Reader Story: I met an accident the day I got married and learned key money lessons

Last Updated on December 16, 2019 at 12:05 pm

In this edition of reader story, Suresh Murugan describes the money lessons learned after meeting with an accident on the way back from his marriage. “Reader Story” is a freefincal feature where readers share their financial journey. You can explore the full archive of past reader stories. Some select stories are also linked at the end of this article.

Editors note: The author is not a native English speaker. We request an appropriate consideration from readers. Suresh Murugan’s story is a shining example of how logic can be the best money management guide. Young readers can learn many lessons from this and can use this as a starting resource: Beginner’s Guide to Personal Finance: A free e-book by Vinay Rai

I married against my families wishes and started married life with a negative net worth With little savings and a loan from my employer, I manage to complete my marriage with Rs. 30000/- with close friends in 2014.

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When we were coming home after the marriage, we met an accident, but luckily we escaped with minor injuries, but our car did not have insurance and had to pay two lakh in damages!

That was too big for me. I got another loan from my employer, help from friends & withdrew from epf. That day I felt I was unworthy of living. I realised I was not single now. I have my wife as a dependent (my parents were financially independent). My partner was only hope and reason for me to live. On that day, I had so many questions to answer.

1 What went wrong in that accident? Our car was not insured, and I blindly trusted my friend in this regard.

In life, it is not important who’s mistake it is. A single mishap can change your life in a matter of seconds. Precaution is first. So insurance First.

2 If anything had happened to me in that accident, how can my wife manage? I could have died or worse I could be injured and unable to work

All my savings were spent in the marriage. All I had was about Rs. 5000 and that would only last a month.

I realised the need for term insurance. After research, I took a pure term for Rs. 1 crore.
I took an accident insurance policy worth 25 lakhs.

3 If we have required hospitalisation, how (who!) will pay the bill?

The little money I had was used for first aid. If I had required hospitalisation, I do not know how I could have paid for it.

I took Health insurance with five lakhs. Now added 10 lakh super top-up. This free ebook on Health Insurance can help readers choose a policy with ease!

4 My debt was around 2.5 lakhs? What is my plan to close it faster?

My first priority was repaying all my relatives and friends as soon as possible as delays could damage my reputation.

My second priority was employer loan. Once they gave me a loan, their hold on me increased and took advantage and increased my workload.

The third priority was bankers and credit card. The interest is high, but they are not human, so I will not lose relationships if this is delayed.

It took me three years to close out all debt as I had other expenses as well. I felt like I was in heaven when I became debt-free.

5 In future, how can I manage emergencies like this?

I have started to save for contingency fund with a target of 12 months expenses.

6 Once I became debt-free, I want a financially independent life. How can I attain that?

I searched for Retirement calculator and landed on Freefincal site. I started mutual fund savings before for the sake of investment and savings. Now I am savings based on goal-based investing with annual rebalancing.

I got health insurance for my parents. It was one of the most satisfying things I have done for them.

Thanks, pattu sir. It has been a wonderful learning experience since the last one year I have followed freefincal.

Five years ago, I had no idea where my life was heading. Now I have clarity. My wife and freefincal changed my life and financial perspective.

About The Author

Dr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.

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Our new book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!

Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower — **Both the boy and girl-version covers of "Chinchu Gets a superpower".**

Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So, in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it, as well as teaching him several key ideas of decision-making and money management, is the narrative. What readers say!

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