Behavioural Finance

I’ve sat across the table from dozens of clients with beautifully detailed retirement spreadsheets. Cash flows mapped till age 95. Contingency buffers tucked into every category. Graphs that forecast income, growth, inflation, and taxes.

Over the years, I’ve met many couples where one partner handles the finances, and the other just nods politely. It starts out simple. One of them has more interest or experience, so they take charge. The SIPs are set, the insurance is handled, and the retirement corpus is on track.

We spend most of our lives introducing ourselves by what we do. “I head the dealing desk at…” “I work in wealth advisory…” “I’m part of the markets team…” Then, one day, you stop. Not suddenly but eventually, the job ends, the meetings fade, and the inbox slows down.

There’s a quiet shift that happens in every investor’s life. It’s not triggered by age. It’s triggered by change. You stop focusing on how much you can earn and start asking how long what you’ve earned will last. Salaries slow down. EMI goals are behind you. The question in your head changes from “How do I grow my capital?” to “How do I make it last?”

Turning 50 does something to your perspective. For years, I’ve obsessed over market moves, built portfolios, and helped people grow wealth. But lately, a more personal question has taken center stage: how do you start spending the wealth you’ve worked so hard to build - without second-guessing every rupee?

Most dreams don’t come with a vesting schedule. But this one did. You joined a company when it was small. Took a bet. Stayed through the chaos. And now your ESOPs have matured.