Death seldom comes as good news unless it is a pest in your
house and by pests I purely mean lizards, cockroaches or rats. Death can be an
even more painful event if it is that of a near or a dear one. And it can get
gruesomely painful to know that the one deceased had yet years to live by,
responsibilities to fulfil, a life to envisage and decades yet to give. Today,
I have witnessed one such heart breaking events of my life.
Sonu was 37 years old, healthy, smart, handsome, intelligent,
successful, happily married, a blessed father and a dutiful son. I say this
without exaggeration. He drowned yesterday to an untimely death. He was
devoured by the swimming pool where he was playing with his son. The family is desolate of course. He leaves
behind two boys and the wife completely clueless about how to handle this thing
called Life from hereon. Sonu did everything. He made the money, he saved the
money, he invested it and he spent it. He planned the vacations; he planned the
parties and much more. I do not mean to disregard the wife’s contribution but
he was in charge of the ‘monies’ saved or spent. What happens now that Sonu is
not around? After all he may have budgeted for many a things but death was not
what he budgeted for. Well, Not Yet!!
So, after all the gloom settles down and when Sonu becomes
only a memory, memory of all the past times, What next??? As they say, the Show
Must Go On. Picture Abhi Baaki Hai Mere Dost. Sadly, memories do not buy you
ration, fondness or love does not pay the school fees, tears may wash away some
of your pain but they will never wash away the hardships of life. Those, have
to be faced up close. I hate to break this to anyone who has any doubts but Money
still remains the most sought after commodity on this planet only after oxygen
that is. Thankfully, Oxygen is free but Money does not yet grow on trees.
So, if you haven’t done it yet, make a checklist today and ensure
a few pointers:
- Does your spouse (be it the husband or the wife) know where are all the papers related to your bank accounts, investments, tax returns, etc are? I personally maintain one hardcopy of each investment made and store it in a folder. This folder contains all our investments be it mutual funds, insurance or the land deal I made with Robert Vadra (Yes! Don’t under estimate the power of Yamini Sood)
- Do you have life insurance? And by that I mean term insurance. U better have it unless you have been told by a Nadi astrologer that you will live till 80. And if you have believed that enough to ignore insurance, you may also want to believe that you can still wear diapers under your pants and look cool.
- We live in an e-world with most things online. Collate all such money related information, passwords as per your convenience and share the location with your better half.
- Demat Accounts, Mutual Funds have the wonderful option of Nomination. Ensure that your spouse has been nominated under all your investments. Putting your spouse’s name as the second holder in the bank account is not just wise but also very convenient for all the extra ordinary times when you may not be physically around (travel, etc) while some bank work needs to be attended to.
- Let your spouse know about your monthly liabilities, EMIS, utility bills. Chances are he/ she may already be aware but its better if you are not trying to be a super man/super woman keeping all the thorns to yourself and showing your spouse that life is a bed of roses.
- If you have a huge housing loan, it is advisable to have a home insurance too. You may be paying your EMI diligently and may have plans to pre pay the loan soon but there is something known as contingency planning. Devil lies sometimes in detail and sometimes in unserviceable EMIs
- Be prepared for the unexpected. I am not saying be prepared to die. But, if ur Karma is not a bitch, your organisation may choose to be so. Be prepared to lose your job, face a large unanticipated medical calamity or worst of all you may decide to produce ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo’ and go bust (I have advance sympathies for Rajshree Productions)
- Above all, try to spend less and save more. Save first and then spend the remaining. Learn about investing. You can start with many You Tube videos if reading blogs or opinion pages sounds scarier than watching a Kamal R Khan movie.Disclaimer: This post is targeted at the young and working in their late thirties or early forties. Not that this piece of advice will not apply to those who have just started or are towards the fag end of their careers. But, their financial checklist would include or exclude a few more items which I haven’t included in this post to keep it short, simple and bitterly sweet. {Psssst.. Also, I am too lazy to write}
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