A financial report card from the future

Summary

A conversation with his 80-year-old self forces Mohit to confront the long-term consequences of his financial choices—and rethink the decisions he makes today.

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.”