Table of Contents
Remember the first of the month in your childhood home? There was a certain ceremony to it. Your father would come back from the bank, a sheaf of crisp notes in hand. Your mother would sit at the dining table, a steel dabba or a series of envelopes in front of her. Then began the sacred ritual of budgeting: this much for the school fees, this for the ration, this for the electricity bill, and a small, carefully guarded amount for “miscellaneous.” That entire sensory and psychological universe of money—physical, finite, and deliberately managed—is now a relic, a story we will tell our children like a fable.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) didn’t just give us a new way to pay; it gave us a new financial brain, and in the process, we have completely, and perhaps unconsciously, lost the financial sanskar (teachings) our parents lived by.
The Great Generational Divide: Physical Friction vs. Digital Flow
Our parents’ relationship with money was defined by one powerful force: friction. Every transaction, from withdrawing cash to spending it, required effort. This friction was not a bug; it was a feature. It was a natural brake on spending, a forced moment of consideration. Our financial lives, powered by UPI, are defined by its opposite: flow. Money moves silently, instantly, and invisibly. In celebrating this flow, we’ve forgotten the profound wisdom embedded in our parents’ friction-filled world. Here are ten of those habits we have almost completely lost.
1. The Monthly Cash Withdrawal Ritual
Your Parents’ Way: A once-a-month trip to the bank was a major event. The amount withdrawn had to last the entire month. The physical stack of cash in the house was a visual and tangible representation of the month’s resources.
Our UPI Way: We live in a state of perpetual liquidity. Our entire bank balance is always just a PIN away. We don’t think in terms of a “monthly budget”; we think in terms of our “current balance.”
What We Lost: The powerful psychological concept of a finite monthly resource pool.
2. The Envelope System (The Original ‘Wallet’)
Your Parents’ Way: This was genius in its simplicity. Different envelopes or tins for different categories of spending. The “Grocery” envelope had its cash, the “Entertainment” envelope had its much smaller share. When the envelope was empty, the spending in that category stopped. Full stop.
Our UPI Way: All our money sits in one giant, amorphous digital pool. We spend on groceries, entertainment, and subscriptions from the same account, with no clear boundaries.
What We Lost: The discipline of categorical budgeting and the clear, physical stop-gap that prevented overspending.
3. The Art of the ‘Hisab’ Diary
Your Parents’ Way: A small diary and a pen were the original finance apps. Every rupee spent—from the milkman to the bus fare—was meticulously noted down. It was an active, conscious act of tracking.
Our UPI Way: Our apps track everything for us automatically. We have a perfect digital ledger, but we almost never look at it. Tracking has become a passive, background process.
What We Lost: The active mindfulness of spending that comes from physically writing down your expenses.
4. The Pain of Parting with a Big Note
Your Parents’ Way: Breaking a ₹500 or ₹1000 note was a big psychological event. Handing it over for a purchase felt expensive. It triggered a moment of “Is this really worth it?”
Our UPI Way: Paying ₹500 or ₹5000 involves the exact same, emotionally neutral action: a tap. The “pain of payment” has been anesthetized.
What We Lost: The natural emotional brake that made us reconsider large purchases.
5. The Sacred Shopping List
Your Parents’ Way: A trip to the market was a planned mission. A list was made, and they stuck to it with the discipline of a soldier. Impulse buys were a rare exception.
Our UPI Way: We are constantly bombarded with notifications, flash sales, and targeted ads. Our shopping is often driven by impulse, made dangerously easy by the one-click-to-pay convenience of UPI.
What We Lost: The art of planned, need-based consumption versus impulse-driven desire.
6. Saving Before Spending
Your Parents’ Way: The first thing they did with a salary was take out the savings—for the PPF, the LIC policy, the recurring deposit. They spent what was left.
Our UPI Way: We often do the reverse. We spend freely through the month and hope to save whatever is left over (which is often very little).
What We Lost: The golden rule of personal finance: “Pay yourself first.”
7. The Long, Sweet Wait (Delayed Gratification)
Your Parents’ Way: Buying a scooter, a fridge, or a colour TV was a family goal that often took months, or even years, of dedicated saving. The joy of finally acquiring it was immense because it was truly earned.
Our UPI Way: We live in the era of “Buy Now, Pay Later.” The concept of waiting is being engineered out of our lives. We get the dopamine hit of the purchase instantly and worry about the cost later.
What We Lost: The virtue of patience and the deep satisfaction of a long-awaited, fully-paid-for reward.
8. The Scarcity of ‘Eating Out’
Your Parents’ Way: A restaurant meal was a rare treat, a celebration reserved for birthdays or special occasions. It felt special because it was scarce.
Our UPI Way: With Swiggy and Zomato seamlessly integrated with UPI, ordering in has become a default option for a boring Tuesday night.
What We Lost: The clear distinction between a special treat and a daily convenience, leading to a massive lifestyle inflation.
9. The Sanctity of a Loan
Your Parents’ Way: Borrowing or lending money was a serious, formal affair, even between friends and family. It was a last resort.
Our UPI Way: The “Request Money” feature has turned asking for money into a casual, low-stakes digital interaction. Our friends have become our on-demand ATMs.
What We Lost: The social friction that made us financially self-reliant and treated borrowing with the seriousness it deserves.
10. The ‘Chutta’ Jar
Your Parents’ Way: Every household had a jar, a box, or a corner of a drawer where all the loose change from the day’s transactions would be collected. Over time, this “found money” would accumulate into a surprisingly significant sum.
Our UPI Way: Every payment is exact to the last paisa. The concept of “loose change” is dying.
What We Lost: The simple, magical joy of discovering small, effortlessly accumulated savings.
Conclusion: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern Hustle
This isn’t an exercise in romanticizing the past. UPI is a magnificent tool that has powered India’s growth. But in our rush to embrace its convenience, we must be careful not to discard the timeless financial wisdom our parents practiced out of necessity. Their world of friction taught them discipline, mindfulness, and the true value of a rupee. Our world of flow demands a new kind of sanyam (self-control). The challenge of our generation is to blend our modern hustle with their ancient wisdom—to use the power of our apps, but with the mindful deliberation of their envelopes.
Call to Action:
Which of these habits do you miss the most? What financial lessons from your parents do you try to keep alive in this digital age? Share your memories and your modern-day financial jugaad in the comments below. Let’s start a conversation about the financial sanskar we want to pass on. Follow IndiLogs for more insights that connect our past to our future.
