There are many roadblocks to being rich. Being in debt and not having the guts to invest are surely some of the top reasons…let me enumerate the top reasons as per my perception. This is the result of reading and many interactions…so here it goes…

1. You are inundated with debt: You feel like you are drowning or almost drowned in debt. Of course this is a mistake from the past – over spending or not having adequate, appropriate medical insurance, but every month you buy more on that card..and you do not remember any month that your balance came down. Painful yes, but a reality.

2. You and your partner have no control over your spending. Whether it is a trip for your parents (they have done so much for me, they deserve a vacation do they not), or your kids (how can I not put her in tennis classes?), or just plain simple binge at the local mall. If you treat going to the mall as a ‘treat’ chances are you will have very expensive treats – and sadly they show up on the bill. Oops!

3. Your kid is in class 8 and you have no money – you hope to God that she does not do medicine – no way how you can whip up Rs. 60 lakhs required to pay the fees. You are hoping that she takes Commerce and does her Bcom. Anything else is panic situation.

4. Retirement? You got to be joking. I am just 46 and my wife is 47…we are not in a hurry to start saving for retirement – in fact we do not have a surplus!

5. Your boss recent ly hinted that your chances of being moved to Gurgaon / Haridwar office are high – it would be a transfer. You are paranoid because you cannot afford to pay the Mumbai EMI and the Gurgaon rent. Your parents cannot take the cold of Delhi…so there is a possibility of 2 establishments. Also, your wife will not get a transfer…so you may have to stay alone..and you have no clue about what to do in the kitchen.

6. You fell back on your credit card, and your score is getting lower – there is a good chance that your car loan / housing loan get repriced.

7. Your aged parents have very little capital and not very adequate medical cover…this scares you everyday…

well the list is endless…and YOU have to decide on how to tackle each of these problems. If you are 46, your dad 72 your mom 65, be prepared to fund your parents for 30 years (assuming no pension, no capital) and yourself for the next 50 years.

From where will the money come? U gotta be joking. I only ask the questions. It is for you to answer them.