Financial Planning

Making finance fun: Let Bollywood teach you these money-related terms

. 5 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
Making finance fun: Let Bollywood teach you these money-related terms

As much as we love the thought of making money, learning about it is a whole different ball game.

As women, we’re expected not to meddle with finance at all – a study shows that 22% of women did not know about their investments, and only 13% invested independently. Because of social conditioning, men are expected to be more upfront about money, and women often let the men in their family take care of it. But this norm is making us less independent by the minute – which is why we should take financial matters into our own hands.

And the best way to do that? Bollywood, of course.

Certain finance and money-related terms can get really confusing and stop us from engaging completely. We’ve got a fun way to teach them to you – buckle up, brush up on your knowledge of Bollywood films, and let’s go!

1. Investing and saving – Seeta aur Geeta

Think of these two basic finance terms as twins that work together.

Like Hema Malini’s Seeta aur Geeta – where Seeta is the ‘good’ girl and Geeta takes risks – saving and investing are two sides of the same coin.

You can’t appreciate one if you don’t have the other to compare!

When you save, you’re keeping your earnings in a safe place, risk-free. When you invest, you’re keeping your earnings in a place where it has the potential to grow. For example, putting your money in a savings account every month is saving. But putting your money in a recurring account every month is investing, because you’ll have earned an interest over it when you withdraw it after a period of time.

2. Returns – Rahul from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Remember how Jaya Bachchan’s happiness knew no bounds when her beloved son hopped off a chopper and ran back into her arms? That’s pretty much how you’re going to feel once your money comes back to you after a long stint of investment.

A return is defined as the final amount of money you receive over an investment. Given the different modes of investment we have – such as safer options like FDs or riskier options like stocks – your returns will depend on how the market performs.

If the market is in good shape, you’re bound to get a good return (Rahul Raichand), and if it’s in a not-so-good shape, your returns might get affected negatively (Yashwardhan Raichand).

We all know who Jaya Bachchan was happier to see in K3G.

3. Market value – Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Poo a.k.a. Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was instrumental in bringing the broken Raichand family together. If she were merely present in the film to look good and throw her weight around, she would have been a side character with no real depth.

Her role was important, which means her value in the film was high.

This is known as market value.

Market value essentially is used to describe how much an asset is worth in the market. If an asset is of immense value – which is determined by the participants of the market – it is most likely to bring you better gains. Remember that market value is different from market price – the latter implies the cost of the asset, while the former implies the potential in the asset.

4. Equity and debt – Soniya and Priya from Aitraaz

Think of the stark difference between Soniya Roy (Priyanka Chopra) and Priya Saxena (Kareena Kapoor) from Aitraaz.

While one was a go-getter who took risks and desired an equal partnership from Raj Malhotra (Akshay Kumar), the other was a deliberate thinker who played it safe to ensure her family’s well-being.

Well, that’s pretty much what equity and debt are about.

Equity refers to a system where one is an owner of an asset in a company, whereas debt refers to a system where one has loaned the money to a company with a fixed interest. Equity securities can be a little risky as the returns are often variable, whereas debt securities have a predetermined return and are usually safe.

While equity securities are meant for those with a high appetite for risk, debt securities are meant for those who like to play it safe.

5. Asset allocation – Shanaya from Student of the Year

Shanaya Singhania was in a love triangle with two of the most eligible men in her school – Abhimanyu Singh and Rohan Nanda. While her relationship with Rohan was comfortable and familiar, Abhimanyu was a breath of fresh air who challenged her to become a better person.

Regardless, Shanaya wanted both of them in her life as both were equally important to her.

That is asset allocation.

Asset allocation refers to dividing your investments among different assets such as stocks, bonds, or cash. If you have Rs. 1,000 and you want to invest, asset allocation would mean that you put Rs. 300 in an FD, Rs. 300 in an SIP, Rs. 300 in stocks, and buy gold worth Rs. 100. Each asset is valuable in a different way and will give you different kinds of returns. You get to decide where you want to put your money!

6. Portfolio – Raj from Bachna Ae Haseeno

Raj Sharma (played by Ranbir Kapoor) was a notorious playboy who had a list of women he’d wooed. Each woman played an important role in his life at some point, and his experiences with them made him who he was.

This list is defined as a portfolio.

Simply speaking, a portfolio is a range of investments a person holds, with each promising different returns.

It is connected to asset allocation, wherein you decide where you want to invest. Your list of investments becomes your portfolio. Simple!

Who knew Bollywood would come to your rescue? Money can be a boring thing to learn about, but a part of the #empoweredwoman narrative is to own your knowledge about money to be financially literate. We hope this helps you kickstart your journey to financial independence!

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