By Tensing Rodrigues
On Tuesday we tried to tackle one of the fundamental questions that keeps us off from an elaborate investment planning. But probably there are more of those at the back of our mind. One of these could be : Is it possible to save anything in times of growing expenses ? This existentialist problem seems to be quite widespread.

There is no denying prices keep rising. But, let us be frank, so do our incomes. Living in a haze of self-pity does not help in any way. If our income rises a little, it is so nice; we can manage so much better. But what about reducing our expenses a little ? Wouldn’t that help to manage a little better ? Let’s face the truth : a good part of our expenses are superfluous; the heavens will not come crashing down if you cut them, after some time you will not even notice the difference; better still, the cut may leave you a little healthier and fitter ! We love to talk of the good old days when air was clean and trees plenty; but we conveniently forget that there were fewer choices on the table and that one walked to school. If you really mean to have the good old days back, why not cut out the butter cookies and cycle to the superstore ? We need to decide and walk our talk; the investment plan can then proceed unhindered. How much more joy is there in seeing your son gain admission into IIT, Powai than in the momentary kick from a Chivas Regal ?
Another question that often rankles our minds is : How much do I provide for the goals of my grihasthar ? This is a very dicey question, because the search for its answer or rather avoiding answering it, leads us into a senseless accumulation of wealth.  The goals of grihasthar, as we have seen earlier, are two fold – to provide for our children and to provide for our own old age. If you feel something is still left, then you could be suffering from some illusion; do not worry, most of us do.
How much do we need for our old age ? Quite a lot. You need to have a good, balanced, healthy diet; and that costs. You need a comfortable bed and a shelter above. You cannot manage all your tasks at this age; so you need help. There will be lot of things which you would have liked to do earlier, but could not, for want of time; you need to do them at least now; definitely indulge in your passions. All this adds up to a lot. But beyond that, anything is meaningless; for instance, leaving behind an estate. When you are dead and gone how does it matter at all ? So just work out an investment plan to die with a contented feeling of having lived, and lived to the full !
And how much do you need to provide to your children ? Not more than they need. How much does a hen provide to her chicken ? How much does a seed provide to the sapling ? Just enough to be on their own. That is all that they need. More than that may spoil them. And it may become a shackle in their ankles, restraining them from flying on the wings of their dreams. How many children have wasted their lives looking after their inheritance ? Getting them ready to fly to their own goals, is all that matters.
And that requires money; creating that corpus should be one goal of your investment planning. But besides the funds it requires your interest, time and effort. Without that your investment plan will go waste.
As I said at the outset, investment planning seems to be all about money; but it is not. It is about our dreams for life, what we consider the mission of our life. But if we cease to dream, if we lose track of the mission, it turns out to be about insecurity, fear and despair. The choice is ours.