To save or to spend?

Remember your grand parents taking pride in telling you how things were so hunky dory during their times as they’d fondly narrate “humaare zamaane mein…” stories (which were often directed as a snubbing statement meant to show their disapproval of your ways)?

And if somehow that pricked you or you happened to buy that, read on as this will make you feel better!

A recent survey has suggested that 20-year-olds today are more likely to live up to 100 years. And more accurately, a girl born this year has a one-in-three chance of reaching 100 years old and boys have a one-in-four chance. Well, good news, right? But it might not be so if you know that you need to start saving to finish your good 100 years of living.

Blame or praise the superior technology and medical advancements, which guarantee you higher longevity, also meaning that you need to start saving more and partying less to insure your bright old future.

Worrying about a heavy bank balance at 20 — an age when people are more likely to turn into spendthrifts — can be a little tough.

“One needs to save up for a healthy future,” asserts psychologist and relationship therapist Seema Hingorrany.

“While most 20-year-olds think it’s their prerogative to live a lavish life and splurge and indulge, it’s quite surprising that a lot of youngsters these days worry a lot about financial matters. In fact they do not want to live longer.

I have had people coming and telling me, ‘If we live longer, we don’t have a guarantee that our kids will be able to take care of us. So we need to have good savings’. It’s unbelievable that it bothers them so much.”

Ashwin Misra, a 23-year-old media professional, opines, “I can either party or save like a frugal housewife.”

MBA student Alisha Seth, 24, agrees, “If I don’t spend now, then when? I will not be able to have the same lifestyle once I’m old and married.”