We all tend to get complacent, when the going is good - like
what happened to Naresh. Naresh earned
well – all of Rs.1.55 Lakhs a month, after deductions and taxes. The cash
inflows, hence, was like the abundant flow of the Ganga. However, all was not
that well and Naresh had been feeling the effects of a cash crunch of late.
Naresh could not believe it, at first. He was in denial for
a longtime. But, the problems were there for all to see.
Kavita, Naresh’s wife, had been asking him carry out some
home improvement work for more than a year. He wanted to do it, ofcourse. But,
he has somehow not been able to muster the figure required to do it, which was
Rs.2.5 Lakhs. Naresh has been adding expenses,
some needed and others of questionable merit.
His home has been on a loan for the past year and half and
he is now paying an EMI of over Rs.66,000. He has a car loan too, for which he
is paying an EMI of Rs.7,700. Apart from that, his family went on a trip
abroad, which cost them over Rs.2 Lakhs. Part of that funding was through loan.
So, that EMI is adding up to their monthly expenses to the tune of Rs.4,300.
Naresh was in a tight corner and that set him thinking. He
resolved to straighten it out and bring his finances back on rails.
Loan rationalization :
Naresh had a thought. His interest in his home loan was 12.75%. This
being the first residential property,
his interest outgo to the extent of Rs.1.5 Lakhs was available as a deduction.
But, he had been investing about Rs.5,000 pm in RD, which was yielding about
8%. He figured that he could stop the low-yielding RD and channel this money
towards repaying the home loan.
Expense rationalization : The family expenses have been ballooning. In the past couple of years, the expenses
have gone up significantly. He had admitted his son to an International school
and that sets him back by over Rs.3.5 Lakhs, a year. He has been feeling the
effect of this outflow and had been debating if he had bitten off more than he
could chew. He had been mulling about
getting him back to his erstwhile CBSE school.
The outflow there would be a fraction of what he is currently incurring.
Similarly, he is now mulling about selling his other car, on which he is
incurring an annual expense of Rs.20,000 upwards, as his wife seldom travels
out and when she does she could always take a rickshaw.
Lifestyle expenses : The other item they want to bring down
is the amount spent towards entertainment. Their expense on a monthly basis has
been in the ballpark of Rs.6,000/-. They want to bring this down by watching
movies at Home. They anyway have a LED TV and a home theatre. The last item
which they plan to turn their attention to, is their vacations. They have now decided to only go on domestic
vacations for the next few years, until they build a cash chest to pay for
their trips abroad.
Goals : Some of their near-term goals were the next thing,
they turned their attention to. They wanted to do some home improvement, buy a
bigger home in the next three years and contribute money towards Naresh’s
sister’s wedding. After evaluating the
goals, they have postponed the home improvement, to start next year. They plan
to do it in phases now. For that, they want to start accumulating the required
amount. The amount to be accumulated for spending on this for next year is
Rs.90,000. They are confident about getting to that figure now. Kavita also plans to augment the income by
working part-time as a lecturer. She was an academic and gave up her job a few
years back, when they started a family.
A bigger home seemed difficult to them, for now. That has
now been indefinitely postponed. They have decided that they will stay in this
home and if absolutely required, will rent out a bigger home and give out the
current one on rent. Sister’s marriage can happen anytime. The source for that
would be the PF, which Naresh plans to tap.
After doing these, the finances seem to be in much better
shape. The challenge in all such cases is implementing the plan and following
through, relentlessly. Naresh now is going down to get some pop-corn. Kavita
meanwhile is bringing in the drinks, to ready for their film show, with the
family. They plan to welcome Shahrukh Khan to their living room. The light
dims, the snacks are in their hands and happiness descends, in the Naresh
household!
Article by Suresh Sadagopan ; Published in Business Standard on 25/3/2012
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