If not often, at least on a few occasions we all have been lazy and negligent towards our money. We all crave to become rich... immensely rich. We all intensely desire to be millionaires and crorepatis. And yet, time and again, we show utter carelessness in managing our finances. I wonder why?
I wonder why...
... We mostly depend on hot tips. We rarely do any research on the companies before buying their equity shares.
... We would prefer investing in some bluechips and forget about it. We don't want to trouble ourselves with regularly monitoring our portfolio, despite being fully aware that quite a few bluechips of yesterday are a dud today.
... We are more than happy to just sign the forms and let the agents / bankers fill in the details. We are easily intimidated by "thick" forms and "fine" prints. Don't forget that there have been many instances of both inadvertent mistakes and willful misrepresentation.
... We don't keep track of all our bank accounts. That is why there are crores of rupees lying in dormant and inoperative accounts.
... We don't keep track of dividends. That is why there are crores of rupees lying as unclaimed dividends.
... We buy expensive and useless insurance policies. That too at the last minute just to save tax. That is why every year thousands of policies lapse as people are unable to continue paying the premiums.
... We easily get conned by the lure of high returns. We rarely question the feasibility of the extraordinary and extravagant interest rates promised.
... We pay atrocious interest on our credit card outstanding balances, while at the same time our FDs earn measly returns.
Human beings are supposed to be highly rational and intelligent species. Then why do we commit such stupid mistakes? Then why are frauds and scams so common? Then why do we fall prey to greed so frequently?
I wonder why...
