Give me a number as big as you want. I can make it small just by adding one (1) to it! That is the power of the small number.

My first book said Retire Rich – Invest Rs. 40 a day. Seriously I do not wish to keep saying..that this can have a great impact.

Now let me give you one more idea. Try putting away a small amount every day – especially if you are a young person trying to get into the habit of saving. Try investing Rs. 300 a day. No it is not too much. You blow more than that on one pack of cigs. Or 2 cups of coffee in Starbucks. Why Starbucks, even Cafe Coffee Day.

In case you are slightly older, see where your money is going. It normally goes in the big 3 – housing, transport, and eating out. Sure there are some people who are frugal in these 3 items, but will splurge in a vacation – their choice, but it is really these 3 which are big.

Some amazingly unconventional things I see young people do – recently I saw an IT professional moonlight as a Uber driver. Says he uses it to and from work, and when he goes on long drives – where he has to take the car! He earns more than the EMI+Petrol expenses. Lol. Never thought of this. He was going to Navi Mumbai from Santacruz when he picked me up. He was at the airport to drop off his wife…so he was earning his return fare!!

Met another kid considering buying a 3/4 bhk in a good location of Mumbai. Logic? Airbnb. Hopes to recover society charges, maid expenses, etc. by giving off 2 rooms..they are a young couple with hardly any belongings. Want to rent it only to young women – and wish to charge a premium rate.

I did these stories because both these men are in their early 30s – have a conventional job – but willing to think so much out of the box. I am sure many of us cannot. I cannot imagine letting out a part of my house. Of cours I will justify that I need not, but the truth is mentally I cannot.

So I told both these men to target saving Rs. 2000 a DAY…(about US $ 30)…and invest it in a mutual fund…and that would be their Retirement corpus. Surely this is not a very small amount, but for a side hustle to generate this is awesome. See how much the kitty will be in a few years time. It allows these kids to drive a nice car, or own a nice house – with somebody pitching in for the indulgence.

I Met a woman married to a hot shot executive and having a 3 year old kid. She has taken a break from her regular job. However she makes a lot of money doing mystery shopping for luxury brands, hotels, banks – remember it pays well. Given her profile she makes Rs. 12-15k for a 2/3 hour job – and she gets one assignment a week WITHOUT trying. Well it works for her.

What can you do with say Rs. 2000 a day?

Well if you are young, you can do a SIP or if you are up to your eyes in debt, you can start repaying the loans a little faster. Imagine paying Rs. 30k a month towards your credit card loan, student loan, car loan or even housing loan.

If you do not have a loan, can you pay the EMI for your dad’s car? Imagine how he will be filled with pride (and gratitude, if he is really struggling).

NOW Imagine Rs. 50,000 a month in a SIP for 20 years…and remaining untouched for 20 years AFTER THAT. You are now 28, you stop investing at 50 in this fund, but withdraw from your age of 70. Can you imagine what a sizeable pension it could become?

Welcome to the world of ‘small numbers’. Well I deliberately choose Rs. 50000 a month as a ‘small’ number. Even if it is Rs. 5000, remember the principle remains the same. It is just that the impact will be different. if you are a software engineer earning Rs. 19L CTC – like the Uber driver was – do you think he was doing it for 5000 a month? NO. He had bought the car in his mother’s name using his own money, and was making sure that the tax impact of the Uber income was dramatically reduced by claiming depreciation too.

Smart kids? both born post 1987. I was impressed.