Sounds funny to most of my friends and peers that I ride a bicycle to office. Infact I have been jeered at for doing so but I fail to understand why it is considered as lowering one's status. It does pain when I know that I have been laughed at for riding a bicycle, when riding means a lot to me.
It is hard to imagine why my friends who have also done thier MBAs can't do some simple calculations. If one looks at the system called organisation - it revolves around the concept of raising liability to create assets, (fixed or in this age of knowledge even human beings) which provide you value - or to point precisely they are called profits. Isn't that business or for that matter even our personal finance is all about? Let us see..
What does one get when one raises debt from the bank (debt is a liability!!) and buys a car (thats a fixed asset) and commutes daily in it. I forgot to add that current liability goes into buying fuel (assuming that one uses the credit card for buying the gas) and drivers pay if one engages a driver. What have you got on your current assets side - a portion of your salary. Car's EMI does shrink one's working capital right?? What do you finally get? - comfort (of intangible value) and status!!
How I wonder - times have changed a full circle - there was a day when owning assets was status. Now how much of liability you have and how much is your credit limit on the card is a symbol of status! Put simply owning a liability becomes status, while one's personal finance is bleeding!
Take my cycle now
1. Costed me Rs 2700/-. The asset was sweated in roughly 3 months time. I spend around Rs 800 p.m. on my conveyance to work.
2. More importantly I sweat myself - Lost a few kgs - and have a flat tummy (may not be as flat as that of Susmita or Aishwarya)
3. Reached office in 25 to 30 minutes on an average covering 11 kms. Sounds strange but my cycle moves at 25 kmph - no comfort lost owing to its sleek design and light weight.
As opposed to
Traveling by bus which means 45 minutes because it takes a longer route. Car or bike would mean a hit on my current assets. Not to mention the lack of physical exercise !
So what was so wrong in riding the bicycle? What status have I lost? I am definitely not interested in owning a car, which I really don't own because its bloody mortgaged to a goddamn bank which breaths down my neck every month for EMI !
A bicycle gives me a feeling of freedom, I don't feel claustrophobic when I sit on it coz I am connected with the world, there is no metal around me. It gives me pleasure, it gives me fun and I love riding it - well the brighter side, my dear bicycle gave others too a chance to laugh for a while even if it was to jeer at me!!
