Told you Agents are bad

Well one of the non-tech collective that got a lot of focus was Investors Collective. I too went to get a wind of what is it all about. When it started, it was all fine. He talked about the various investment vehicles available to us. He talked of mutual funds, kinds of mutuals funds and blah blah blah. It all made sense. But then came the big opening. That guys talks of why should we invest. How many invested and made money through stock market. It was a site to see just 3 hands going up. But considering the fact that most had come to take some knowledge of investing, I did not feel uncomfortable with that. Anyways then came the real motive of that elderly speaker. He started making use of the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The weapon which is most often used by the politicians and insurance agents. Fear, Yes fear is the most devastating weapon. It does not kill a human in true sense but the power of reasoning and understanding, something that really makes us human, is destroyed. You do not see beyond what you are told off. You are basically blinded by the bright pulse of fear. It was weapon that Narendra Modi clearly used in Gujrat. It was used by Bush in US for war on Iraq. It has been used so many times in recent history that people dont even recognize it.
That elderly gentlemen asked about the costs of medical bills in case of hospitalization. And we had big numbers coming in, 1.5 lakhs, 3, lakhs and going upto 4lakhs. Now how much of that is true. I would say 100%. You may have to spend that much for major diseases. But what has that to do with investment. Thats more to do with Medical Insurance. Best of all, I have a company which is already making sure that I get a good Medical Insurance. I definitely not in that loop. And so are most of the Indian who work is some organization.
Then that person came to the topic of cost of having a child and paying for him from conception to graduation. He came up with a magic figure of 50lakhs. I said amazing. My dad has 2 children, so in the past 25 years he had spent a crore just on our education. Then it occured to me that in those 25 years, it means, I have spent over 2lakhs each year. I definately need to have a good look at my expenses. With all Indian IT services having packages around 2lakhs, its definately not sufficient. But I still wonder how I managed my two years in there. Either my maths is bad or that guy was trying to aim the weapon of fear on me.
The next shot was at my cost of retiring. I dont know from where,(I am sure some cocky americans book), he came up with the idea. He says that to continue my life as I live now I need 2 crores. Say I die at 60. Not much. I will have 35 years of life. Now 2crores would make it 5 lakhs a year. I am pretty sure I need an amount much more than that. How much more. Well it depends according to me. It depends on how much I spend on myself. Lets say I have a wife(I hate imagining that) who spends a considerable amount on beautifying herself. Well I am pretty much doomed at that saving level. God help me.
Well I could see the faces of all the people around there. There were like, Oh what will happen. I can only say to those guys is Chill. All that is completely crappy and pessimistic way of looking at life. You do not know whats going to happen in next 20 mins, leave alone 20years. We need to move in the direction of hope and confidence. Fear does more harm than good. Get over it.
Lastly something good came from that session. That gentleman told that all agents have a good percentage of commission. So next time when you have to deal with one, make sure you shamelessly ask for a good discount. And that profession has a lot of money, no wonder even after being a doctor, he switched his profession. Are you thinking about it too?