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Buying or Investing in fads


One of the first social battles I faced, and vividly remember, and if it can be battles that is, is the extraordinary preoccupation in owning and exhibiting your newest, sleekest and loudest music system by blaring it at such high volumes that you don’t have to hear your mother’s angry scream and also telegraph that such a boy is back from school. It was a fun time that we, a group of scientifically sharp but broke as rabbits, boys with sole other interest of playing cricket in hot sun.

Those were interesting times indeed. I don’t recall how we ended up fighting with friends, there were no rivals here, just the loudest music, but it was a one large experiment to enjoy. The guys with the off the shelf big brand music players won hands down and were always envied. However, the game was to ensure whose music was heard and not who had the most massive PMPO.

The reason I recall it is also because of the recent story I heard of a teacher telling students that if he had bought shares of Infosys instead of his Yamaha bike, today he would be able to buy a new Yamaha bike – every month. That’s very interesting, because we never know what will be the course of future. Lot of people did try to emulate his philosophy in late 90s and many won’t be left with enough money to buy a bicycle.

I guess, we humans can’t be blamed for fighting it out at the most primal level to mark our regions and ensure nobody tramples on our social authority. However, taking such an adventure too far beyond the chosen limits can only invite regret and even destruction. Dreaming of a good house, a better car, a better college etc are all valid wants that are right and justifiable for proper reasons. However, if these pursuits are accomplished only for the one-upmanship then this will sure turn down into regret.

Pursuing a fad, even if it is rationalized as an investment, will never stand the tests of time. That is because fads are never a trend, they are just a small space in time when they are prominent. Therefore somebody splurging on the latest gadgets bought just for the heck of it, and to be the alpha for few days or months before the gadget is “middle class’d” is missing his “Infosys.” Such an investment is purely personal choice but it will be sad if other people chase that person in needless pursuit.

It doesn’t matter what the product is, or what its cost, the decision to buy or not ultimately has to be based on the utility of the product and the returns on it – social or financial. It would be a house, a car, an Iphone5 or something else.

Point of the rant simply is this: Chasing a fad*, buying it and calling it an investment is fooling nobody but yourself.

BTW, the scientific acumen that we young boys displayed was enormously successful. What we accomplished with some ingenuity and household items, even the Phillips and Panasonics could not do. Almost everyday of those days, neighbors heard us. Boys who spent ‘million’ on those fancy players lost out most. J

*What is fad? Go figure.

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