It was a lazy lockdown afternoon. Sayali Rai had just sat down with her girlfriends in the living room of her home in Mumbai. After a fair bit of banter and catching up, the topic of the conversation switched to finance — which, as a former investment banker, is a topic Sayali fancied. But what she got to hear was not comforting at all. Most of her women friends, despite being accomplished in their respective careers, often depended on the men in their lives to manage their finances. Financial management, for most of them, was either scary or boring.
Sayali dished out some lifesaving (and cash-saving) lessons and her friends were super happy.
This then led her to wonder how many more young people out there have the same worries. So, on Independence Day of 2020, she started FinCocktail, an Instagram handle, to help people become financially independent. Now, Fincocktail is anything but boring. Sayali and her Co-Managing Partner Niyati Thacker simplify finance tips for you in the most engaging way possible. Do not be surprised to see five-second long reels and quirky boomerangs that can help you understand a fair bit about investing in just a few seconds (or minutes).
"We know how easily people stay away from finance because it is very complicated. But it is the need of the hour," says Sayali. The handle has close to 5,000 followers currently. While Fincocktail's audience is young people who do not know much about finance, Sayali says that creating engaging content is the only way to grab their attention. "The whole point was to make it fun. I personally enjoy finance. I love to know where my money is going and how it is growing. It is fun," says the 29-year-old Mumbaikar.
Sayali started investing when she was quite young. Her parents, who both work in the finance field did it for her initially and she took over it soon. She says how she even invested the little money she made out of her internships. "A lot of young people think that you need a lot of money to start investing. But little do they know that you can start off by investing a sum as little as Rs 500 a month in mutual funds. It's not important that you invest a lot, but it is important that you invest," she says. She also says that anytime is a good time to invest. "The earlier you start, the more time you get to evolve and make your money grow," she reminds us.
To Sayali's and Niyati's surprise and excitement, they have had one-on-one sessions with women who have reached out to them seeking advice on money management. "I have also gotten messages from my guy friends about how their wives now question them about what they do with their money because they follow FinCocktail. Both are win situations for us," Sayali laughs. She says that their biggest goal right now is to impact as many people as they can. "Even if one person decides to invest because of us, it is a great achievement," she says.
Reach Out: Instagram: @FinCocktail
