you are interested or know someone who would like to join us, please click on this link.
See you next Sunday…
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