Page 21 - Seniorstoday July 2022 Issue
P. 21

and sustain us till our end. Wealth can             incapacitated by an accident or lose
        be as easy to understand and as complex,            business thereby disabling you from
        depending on our own situational reality.           earning; so, you have to save for that
        Notwithstanding all the publicly available          contingency. You cannot be a burden or
        information and guidance on wealth and              dependent financially on anyone, if you can
        investment, the biggest challenge for               help it.
        a person is to get the right and honest
        financial advisor who will understand her or        Q – How much should I spend?
        him and provide bespoke solutions.                  A – It is not about how much you should
                                                            spend, rather it should be how much you
                                                            wish to save. If you wish to save 40% of
                                                            your income, your expenditure should not
                                                            be more than 60%. If you wish to save 70%,
                                                            your expenditure should not be more than
                                                            30%. Expenditure should be a function of
                                                            your savings objective. It is for you to take
                                                            that decision. But saving is a must and non-
                                                            negotiable, whatever your age.


                                                            Q -  How much should I provide for roti,
                                                            kapada aur makaan ?
                                                            A – These are needs for sustenance, you
                                                            cannot dispense with them. At the same
                                                            time, it should be tempered. Not more
                                                            than 70% of your expenditure should be
                                                            allocated to these needs, health included.
                                                            This is so that you have enough left to
                                                            satisfy your wants likes gadgets and
                                                            vehicles and lifestyle products and handle
                                                            any contingencies. In all this, we should
                                                            not forget to give in charity, for we are all
                                                            beneficiaries of someone’s munificence.
         As a dreamer of sorts, I am imagining an
        hour-long ‘arthasatsang’ presided over              Q – There are so many investment
        by Chanakya, addressing an audience                 options available today – like equities,
        of the young and the old of today and               FDs, MFs, debentures, government
        lucidly answering their contemporary                securities, etc – where should I invest and
        questions on finances and wealth. Here              what should be the allocation to these?
        goes the imaginary scenario and interesting         A – There are no definitive answers,
        interactions.                                       given the ever-changing macro and micro
         Question – I am just 26 and am earning,            dynamics of each of these. It is a question of
        why should I save?                                  relative risk, reward and safety of capital.
         Answer – You may be fired or                       At any given age, investments in fixed


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