19 Jun 2021  |   05:01am IST

Lockdown has meant a spending pause, and yes, a minor investment surge

The lockdown has meant people have saved money by not visiting clubs or working from home. How are they handling these savings, is it being invested or are people waiting for the lockdown to be lifted and ensure they start partying again with a bang. A few people voiced

Ajit John

The lights no longer shine

bright at night on the dance floors. The clubs, pubs and nightclubs in the state have been silent for quite a while. Many visitors to the state and residents have danced to music or have consumed alcohol or eaten savories or more at these locations. All of which cost money. In some cases pretty good money, one must say. Now, all that has stopped. Are these people saving up all that money for a better tomorrow or have to find another avenue to spend money. What’s going on?

As with everything in life there were differing responses. It should be said for different reasons. Some young professionals like Priyank Sethi who moved to Goa last year from Mumbai said it really made no difference. He said “We have house parties with our usual set of friends but at home. We are very careful, it’s usually 5 or 6 people and since I have rented a large flat it’s not a problem. We follow all the sops. We all have to log in the next morning and do our jobs.” He went on to say that partying took a very tiny percentage of their salary and the saving for the month was happening as usual.

Sharmistha Bhadra, a senior executive in an Italian insurance company now based in Goa said the disposable income she had was always kept liquid in case of a health emergency she said “Now it is not possible to go out. I do my job online for sure every day and since I don’t get out, I have free time on my hand. I have logged on to online classes on hobbies which are really affordable. Like I said I keep my money liquid and it is important given the nature of our times. Anything can happen to you professionally or health wise and it is important to be prepared”.

A man who could provide a greater insight into the financial decisions being taken by people is Vijay Sirsat an financial adviser. He said “Yes, I can confirm there is a 10-15% uptake in business since the lockdown started. There are some people who are coming in and investing and others and are going out and buying shares after opening Demat accounts. It is risky to invest in shares unless and until you have studied the company and the sector in which it operates. Most of the people are investing in mutual funds. Today there are also products that help you invest for a day. Yes, there are people who are retired coming in to invest but interestingly, you also have young people now looking to invest in various financial instruments”. The young people he said were looking to invest in the medium and long term. The young investors were reinvesting in sips and due to the boom in the share market, some people were venturing into the share market. Interestingly he said there were people now looking at the international market and were investing in mutual funds that were invested in the American, UK and Chinese markets.

Sumedh who used to frequent clubs said people who used to go to clubs were now frequenting each other’s houses and having parties. These were small affairs and would usually mean 8-10 people. People he said were generally chilling at home and saving money. They were, he said, waiting for the place to open up post which they would start spending again. He pointed out that some people were looking to travel to Delhi and other places which were partially open. People he said were staying calm and riding it out. They were ordering good food at home and living life. No one he said was saving anything by not going out. That’s another way of looking at it.

Prateek Sawhney smiled and said home chefs were raking in money. He said “The people who went partying in these clubs are not Goans but tourists. Do you find locals in these places? We eat in other places. Now some of that has been curtailed. Places like Copper Leaf have taken a beating, Burger factory is now down but Swiggy and Zomato are doing very good business. Initially people took a hit but then as always everyone adjusted and are now living their lives”.

Husaifa Arsiwala a regular visitor to Goa from Mumbai for business and pleasure said there was some minor saving that would take place because he would not go out partying but it usually evened itself out in the long run.

Saving money in these times and how much one saves thanks to not indulging in certain activities may depend on every individual but it can be said that while for some these minor savings mean nothing. However for a younger individual these could mean something substantial when looked at over a period of time. It all depends on the individual.