Hello!

We’re just a fortnight away from rolling out the carpet for 2023.

You could be thrilled, unexcited or anxious. And if you’re anything like me, you’re probably stuck. In 2019. 😕

But let’s face it. 2022’s fading away and folks like Swiggy are rolling out their report cards.

According to their annual trends report, biryani was the undefeated topper for the 7th straight year among most ordered foods — 2.28 biryani orders placed every second! That’s insane! Masala dosa and chicken fried rice took the second and third positions.

And in the desserts section, Gulab Jamuns reigned supreme!

But the most heartening thing from the report…

“A hat tip to our customers — Over 35 lakh customers came forward to tip our partners this year to the tune of INR 53 crores. 100% of these tips go to our delivery executives.”

We can all sprinkle some extra generosity this festive season, yes?

Here’s a soundtrack to get you in the mood 🎵

Philosophize by Parekh & Singh

I’m already a big fan of this duo and their dreamy music, so when our reader Sumanth Girish sent us this recommendation, naturally, I had to sneak it in!

Got a cup of coffee or hot chocolate to keep you company this wintery morning? Alright then, let’s crack on.

What caught our eye this week 👀

Is climate change turning sales strategies upside down?

Folks selling FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products seem to be in a sales strategy scramble.

Just before the onset of winter, they were stocking up on winter essentials like chyawanprash, honey, lotions, geysers and winter wear. For instance, Marico witnessed a double-digit uptick in body lotions in the last few months. And since consumer demand was picking up even before winter kicked in, they expected to see over 50% demand growth this season as compared to last year. More specifically in northern India.

But seems like the weather had other plans. In December, the IMD (India Meteorological Department) in its seasonal outlook for temperatures predicted that 2022’s winter will be warmer for north India and cooler for the south.

And they weren’t wrong after all. Delhi recorded its warmest November in six years. Will body lotions still fly off the shelves? It’ll be interesting to see what the outcome is.

Meanwhile, winter apparel also saw slow sales. Harkirat Singh, the managing director of Aero Club (the folks who make Woodland apparel and footwear) told the Economic Times that not-so-severe winters compelled them to make more of lighter pre-winter apparel. They thought this would be a safer bet than being stuck with heavy winter inventories.

What about aerated beverages?

Normally these would also slow down post-Diwali. But warmer winters meant that bottling partners of Pepsi and Coca Cola were upping their production cycles. Pepsi says that they have cooler infrastructure running all year round now. So it seems like aerated beverages aren’t seasonal products anymore.

From the looks of it, it does feel as though weather anomalies (courtesy, climate change) are creating all sorts of problems for FMCG companies! Strange times indeed.

Infographic 📊

Quirkonomics 💸

What came first ― the chicken or the egg?

Remember this riddle?

We’re sure you do. But wouldn’t you be baffled if we said that economists answered this in 1988?

Two researchers Walter Thurman and Mark Fisher published a paper in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics explaining their theory of what may have come first.

The idea is simple. If there was some way to collect data on all the eggs ever produced and all the chickens that ever existed and tabulated them year-wise in a chronological manner, and plotted the two graphs separately, you could look at the two graphs and tell what came first.

How?

Imagine I gave you two graphs — one that involved covid cases (tested positive) and the other that involved hospitalizations. If you look at the two graphs you will see that the covid cases help forecast hospitalizations, albeit with a lag. And therefore you could argue that covid cases came first. Hospitalizations (induced by Covid) happened later. Similarly, if you look at past data for egg production and chicken population in the US between 1930 and 1983 (which is what the researchers did) and run some statistical analysis, you could (with some degree of certainty) tell which one came first. And guess what they found?

Eggs came first.

But this is just economists? What do they know? We need to know what science thinks. So let’s look at that.

In 2010, scientists from the University of Sheffield and the University of Warwick wondered what made up the hard outer protection of an eggshell. And they discovered that it was all thanks to a protein called ovocleidin or OC-17. This OC-17 helped convert calcium carbonate in a chicken’s body into calcite crystals, thus forming egg shells. So the only way that egg shells could be formed is if the chicken came first.

But was it an actual chicken or some chicken-like ancestor?

I mean, what is a chicken after all?

….

God!!!

This is getting complicated. We will just leave it at this. You tell us - Chicken or Egg?

Money tips 💰

Budgeting on a spreadsheet can be quite scary.

Why?

Because you know exactly where you’re spending your money. If you’ve spent ₹3000 rupees on cappuccinos this month, it can be scary. Especially when you see articles that scream, ‘How Saving on Coffee Can Make You a Millionaire.’

Oh, by the way, if you invest that ₹3000 every month till the time you retire in 30 years, you could have an extra ₹1 crore in your pocket. So yeah, looking at a budget can be quite a tortuous affair. It induces guilt and makes us wonder, “What if!”

Is there a way to get around this?

Well, one of my favourite things to do is to simply track the net worth.

Let me explain. The first thing you do is jot down everything you own like — bank accounts and investments. Then take out everything you owe — loans. Is it in the green or red? Don’t worry if you’re starting out your career and have education loans and stuff. Your net worth will be negative. But the fun part? Seeing your net worth grow into the green and then keep growing from there.

Think of it like a financial scorecard that shows your progress. You don’t have to do it every single day. Maybe once in a quarter will do just fine. But the objective here is to get a snapshot of your financials and focus on the big picture i.e How do you make sure you keep growing your net worth by 20–25% every year? This helps you stay financially alert but also doesn’t bog you down with the pressure of keeping a tab on every single expense you incur over the month.

You won’t constantly fret about how that ₹300 you spend on coffee a few times a week is affecting your budget, and it’s not restrictive. Take the helicopter view and just focus on the net worth.

Just one more thing…

Did you get an email from your HR teams asking you to submit your investment proofs?

Well, we did.

They ask for proof so that they know how much tax to deduct before paying out your salary over the next few months. And if you haven’t got around to making some of your investments yet, fret not, there’s still time.

For instance, you could maximize your investments under Section 80C. You can claim up to ₹1.5L in deductions against investments like Equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS), life insurance premiums, employee’s provident fund, and more.

You could even tap into Section 80D. Here, you can save up to ₹75,000 on health insurance premiums based on the individuals covered under the policy.

So make sure you plan your investments carefully to optimally save on taxes. And if you need help choosing the right life insurance or health insurance policy, you know where to find us!

1. Just head to our website by clicking on the link here

2. Click on “Book a FREE call”

3. Select Term Insurance or Health Insurance

4. Choose the date & time as per your convenience and RELAX!

Readers Recommend 🗒️

10% Human by Alanna Colen

Thank you to our reader Ravishu Punia for this book recommendation.

Did you know that during our lifetime, we will carry the equivalent weight of five African elephants in microbes?

It sounds quite unbelievable, but it’s true.

“In this riveting, shocking, and beautifully written book, biologist Alanna Collen draws on the latest scientific research to show how our personal colony of microbes influences our weight, our immune system, our mental health, and even our choice of partner. She argues that so many of our modern diseases — obesity, autism, mental illness, digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmunity afflictions, and even cancer — have their root in our failure to cherish our most fundamental and enduring relationship: that with our personal colony of microbes.”

***

That’s it for today’s Sunny Side Up.

Do send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations We’d love to feature them. Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).

See you next week!

Also, don't forget to share this edition with your friends on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Twitter