Thursday, January 31, 2008

taxing time

It is the time of the year when i am forced to reflect on my investments – or lack of it. Today was the last day of submitting the tax rebate declaration. As always, i waited for the final day to submit the declaration. With the home loan, i don’t really have to worry about whether i have completed my quota of investments to get the maximum rebate.

The other day someone from one of the banks where i have invested some years back (and had totally forgotten about!) contacted me and asked me to switch plans as my investment was not making that much profit. Anyway, i let him convince me to switch plans –and i am supposedly going to get well provided for when i retire, that is, if my life does not get extinguished before that (extinguished? It makes me sound like an inferno or something!!). The guy kept harping on why i should think of investing now to keep up my existing life style even when i retire or maybe get axed. If i really think about it, i am a low maintenance creature. i have very few needs – give me my books and i am happy enough. i eat like a sparrow, don’t care too much about clothes and accessories – so there is not much scope of spending money on myself. i have this indifferent attitude towards money – i hardly keep track of how I spend it, how/where i invest it. Ema keeps telling me i don’t respect money because i get too much. Is that true? i know the power of money and all that, i know that money is the one issue that couples fight about the most. It has never struck me to hoard my money – i love using it to give my loved ones the things they desire. i would rather see my money being used than it sitting in the bank. My parents and everyone else complain that i am too lavish when it comes to gifts – like S says, i buy things for everyone else except myself which makes him think i am some sort of a goddess – the truth is there are very few material things in this world that can excite my senses apart from books.

Talking of books, S is going to send some books for me through the other S who must be boarding his flight as i type this. S would be joining office on Monday – it has been a month of peace in the office without him as i don’t have anyone to fight with and bitch and trade gossips.

Did make the deadline at work. However, the code needs polishing. Still have about a month to do all the re-work i want when it is in QA’s queue.