Latest / Thursday Think Bites / Episode 41 - The money we had but couldn't use
Transcript
- Prashanthi Nuthi: Hello friends, this week I was rushing for my CT scan appointment and as I did not know how much it would cost, I was fumbling with my HSA cards and credit cards not knowing which one to carry along with me. Suddenly my husband said take them all and he also gave me a backup card just in case. As I headed out and started driving, I remembered a very unique trip that I took with my family almost 30 years back. Maybe the memory came back because it was similar time of the year. Everybody was prepping for Ganesh Chaturthi. And we got this wonderful news that my sister had gotten a US visa and we had to go to Bombay to get her visa stamped and see her off. my mom started budgeting enough cash to carry for a one week long trip. That's how we used to travel back then. We had no credit cards. We used to travel with cash as soon as we reached Bombay, we realized one week was going to become two weeks because of additional paperwork. And we were not prepared for it. And we had no family or friends there. So we moved to a cheaper hotel. tried to find less expensive places to eat and we stretched as much as possible. My dad was even able to get her a small send-off gift, a purple jacket that he bought from a street vendor. It was not like we didn't have money. We had lots sitting at home, but we did not have access to it. We even missed the festival at home and we watched the celebrations in a city with strangers. And here I was 30 years later getting delayed for an appointment because I had too many options to choose from. It was such a funny feeling. And that's when I realized life around me had changed so much and I had barely acknowledged it. So here's the microboost for you today. Think about a simple thing you did today. Maybe you swiped your card. a small transaction. You spoke to a friend across the world. You listened to your favorite music. You watched that favorite show. And ask yourself how you would have done that maybe 10, 20, 30 years back. And you'll be amazed. I hope you feel the gratitude how the ordinary things today used to be. extraordinary things way back then. Remember small actions, big impact until we meet again next time. Let's keep making impact together. Thank you guys.