Behavioural Finance

What you delay today could cost you clarity, capital, and control tomorrow. A founder once told me: “I’ve been meaning to track monthly expenses and reconcile accounts... for the past 9 months.” Another said: “I know I should set up a salary structure, but I keep postponing it—other things feel more urgent.” This is procrastination in business finances—not due to incompetence, but due to overwhelm, discomfort, or avoidance.

The first number you hear shouldn’t set the price you pay. A client once told me: “The vendor quoted ₹80,000 for the software. I negotiated down to ₹68,000 and felt good—until I realized a competitor paid ₹50,000.” Another shared: “Once the supplier mentioned a 45-day delivery window, I stopped questioning it—even though we needed it in 30.” This is anchoring bias in action—a mental shortcut that quietly affects how you perceive value and negotiate.

Same deal. Different wording. Entirely different decision. A founder once told me: “I passed on a deal that felt too risky. Later, I saw someone describe it as ‘a 90% chance of success with 10% volatility’—and suddenly it felt doable.” Another shared: “When the vendor said ‘You’ll lose 15% margin,’ I backed out. If they’d said ‘You’ll still keep 85%,’ I might’ve taken it.” This isn’t about math.

You’re not overspending because you're reckless—you're just proving yourself right. A founder once said: “We tried influencer marketing, and it didn’t work. But I kept pouring money into it for 6 more months—because I wanted it to work.” Another purchased an expensive CRM software after one positive review, then ignored team complaints for over a year.

Sometimes, the worst loss is the one you keep trying to avoid. A business owner once admitted: “We kept spending on a product that never took off. We’d already sunk so much into development—we couldn’t bear to shut it down.” Another kept stocking a slow-moving product line for two extra years, saying: “We thought demand might bounce back. It didn’t. And it blocked our cash flow.” This isn’t bad strategy or poor judgment.

Less complexity doesn’t mean less friction—especially when habits and emotions are involved. A client once said: “I set a simple rule: spend only ₹5,000 a month on dining out. But by the 12th, I’d overshot it without realising.” Another shared: “We created a two-line budget—essentials and non-essentials. Somehow, it never matched what we actually spent.” At first glance, a simple budget seems like the easiest way to manage money. Fewer categories. Less data entry. Easy t