Don’t Worry…I’m There for You!

The greatest thing about India is the joint family system. The elders are always there to look after the younger members. The strong are always there to help the weak.

We’ve often seen the old man placing a hand on the sunken shoulders of the disappointed young man – who is out of luck and has fallen on bad times – pats him on the cheek, and says, “Fikr na karo beta…main hoon na.” (Don’t worry son…I’m there for you)

Reassured by the old man, the young man gets a new zest of life and is happy to face the world again.

So we care a lot about our families – their needs, wants, and aspirations.

Nowhere else in the world will you find a father worried day and night about how he will be able to fund his child’s higher education.

Nowhere else will you find a mother saving every bit of her monthly income to buy some gold to gift to her 5-year old daughter when she marries 20 years later.

Nowhere else will you find a wife willing to stand alongside her husband in any kind of financial difficultly.

I’ve traveled to a few western countries in the past few years, and nowhere have I seen families bond as well as in India.

The ‘main hoon na’ thingy is entirely Indian, something that I’m really proud of.

You might share my sentiment too…and you must be working hard to take care of everything your family expects of you…now and in the future.

And if you are like me, the question – “How do I provide for all my family needs in the future?” – keeps you awake at night.

So, here are 5 questions I have for you …

1. Are you investing your hard-earned money in a way that one day, when your daughter looks up to you for her financial needs (like her education and marriage), you’ll be able to comfortably tell her – “Don’t worry child…I’m there for you!”?
2. Are you saving enough money to take care of your mother’s medical needs, so that when she grows older, you have saved enough that you can assure her – “Don’t worry mom…I’m there for you!”?
3. Have you created a fund so that when an emergency strikes your family (and it can strike anytime), you don’t need to ‘ask’ for money from friends and relatives, and can comfortably assure your family – “Don’t worry folks…I’m there for you!”?
4. Are you saving enough for your retirement – even if it’s 30 years down the line – so that you can assure your wife who constantly worries how you both will meet your living expenses when the salary cheque stops coming in – “Don’t worry dear…I’ll be there for you!”?
5. Have you taken adequate amount of life insurance (and I mean ‘term insurance’ here) so that after you’re gone, your son can have that self-assurance – “I shouldn’t worry…Papa is still there for us!”?

You see, the core of my questions is this – Do you believe in the “Don’t worry…I’m there for you!” philosophy of taking care of your dependents through the way you save and invest?

If no, I’m sorry you wasted your time reading this post so far.

If yes, do you have the answers?