The Nudge Foundation - 21 Day Challenge - Day 11

So I am on day 11 now. For those of you who are reading this blog for the first time, the background to this challenge is here and here is where you can contribute.

Over the past 11 days I have had interesting perspectives from some close friends. Some curious, some skeptical, some interesting queries and debates. Now as I said, I decided to do this at very short notice, so it wasn't clear to me what it would be included or excluded in my Rs. 100 per day budget. Two young techies did something similar in 2011. So in hindsight I should have added another Rs. 20-30 for inflation. But I didn’t, so Rs. 100 it is.

As per me and Big Boss its going well so far (NK don’t smirk). Food consumption, entertainment, eating out, electricity, hot water consumption, drinking water consumption etc. are all within control. However I had also said I would make some exceptions for practical reasons. Travel in the city being one of them. Mostly if I have to travel far, I make sure that it is not alone. Technically I should use public transport and given the cost of public transport also in Mumbai, I can't spend more than Rs. 10-15 on travel beyond 3-4 km. I didn’t strictly follow the odd-even rule of walking to office on alternate days but have started doing so from today.

Now getting back to my friends, I group them into 3 categories - Flexible, Questioning and Orthodox. Lets call them DA, AK, and NK. 

DA wanted to know about what I would do if I was invited to a social function and I knew that per plate cost there exceeded my budget, what would I do. This one was simple. I would attend the function but not eat there, and inform the host about my cause and give him/her the link to my site. Now if it was a work situation and I needed to be with some people out for a meal. This one is trickier, because no one else is allowed to pay for me, and if I pay I exceed the budget. I haven't faced this situation so far and so I don’t know what I would do, truth be told. And he was ok with my explanations. But then he is a friend who doesn't judge me and I know him for like 35 years.

AK, not so accepting and mildly judgemental too. AK also knows me too well, and knew my weak areas. And questioned me on all of them. Eating less or drinking less is not hard for you says AK. If you are taking up a challenge, then you should be doing something that pushes your boundaries. I explained to AK, how this was not just about eating less or drinking less water or skipping a few baths ( only 2 so far :-) ), but that I am also sleeping down on the floor and using a blanket that costs less than Rs. 100, walking to office, using less water, and other spending is completely zero. AK says that is doing “Tamasha”. And I say that Tamasha for a good cause is good. Tamasha is not used in a derogatory sense here but more in the context of doing Tamasha to draw attention to something with a rationale. And I have to clarify this because my next friend, NK, is going to be reading and looking at this with a judgmental lens. (And I loved the movie btw. Ranbir, DP and Imitiaz did a fab job. This Indian Express review is one of the best I have read so far of the movie). But I digress. So I said to AK that doing Tamasha is not usually my style, and if I am doing Tamasha and putting myself out there even to 10 people, that is a lot for me as I am a very closed, introverted and private person. And so even this blogging and sharing and talking about myself and asking people to contribute is pushing my boundaries. The old me would have simply written a cheque and moved on. AK got a bit "odd" then "even" about it and still is. On alternate days AK, is "ok" and next day "not ok" - somewhere in the middle. Doing this is also pushing my boundaries and challenging for me. DA knows that. So do AK and NK. 

NK is the most orthodox of them all. NK expected me to suddenly transform myself into something else the next day and almost be living in rags, sleeping out, travelling by public transport everywhere (not even hitch a ride with my family). In other words - be on the streets and sing - "Chhat hai woh aasman, dharti hai baap-ma" - The sky is my roof and the earth is my parent who will take care of me - literally. And I have got a lot of FRIENDLY grief and ribbing from this friend. NK thinks I should be going through a lot more hardship than what I am already going through. And more about the travel. NK has no other area of criticism. There isn’t. And perhaps NK is partly right because travel is a pain in Mumbai. So that would be a challenge. And this is one area of improvement for me as I have already said above. So walking to office it is. And NK’s intent is good so no issues there. And I am sure NK will contribute money to the cause and continue to give me grief and I will continue to silently listen. Anything for the cause. NK - this ends on the 21st. Until then I control :-)

Now the old me would have got worked up and said what right do these three (imaginary and fictional) friends have to judge me. I am doing something for a good cause. Little big of transgression is allowed. But the new improved and upgraded me - who practices mindfulness courtesy Jon Kabat-Zinn - decided to take a pause. I didn't react. I decided to introspect, do some research and then respond. Next time it will be more specific. But its good to have all three honest view because they all teach me one thing - truth is reflection of facts through your own lens. The same me is viewed differently by three people. So beyond a point do your own thing. And be true to yourself. 

