This is stupidity!

It was one of those days when you wake up and just want to get away from all of what is there on your plate, aaahhh, on second thought one does have those thoughts on every working day! But this was different! It was already a holiday!

So I wake up, not so early, actually not at all early and certainly not on wrong side of the bed, you see my bed has only one side, I have blocked the wrong side by a wall, walk around lazily, going through morning chores and its lunch time.

And a brainwave occurs on lunch table, I say it out loud:"I am going to Kolhapur!" and my parents only question is "Why Kolhapur?" I have no idea, so I say:"I am going to meet a friend over there." In totally unconvincing voice of all.

So I am on bus, going to Kolhapur when passenger next to me starts chatting, at first I am annoyed, after all I was reading Sidin's Dork, but then his story became interesting. Here it is, as told by him.

"I am an engineer in LG Mobile on floor, and I earn about 15k per month, as such I am married but I am unable to keep my wife with me because she can not get a job in Pune, but she has one in Kolhapur. You being a finance person, can you advise what should I do to quickly overcome my poor state?"

I was taken aback at this question, no one would discuss ones financial status with a complete stranger, and that was my first advise, but he persisted. So I asked him whats his Investment status.

"I have an investment of Rs.2 lacs in various large cap companies in share market, my parents had taken care of insurance so I have enough of it. Thats all!"

Me: "Thats pretty good, so where is the problem?"

"I have a loan!"

Me:"How much?"

"The loan is 4 lacs Rupees, as personal loan."

Me:"Why did you take out personal loan? It has highest interest rates, about 20% interest in any bank."

"To invest in share market! Unfortunately market fell after that and now its value is half the original investment!"

Unfortunately, I could not utter a single word, knowing that average returns from market over the years had been 20%, this way of investing did not make sense in any way I looked at it.

My advise to him was, to take a loan on his insurance policy and pay off most of the sum that was remaining of loan from bank, first of all this will reduce his EMI burden as interest rate on life insurance policy is 10 to 11%, thats nearly half the interest on bank loan, next plus point is that, it gives an increase in tenure, as he was facing deadline and did not have money to pay up.

And that was the most meaningful thing that happened on that trip, think that was the only purpose of whole journey.