5 Money Management Lessons from the Mumbai Dabbawalas

Apart from Bollywood, Vadapav, Rains and Local Trains, the lively city of Mumbai is renowned for its superheroes too !

Superheroes? Yes, the Mumbai Dabbawalas!

Often called the lifelines of Mumbai, the Dabbawalas are known for their remarkable service of delivering lunchboxes from office to office.

They have been servicing the city since the 1890s and have been a world-wonder across the globe, with thousands and thousands of Mumbai Dabbawala case studies doing the rounds of the internet. Even top-notch institutions, including the Harvard Business School, have researched their work!

Mumbai Dabbawalas are well-known for their regular service, on-time delivery, no misplacing, and awe-inspiring management skills. Considering this, we thought, why now pull some money management lessons from the Dabbawalas?

Hence, grab your lunch, sit back and read till the end to discover investment lessons from the Mumbai Dabbawalas.

Top 5 Money Management and Investment Lessons from the Mumbai Dabbawalas

Here are some of the best lessons to learn from the Mumbai Dabbawalas-

1) Manage Your Dabba (Investments) Well

The first lesson, hands-down, to learn from the Mumbai Dabbawalas is their management skills. They are sheer PERFECT when it comes to managing thousands of Dabbas at once. They follow a simple go-to rule of Assemble-Segregate-Deliver!

This management rule has helped them deliver the tiffin boxes across the jam-packed city without a flaw.

Along similar lines, you should learn to manage your investment portfolio well. One way to do so is by diversifying and re-balancing as and when required.

Leaving your investments aside won’t bring you the wished returns. Hence, make sure to keep a close eye on each of your assets.

2) Be Patient while Journeying

Mumbai and its beloved traffic is a classic saga. It’s inevitable. Still, the dabbawalas pave their way out of this never-ending traffic, DAILY ! They simply keep their nerves calm, stay patient, and follow their route religiously.

An investor should take notes from the Dabbawalas and stay patient perpetually while investing. We all know earning the desired results from investment in stocks, mutual funds, F&O, etc., isn’t an easy sail. It requires persistent implementation of plans and strategies, which requires patience.

Hence, it is necessary to buckle yourself up to Keep Calm before diving into money management and investments.

3) Be a Risk-Dodger

Mumbai, being a costal-city, is prone to humid climates and heavy rainfalls. But no matter what the weather, there’s barely anything that obstructs the Dabbawalas. They fulfil their job despite the bad weather, ensuring the Dabba reaches its destination. This reflects their risk-taking capability.

Similarly, as an investor, you shouldn’t fear taking risks if you want to attain good returns. Simply analyse your risk appetite, calculate the amount of affordable risk, and then make investment decisions.

Remember, some losses may cross your path, hence keep your investment strategy flexible enough to mould as per the circumstances.

4) Leave Derisive Customers (Redeem When Required)

Lousy and lazy customers often hinder the scheduled routine of Dabbawalas. To combat the same, they leave such derisive customers and move on. Similarly, if certain investments aren’t yielding fruitful results, it is better to step away from them by redeeming them when required.

It is always better to reinvest in other options, which seems to be a beneficial one!

The only catch here is finding the right time to redeem and the right option to invest again.

5) Being Calculative

Dabbawalas often have to juggle between Mumbai's humid weather and heavy traffic to deliver tiffin boxes. They become tremendously calculative, given the circumstances. Along similar lines, an investor should try to hone good calculation skills to optimise their investments well.

One must determine their investments based on income, risk appetite, and economic factors. If you manage to crack the right balance, it will become easier to earn the desired results.