Its Election Year!

We are planning a vacation to Kolkata and Delhi to be with my younger son for a few days. Have been therefore going through portals and sites checking for the best deal! It seems we should be able to manage a good deal, hopefully. We no longer take the train as its too cumbersome for my wife as she suffers from vericose veins and finds it difficult to sit for long streches.

Which brings me to an ad I am seeing in newspapers these days. You know its election year, when various ministries start putting out full page ads glorifying respective ministers. Similarly our civil aviation minister is sparing no efforts to get mileage! Yes, theres been a marked change from a single national airline ( Air India / Indian Airlines) to Jet Airways to the newer ones.

However just giving licenses to airlines is not the solution. Our minister should look at the fuel thats airlines are burning (wasting) while waiting to land, the pathetic infrastructure at airports, the state of our ATC, our safety norms and then claim credit. However our minister / ministry doesn't mind wasting money on full page ads to glorify themselves.

I prefer flying a full service carrier especially for Kolkata / Delhi as its more comfortable and I don't waste money buying food on board. My wife especially is looking forward to visiting Delhi as we will be with our son after nearly a year.

Let me now get back to searching for good deals!

Wish I had invested better

Just saw 2 national ads which feature Kolkata. An Aegon Religare ad featuring Irfan Khan and an Vodafone ad showcase Kolkata. Stranegly when you move away from a city you still think of the city the way you left it behind. I want to go back to Kolkata and find no change - but sadly thats no longer possible. Change is the only constant it seems.

Watching the trams which feature in the ads remind me of a different era. The slow moving trams (in comparison to the buses / cars ) have a charm of its own. In our time, conductors were freindly and tickets were cheap. When my kids were small, during our visits to Kolkata, I used to take them on the tram - it was a joyride they enjoyed! And the jhaal muri at the maidan was an added thril.

I think Irfan Khan's character in Aegon Religare commercial raises a poignant question - how many of us thought of escalating costs and planned savings keeping inflation in mind? I know from (bitter experience) that my FD's and other investments were quite ad hoc. When i had any extra money I tried to save it. But there was no calculation on basis of inflation. PF was the big saving that was supposed to take care of life.

Today's youngsters have so many options of getting the right guidance and investing wisely. With the advent of private insurance and mutual fund companies, professional broking companies, (especially after demat accounts came into existance), and qualified financial advisors, there is a huge scope to get the right financial advice for securing your future.

Maybe I should visit a financial advisor soon!

Old Age Bill

The recent bill passed by the Maharashtra Government stating that neglecting parents will ensure children are punished with fines and or jail, is welcome.

However it throws up many practical issues. I have listed some of them below-
1. If children are staying abroad, how does the government plan to enforce them to look after the parents?
2. If children send money whilst not staying with the parents, will it be deemed as looking after?
3. What happens to the clause that children have to take care of physical/ medical needs? If they are not in a position to stay with us, should it be deemed neglect?
4. If our children do not want to stay with us or drift apart, should we force / compel them to look after us?
5. Also from whatever I have read, I have not figured out if daughters & sons are equally responsible under this act. If yes, what about married daughters who don’t have a source of income? Do son – in – laws come under scope of punishment?
6. Will this Act only address issues of criminal neglect / behavior?

Though it is a sad fact that in old age one has to face many problems including bad health, children moving away from home or no longer wanting to stay in a joint family is a reality of India today. But there are many parts to it. Being a senior citizen and having seen both sides of life, will put down my personal views on this tomorrow.

Post retirement life

At 67 life has taken a very different turn. No longer considered productive for work and perceived as interfering at home has left me with few options. More often than not I feel a void in my life. My wife has a set routine and she doesn't like to step away from it. My sons are away and anyway when they are in mumbai, they are too caught up in their own world.

In our building complex too I see many of our generation in similar situations. I am talking of the male species here! The entrepeuners / businessmen off course stay busy as they are not prey to age restrictions. Ones like me having retired are caught in a time wrap.

Most youngsters avoid us (my wife says that's because we talk too much). The good part is that we are asked to become secretaries / chairman / managing commitee members as its assumed we have all the time in the world and can contribute to the welfare of the society. Which quite a few of us do. I am also a part of my ALM, which keeps me busy quite a bit. But somewhere boredom creeps in. Also there is a sense of loss - whether its from the loss of income / employment or perceived self value.

I am looking at ways & means of trying to remain busy. Hopefully I will find my calling.

Feeling a void in life

Honestly speaking I miss the frantic preparations of going to work, of being productive, of being looked up to. In comparison life is dull now. Unfortunately am not comfortable monetarily that can take off on a travelling spree. Or indulge in hobbies. I wish and I mean this – I really wish I can go back in time and plan for life after retirement. Living in Mumbai on a fixed pension is getting tougher by the day. I dread to think of the ones in a situation worse than me.

The only good part is that have started to be active in our ALM. Went for 2 meetings and hope that I can contribute to something good.

Life after retirement

Watching various ads for insurance and mutual funds makes me think that when we were young, we had limited options to save.

Our lives revolved around our PF accounts and LIC. Off course they were the only options available. UTI in its erstwhile form was the third option. There were off course community based saving options or postal schemes etc. Today there's a plethora of choice. Be it Mutual funds, insurance, health insuarnce, name it and there are multiple options open to people.

Today in my sixties, I realise that had I planned our finances well, we would not be in a vulnerable situation today. Today when my sons talk of retirement calculators, financial planning etc. I am happy for them that they can choose the best suited product at an early age. After all financial independence is the key to happiness in old age.

Whether its my friends or relatives or from what i observe, whosoever is financially independent, is living a happy life. Because its a burden to be dependent on your children or other family members. After all most family problems start with money! With timely planning one can secure one's future and live comfortably.