Late bird catches worm as well

A late start need not deter one from making a success of investing. That's the cardinal lesson from the story of Rajendra Shrivastava, 61, formerly a captain with the merchant navy. A resident of Pune, Captain Shrivastava frankly admits that he had no need to learn about personal finance until age 50, thanks to his career. Between 1979 and 1998, he was with the merchant navy and was sailing the high seas. Given that he enjoyed an NRI status, his income was in dollars and he was able to invest it in dollar-denominated FDs as well as savings accounts in India. Even if they paid only 6-7 per cent interest, the return was tax-free and the rupee would depreciate by a predictable 10 per cent or so every year against the dollar. This happy state of affairs continued for eight more years after Captain Shrivastava was done with his sea life and decided to take up a job with Mumbai's Port Trust, as he continued to enjoy benefits of an NRI status. But post 2004, the RBI began to adopt less liberal rules for forex accounts and the dollar began to sink against the rupee.

This article was originally published on December 27, 2021, and last updated on September 05, 2022.