Why can’t you pay EMI to yourself?

“How can we ever buy a home in pune?”

My roommate was staring at us after throwing this big question in our face.

(Some background check here. We, three roomies are working in IT companies. After working for three long years, one of my roommates is contemplating to get settled down and buy an apartment in pune)

“Can I ever buy a home?” my roommate was still in question mode.

“Maybe yes” .Now my other roommate sprung into action. “If we get a little pay raise/promotion we can afford the EMI for the flat. Our parents can contribute a little from their savings too. Moreover as our salary grows it will be a lot easier for us to pay EMI’s.”

“Are you sane?? If you wish to buy a flat in decent locality in pune you have to borrow a loan of at least 25 lakhs. An EMI option for next 15 years will make you pay more than 45 lakhs to the bank. Did you forget other factors like inflation, price hikes, education of children, any calamity etc? How are you going to manage everything in your salary?” The guy was now yelling at the top of his voice.

I was horror struck with this vision. Though the inorganic maths that my roommate had made didn’t make any sense to me, I got the gravity of the situation.

I was drifting through my own thoughts and then realized that hey, why do we always think in this way? Taking debts, buying things and paying more in instalments through our salary. Why always do we have to think that only jobs can make our lives better? 

People out there are building things, struggling with the hurdles, overcoming them and making a change. Out of our tiny little 9-5 world there are people who dare to think big ideas, ideas that can bring some change. They put everything on stake to bring their ideas in reality. They pitch their ideas, raise money, fail, iterate and again stand up to chase their dreams. While we were here making calculations about how we are going to afford apartments in our salaries. 

So, why don’t we pay EMI to ourselves? 

Think of that. We always see many people around us that complaint “I have so many ideas in my mind. I wish I had enough money to invest”. Why can’t we pay a small EMI to ourselves? So that we can think about new ideas, invest in them, act upon them and yes, turn them into profits. Why don’t we invest in entrepreneur communities like kick-starter, Wikipedia that are making some change out there? Why don’t we give a chance to an entrepreneur within us?

Lend some EMI to yourself. It is always better than paying someone else. The principal will help you to build your ideas and you can always have the interest. Think upon ideas, grow them, act on them, and give yourself a chance. You may not be able to churn any profit at its worse. You may not become next Mark Zuckerberg or Steve jobs. Still you will get an unparalleled experience and satisfaction which is more rewarding than anything else in life. If you think your idea can bring a good change in someone’s life it is worth investing.

So next time you are thinking about planning on buying new house or a new car on EMI. Just think about it! You can always pay an EMI (Entrepreneurial Monthly Installment) to yourself!