I Wasn’t Paying Attention.

I met Priti Rathi Gupta in March this year, and instantly got hooked on her app, LXME.

Until then, I always thought I was pretty good with money.

I earned well. I had a couple of SIPs. I had some money invested in equity. I wasn't someone who spent wildly or bought things I didn't need. So, naturally, I assumed I was doing fine.

My husband didn't quite agree.

He would often say, “I know you earn well, but I always wonder where all the money goes.”

I would laugh and tell him that I really didn't know either. And honestly, that was probably the truth.

I wasn't bad with money. I just wasn't particularly disciplined about it either.

I would save here, invest there, spend on something in between, and somehow convince myself that because I was earning and investing, I had it all figured out.

Then I met her and discovered LXME.

Something about the way the app made saving feel simple and intentional clicked with me.

I started paying a little more attention to what I was doing with my money.

I didn't suddenly become the person who tracks every rupee or knows exactly what the market is doing every morning. I just started saving more consciously.

And then, last month, something happened that made me realise that perhaps I had actually made some progress.

We were shopping at DLF Emporio when my husband spotted a branded watch.

He doesn't usually ask for things.

So when he found one he really liked, he spent quite a bit of time looking at it before finally deciding, “Okay, I'll take this one.”

Before he could reach for his wallet, I simply went ahead and paid for it. The look on his face was priceless. He was amused. And, I think, a little surprised.

He genuinely hadn't thought I would have that kind of money saved.

Which was particularly funny because this was the same man who had been telling me for years, “You earn well. Where does all the money go?”

I told him about LXME. But the part I didn't expect was what happened afterwards.

He now proudly shows the watch to friends and family. And every time he does, I find myself smiling.

He is usually the one buying things for everyone else. He rarely asks for anything himself.

So being able to buy something he really wanted, without thinking twice about whether I could afford it, felt surprisingly good.

It also made me think about how I had always looked at financial discipline.

I used to associate it with spreadsheets, investments and retirement planning.

But sometimes it is much less complicated than that. And that's what I like most about this whole experience. I didn't become a completely different person with money. I just became a little more intentional about it.

And now, every time my husband shows someone that watch, I say to myself:

Okay. Maybe I finally know where some of the money went. And yes, there will be a few more gifts coming his way.