29/11/2025
The Quiet Gap Between Spending and Realising
Today, we are surrounded by UPI.
Wherever we go, a QR code is waiting — ready for a quick tap, a quick payment.
From vegetable vendors to auto drivers, from paan shops to luxury stores… everyone is just one scan away from your bank account.
And without thinking too much, we pay. Two taps, and the money is gone.
But this wasn’t the case earlier.
Cash had a feeling attached to it.
Holding a ten-rupee note, hesitating before giving a ₹500 note, opening the wallet and thinking, “Should I really buy this?”
That small pause protected us.
It made us mindful.
UPI has removed that pause.
With convenience, it has also removed the small discomfort that used to control our spending — what experts call the “pain of paying.”
Because you don’t see money going out, you don’t feel it.
Last week, when I checked my monthly expenses, it hit me hard.
My food delivery bill had doubled.
Random payments, forgotten subscriptions, sudden purchases — all silently added up while I wasn’t paying attention.
Convenience had made me careless.
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My Father’s Simple Wisdom
My father still prefers cash.
Once a month, he withdraws money and hands it to my mother.
He says it helps him stay connected to reality.
Earlier, I laughed at his habit.
Now I understand the wisdom.
There is discipline in limits.
Cash makes you aware of what is coming in and going out.
With UPI, everything feels affordable — until you see the bank balance.
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Convenience Has a Cost
Going cashless is not wrong.
Technology is not the enemy.
But the speed of spending should never be faster than the speed of thinking.
UPI will stay.
But mindfulness must stay too.
That small inner voice that says “Think once more” must stay.
Because the real problem is not in the wallet.
The real problem lies in the silent space between spending… and realising.
