Apna Sapna Money Money

Core concept

A.A.A.G. (Aspire, Arrive, Age Gracefully)

The financial desire of the larger Indian populace, in place of F.I.R.E. Financial advisors and the top 3% can automate investing large chunks of income and swear by F.I.R.E. The larger masses, once taken by the idea, are losing optimism around it and are looking for options they can call realistic. Their desire can be summed up as A.A.A.G.: Less F.I.R.E. More A.A.A.G.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 35

A.A.A.G.

Arrive

Fired up by F.I.R.E., earning professionals aim for financial independence. The math does not add up, but what they have managed to create is a healthy financial fitness habit. For a large BFSI consumer base, the ability to invest, diversify income and be future-prepared feels like arriving in life. Aspirations must be met, but not early. There is no hurry.

“After MBA, almost half my batch bought a home, or got married, or got a small plot of land and everything came from a parent. Then, you have a kid. So you are locked in... People are saying, 'Why get married early? Why have kids early?' It's still a small thing, but the voices are getting louder.”

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 36

A.A.A.G.

Aspire: meaning from work > money

In India, work is associated with status and community, not only money. Career and work experience are social capital, so after leaving the workforce Indians see themselves as continuing to build it. Giving up on building social capital means aging. Where retirement once meant living on a predetermined corpus, retirement today must entail the continuation of a revenue stream: consulting, freelancing, rental property or agri-businesses.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 38

A.A.A.G.

Age gracefully: age-agnostic youth

In the new work identity there is no getting 'older', only an expanding youth canvas. For the new Indian consumer, the late phase of life is not about becoming free of responsibility and stopping work, but about finding new potential and becoming socially more relevant. For the new Indian, retirement is a backup growth opportunity.

“Retirement is for people who cannot grow in life. Ab bas, ab baith jao.”

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 40

Concept

Indians do not have piggy banks

The Western piggy bank is conceptually about saving for a purpose. The Indian Gullak, Chukka or Undiyal is about saving until an emergency arises, which, by God's grace, will hopefully never happen. Breaking a piggy bank is exciting; a broken Gullak is discomforting. Nothing was saved to spend. Any expenditure was an 'emergency'.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 9

Concept

One way to feel rich is to save money. Another is to spend it.

UPI and EMI payments drastically reduce the pain of paying, leading to reduced savings and increased expenditure in the Indian household. 74.2% of respondents in an IIIT Delhi survey reported increased spending after adopting UPI. Ezetap reported a 220% increase in EMI transaction volumes post-pandemic, and earning individuals in India spend over 33% of their monthly salary on EMIs.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 16

Concept

Changing contexts, changing behaviour

The context of saving instruction was scarcity and uncertainty. It produced beliefs of loss aversion, need for stability and 'low risk' as a virtue, and the behaviour of saving long term in risk-free instruments. The context of wealth creation instruction is surplus and frictionless upgrades of lifestyle. It produces the belief that one should be curious and try riskier instruments in small amounts, and the behaviour of hunting for short-term returns while explaining losses as the long-term nature of instruments. The aam aadmi is looking to answer an old context with a new behaviour, but is open to being introduced to new desires and new behaviour.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 32

Concept

True F.I.R.E. is for the top 3%

F.I.R.E. has morphed into many forms in India: Fat, Lean, Chubby, Coast and Barista F.I.R.E. Indian aspirants are realising that the people who can and will achieve F.I.R.E. are those who were going to retire in their 50s anyway: product managers with large paychecks, generational wealth holders, business owners and founders who will sell, and property owners whose assets already generate passive income.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 26

Concept

Five context shifts of the Indian consumer

Across deep-contextual studies in FMCG, automotive, public health, ed-tech, e-commerce, q-commerce, BFSI, fashion, luxury and technology, 1001 Stories observed five shifts shaping how Indians plan for the future: (1) new aspirations and signals different from the collective's; (2) changing gender roles affecting financial choices; (3) intra- and inter-city access, migration and a new-found Indian individuality; (4) new codes of youth and self, and new metrics of success; (5) an expectation of evergreen, age-agnostic youth that changes future goals.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 42

Framework

The Time-Money Mosaic

In categories that marry present and future selves, four co-existing and opposite forces act on one another: Culture & Beliefs, Current Trends, Fears, and Desires. Each exerts and counteracts on the others, moulding current beliefs and actions. For any new product to work, it must consider these contradictions and find its place alongside these tensions.

Source: Apna Sapna Money Money, 1001 Stories, PDF p. 44