Have I learnt to budget? Well, I tended to be extravagant, but now I'm more practical. I'm not a big saree spender. Or jewellery. Or crystal. I love collecting art though. And plants. And books. And music. When I go abroad, I pick up deodorants. And sometimes good linen, although I love Indian cotton. Oh, chocolates! Belgian chocolates!! Actually, I'm still a bit of a spendthrift.

I'm not really a money person. A quick buck doesn't fascinate me. Myhusband is more adventurous and ambitious and has all the grand plans. I'm a bit of a purist. I'd rather put it in a bank for a small but steady return.None of my dreams are related to money. To me money means convenience. And while I like the convenience, I don't like the dependence. I would love to check into a 5-Star hotel for three days, no cooking, no making beds, no phones, but its very transient. Money has made me some friends, made me some enemies. It gave me a great education, the opportunity to travel. I love travelling. I love China. Amazing country, something like Alice in Wonderland. I want to go to Greece, always fantasized about it.

My father was in the Air Force, so we travelled a lot; lived a 5-Star life on a 2-Star salary. The biggest tragedy today is that the Armed Forces are being politicised -- we no longer have that cohesive spirit. I would have loved to join, but as women you were automatically prescribed and that makes me gender sensitive.

I don't know if TV really did us a favour.And now this credit card system--the biggest danger. There are no free handouts in the financial world. Amazing for an intelligent nation like India we all got so greedy on the stock market that we lost our sense of proportion. Money is a scientific tool -- it has to be understood.