The investor who earlier sparked a row by saying a salary of ₹25 lakh per annum is “nothing” has now ignited a fresh controversy by advising people to put money in SIPs instead of buying a car. Sourav Dutta offered his controversial take in a post shared on the social media platform X.
The Europe-based investor and trader gave the example of a fictional character named Ravi, who was stuck with an EMI of ₹20,000 per month for five years after buying a car. Dutta suggested that Ravi would have been better off had he put his ₹20,000 per month into mutual fund SIPs.
(Also read: Investor sparks a row by saying ₹25 LPA salary is ‘nothing’ in this day and age)
He tried to prove his point with numbers, saying an SIP of ₹20,000 per month in Nifty ETF would grow to a bank balance of ₹17 lakh at the end of five years.
On the other hand, a car worth ₹10 lakh would depreciate to a value of ₹4 lakh by 2030, said Dutta.
“Life is about the choices we make,” he concluded. His post has gone viral with over half a million views in a matter of hours.
A target for trolling
While investment advice is dime a dozen on social media, Dutta’s take triggered a lot of people who pointed out that the purpose of life is not just to invest money but to live a little.
“You know what…Life isn’t a game where you end up with the most amount of money when you die. Not everything needs to be saved for later. Buying a decent car is a necessity. You save a lot of time and energy,” said one person.
Dozens of respondents also pointed out the practical drawbacks of living without a car. In fact, many started creating fictional scenarios of their own to question his financial advice.
“Ravi’s parent had a medical emergency. Ambulance couldn’t come very quickly. Thankfully Ravi had a car and could save his parent’s life. Life is all about choices and not giving gyaan on other’s personal finances,” wrote one X user.
“The problem here is that, when Ravi wants to go somewhere with his family at his convenient time without bargaining with the Ola or Uber fellow, he can’t print the ETF papers, sit over it and ask it to fly. It will not take him anywhere,” another quipped
Respondents also dismissed Dutta’s advice that a person is better off commuting with Ola and Uber instead of buying their own car, highlighting the many issues with ride hailing apps.
“There were heavy rains in the city. Ravi’s wanted to reach office on time for an important meeting. Ola/Uber didn’t come due to heavy demand. Ravi was late to office. He doesn’t have a salary now to invest in SIP,” an X user imagined.