Financial planning is not a perfect science. For most people who are not obsessed about large cap, small cap, midcap, goal setting, asset allocation and such shit…it is as painful an experience as visiting the dentist, if not visiting the oncologist!!

What happens is when a customer/client / potential client comes to meet a Financial Planner, the planner talks to the client somewhat like this:

Planner: Where do you work and how much do you earn?

C: About 50L is the gross salary between my wife and me, and our take home is Rs. 2L and Rs. 1L respectively.

Now the Planner who has a lower income thinks that the client should spend Rs 1L pm and save rs. 2L pm…and that 1L should include the EMI.

Client thinks he should spend Rs. 2L pm including EMI, the Rs. 1L should be used for vacations, and anyway PF is for retirement!!

The other problem with Financial Planners is they make life sound like there is nothing to do except to make plans, do SIP, write a will…and then review it once a month at least. Switch once in a year…..phew exhausting is it not?

At the end it is like going to a dentist who says – a) you have not been brushing regularly, b) when did you last floss your teeth c) even scaling you have delayed it by a month or two d) 2 more of your teeth need to be removed, and we need to put an implant. Sorry, that will cost Rs. 94,000.

How many of us will like that experience (not me, my dentist is a good singer and she even sings for me when she is removing my tooth!!). Financial planning is of course worse. It has math. And the planner asks “do you know how much investing Rs. 40 a day will become if you invest for 30 years..no no make it 35..” and just when the client is recovering…he says 4,54,65,425! Wow. The client is feeling worse. OMG I wasted 18 years of my life not knowing this.

He is then shown how he needs Rs. 3 crores for his daughter’s education in India, Rs. 8 crores for her to study abroad, Rs. 6 crores for her marriage and Rs. 28 crores for his retirement. Assuming that he has only one kid. OH, another is on its way? Just double all the nos…except of course the retirement.

Financial planning is good for you. However the process through which a planner can put you through is not so great!!