Cash is not an asset and will not make you rich, but it can buy you time and clarity, says CA

As the new year nudges people to rethink money habits, a growing conversation is questioning the obsession with constant optimisation. While social media often glorifies investing every spare rupee, some voices are reminding people that financial strength is not always about returns. Sometimes, it is about breathing room. A recent LinkedIn post by CA Abhishek Walia, founder of Zactor Money, has struck a chord by reframing the role of cash in everyday life decisions.

CA Abhishek Walia shared that for a long time, he believed holding cash meant doing something wrong. To him, idle money felt inefficient because it was not compounding or being optimised. It simply sat there, seemingly failing the basic test of smart investing. That belief stayed with him until he began observing how real-life decisions are actually made, far away from spreadsheets and perfect financial models.

Walia noticed a clear pattern. People who had cash buffers were able to walk away from toxic or unfulfilling jobs without panic. Others took career-defining risks because they knew they had something to fall back on. Situations that could have spiralled into full-blown financial crises were softened into manageable inconveniences, simply because cash was available at the right time.


These experiences slowly changed his perspective. Walia explained that cash does not behave like a traditional asset. It does not beat inflation, nor does it maximise returns in the way equities or other investments aim to. Yet, it offers something far more powerful in moments that truly matter.


According to him, cash buys time. It buys clarity. Most importantly, it buys the freedom to say yes or no without desperation clouding judgment. While many portfolios are designed to look impressive during calm market conditions, very few are built for moments when life demands a fast and irreversible decision.

In those high-pressure situations, Walia pointed out that return optimisation becomes irrelevant. What matters instead is the quality of decisions being made. Cash, in his view, is not meant to make someone rich. Its real purpose is to protect people from making expensive mistakes when they are under stress. He emphasised that this approach should not be mistaken for inefficiency. Holding cash, he argued, is a deliberate strategy. It is a quiet form of insurance that does not show up on performance charts but proves its value when life refuses to follow a predictable plan.