Now all this also got me thinking about how to set rules for such a challenge - What exactly does "Living on Rs. 100 per day" mean and what all should it include. It should be practical as well be a challenge. I went to Amazon and looked for some kindle books and downloaded a few samples. I can't buy books remember. So some kind of template on such challenges is what I will post next time.

Until then here is the link: I am 42% there and 10 more days to do am sure will get to 100% with all your support.

http://thenudge.ketto.org/anishteli

With a Nudge

Anish

PS: Thank you DA, AK and NK for giving me material for this post.

The Nudge - 21 Day Challenge - Pause for a Cause

So far this blog has been about Investing, Trading but now for the next few days I will also be taking liberty under the Et Al in the title and write about my 21 Day challenge to live under Rs. 100 per day for 21 days, to raise Rs. 1 lac for the Nudge Foundation which is run by my ISB batchmate Atul Satija. For every day that I am successful, I will be contributing Rs. 5000 ( have upped it from Rs. 3000 earlier). So now I will be contributing Rs. 1.05 L and My target is raise Rs. 1.05 L in 21 days. I have raised Rs. 28,000 till now and I want to give a special thanks to all those who have contributed even before I started the challenge. Thanks for the pressure. 

Here is the link incase you want to contribute and have ADHD and I may lose you later. 

http://thenudge.ketto.org/anishteli

On 1st of January 2016, The Nudge foundation (T/NF )launched “The Nudge ‘21 day’ challenge and is on a mission to sustainably bring a million people out of poverty. I had been reading about Nudge ever since it was launched and was proud that a batchmate of mine (Halo effect) was doing something meaningful with his life once he had reached a point in life where he had made ENOUGH for his family and decided to do something, I can only dream of doing someday. So more power to you, Atul. 

While most of us do guilt trip once in a while and do what I call - cheque book charity - I had decided about two months ago that it was time to actually do something. I have started small and will write about what I am doing later. But this post is about The/Nudge.

Back to the 21 Day Challenge. The night before signing up, on the 27/28 of Dec 2015, I was reading about Sujit Mathew and his pledge to live under Rs. 100 a day and raise money for Nudge. And once I saw the videos etc of the Gurukul and went though the Nudge website, I decided to join the cause. For once in my life I decided on an impulse, but one that had been probably been building up for a while. And before I could change my mind I went and made my decision public by signing up on Ketto and it was done. Now there was no turning back. And I was yet to tell my wife. I was sure she would be supportive. And she was - except there was a naughty smile on her face when I told her about the pledge. She was like - are you sure you can do this ? Have you thought this through? And I proudly said "Yes and No respectively". Par ek baar maine commitment kar di..... (aur publicly  kardi to ab to karna padega).

Now it helps that we finance types and accountants are good at goal seek. So I will balance the books alright .... without cooking them. So first was to make a not to do list. Then make a food, commute and other misc consumption budget. I will write more about that in the next few posts. But first big bang reforms (agli baar meri sarkaar)

Big ticket items off the list:

 - Eating out for the next 21 days (unless its under my budget of Rs. 15 per meal)

 - Electricity in the room when I am alone (I use a solar powered reading lamp)

 - Lights/fan/ac in office. My office is lit well by sunlight and its winter. ;-)

 - Most dairy products (it helps to be lactose intolerant. I have one spoon milk in my tea)

 - Hot water shower (no cold water shower either). Slowly wean myself off hot water to luke warm to room temperature to cold water. This is one of my weak points. But I have reserves in other departments. And in extreme times I may forget to have a bath. Call it the Axe effect. Pun intended. ;-) 

 - Clean drinking water (Atul warned me about this. But hey, I don't need more than 1/2 lt a day. Ya seriously)

 - Kejri formula of odd-even. I need to be in office by 8.59 am. Walk on odd days and drive on even. Don't cry for me fellow Indians. My office is only a couple of kms away and I still drive (shame shame) to work.

 - No buying books on Amazon when I am getting bored and need to read. I have a lot of stuff I can read otherwise also. So Amazon.in You are blocked.

-  Mobile data off. Data usage only in wifi zones. Whatsapp may not be the most reliable way to reach me over the next few days. Text me. And my friends - if i give you missed calls - please call back. It for a cause :-)

So above are the list of don'ts. Will keep adding to it. Later will be the list and allowed items on my budget. There are some exceptions. And Big Boss (my wife) is watching over me. And I keep reminding her its for a cause and not for the Guiness book of records, so please go easy on me. But heck she won't. As ex-FM Pranabda would say in his bengali accent - It is time to follow the "boojet" (budget for my non-bong readers). So I have paused (partly) on my spending and I hope that it helps The/Nudge - the cause.

And if you have made it up till here, then here is the link again. 

http://thenudge.ketto.org/anishteli

More later

Mazel Tov

Anish