A financial report card from the future

The person sitting beside Mohit looks distinctly familiar. His forehead is lined, his hair entirely grey. Green veins swell through the delicate skin on his frail hands. A slow, mysterious smile crosses his face. Mohit’s eyes widen, and then the penny drops.

It’s him at 80—thirty years older than he is now. In this imaginary journey through time, Mohit gets a rare chance to learn how his money decisions have played out. He has a thousand questions for the senior Mohit. Will the octogenarian thank him for the choices he’s made? What will he reprimand him for? And what should he change now?

The 80-year-old squints at Mohit through his reading glasses, with a thirty-year report card in front of him. “You look worried,” he says.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Mohit asks. “I have no idea if I have given you a comfortable life. Tell me—have I made you rich?”

“Depends on how you define rich. I certainly have enough money to live comfortably. You saved regularly, spread your investments, kept a tidy portfolio, and insured yourself well. Thanks to you, I have more money than I can spend in the years I have left. But there’s more to life than money, isn’t there?”

The cost of saving too much

“So where did I go wrong?” Mohit asks, genuinely surprised. “It sounds like I did reasonably well.”

“You did, but you were always saving for tomorrow, never allowing even minor indulgences to make life comfortable along the way. You were so busy putting away money that you forgot that it’s important to enjoy the present too.”

The 80-year-old reminded Mohit about his cousin’s wedding in Philadelphia. The flights and accommodation would have cost ₹5 lakh. Mohit decided against going. Instead, he calculated how much that money could grow if he invested it for 10 years. His children were upset for years about missing their first international holiday. By the time Mohit felt ready to spend the money, they’d left home for higher studies. Getting everyone together for three weeks was a lot more challenging.

“You weren’t wrong about compounding. Investing ₹5 lakh made sense on an Excel spreadsheet. But it was far from being an excellent choice for your family. Your money grew, but your chances of spending with your children had shrunk.”

“Remember when you dissuaded Malini from hiring a coach to prepare for the Half Ironman? The coaching cost wouldn’t have made the slightest dent to your overall wealth. But Malini ended up withdrawing from an event she was so passionate about.

“You also let your biases cloud your investment decisions. You held on to your company’s stock long after it stopped generating returns, hoping it would recover. It never did, and you eventually sold at a steep loss.”

The rewards of planning ahead

“Come on, I must have got something right!” remarked a disheartened Mohit.

“You got plenty right! You provided your family financial flexibility. You knew jobs weren’t always secure, so you worked hard to build a sizeable reserve. That planning paid off later when your company made you redundant. Your savings covered your expenses comfortably until you landed your next job.

“And remember that stunning villa in Whitefield? You really wanted to buy that second property as an investment. But you resisted. This was one of your smartest money decisions. Buying the villa would have meant a large loan and years of repayments. When you lost your job, the last thing on your mind was a rigid monthly commitment.

“My health has been somewhat worrisome the past few years. But whenever I’ve had health problems, you’ve ensured I could get the best care at the finest hospitals. With unlimited health cover, I’ve never had to worry about paying out of pocket.”

“Then there’s the Grey Matter Project you initiated, bringing together retirees and working professionals. That project is now a bustling group of seniors, entrepreneurs and executives who learn from one another. It provides people of all ages with years of invaluable, accumulated experience.

“That community is your greatest gift to me. It still gives me something meaningful to do. I don’t struggle with loneliness. On the contrary, I struggle for time to finish my daily crossword!”

“If you could grade my financial decisions, how would you score me?” asks Mohit.

“Your report card is still being written. How you score at 80 will depend on how wisely you invest and spend your money today and over the next 30-odd years. Running out of money may feel like the biggest risk today. But what good is that money when, at 80, you have much more than you need, but so few chances to enjoy that wealth?”

Priya Sunder is the co-founder and director of PeakAlpha Investments.