How Does Money Help To Prepare For One's Worst Moment In Life?

How does one prepare, mentally, emotionally, financially, for the worst moments in one’s life…that moment when realization dawns that your life and all that you ever worked for may just slip away as easily as sand through your fingers?

It’s a moment of brutal reckoning when you must muster all your inner reserves to look your challenges in the eye and, not give up the good fight to come out stronger, braver and wiser, as the 57-year old cancer survivor Vijay Bhat did.

Life is very precious, sometimes we forget how precious. Cancer is a traumatic illness, devastating for the person as well as for the family.

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}But it gave me a second chance at life, an opportunity to change my direction and priorities. It forced me to take the fork on the road,” says Bhat, now cured and totally immersed in what he says is his “third career.”
“I am in my third career. My first career was in advertising where I spent 25 years. My second was as a leadership coach where I spent about 13 years. For the last 2-3 years, I have become a ‘cancer coach’ and am trying to set up a cancer coaching entrepreneurship. I have also written a book called ‘My Cancer is Me’. We provide a lot of online assets, support for people going through cancer,” he says.Married for 32 years to Nilima, the couple has two children; son Shravan, 29 and daughter Shambhavi, 26, Bhat says his ‘cancer diagnosis’ came as a bolt from blue for him and his family. They were stationed in London at the time of this devastating news.“It was a very weird, disorienting experience because I had never been seriously sick before. I was 40, thought I was at the peak of my health, the prime of my career and to be told that I was suffering from cancer of the colon, was a very big shock for me.”Stunned “my first thought was, ‘it’s over’. My second: ‘what will happen to the children and family if I am gone, I haven’t really prepared for this’. My third thought was ‘the amazing plans that we have and had, were all kaput’”.“I had this weird feeling that time had stopped, everything was running in slow motion. I felt I don’t deserve it, ‘why me’. I felt ambushed, betrayed, violated. The doctors advised immediate surgery.”Though an “introvert and a very private person”, Bhat took the brave step of emailing all his friends, associates, colleagues, family saying, “I have a new mountain to climb. It’s called cancer. I am going through surgery in a few days. I need your help, support and guidance.’ I don’t know why I did it, but it was the best thing I did because I received an overwhelming sea of prayers, support, help, resources, books, CDs etc.”“One of the first insights I had was that relationships are a very powerful factor and I benefitted from that. Therefore, my advice to people is don’t hide it. The more help you receive, the faster will be your healing.”
As the main breadwinner, based and earning in a foreign country where the cost of living is much higher than in the home country, plus the steep medical costs of a cancer surgery, would throw many off balance and Bhat’s situation was no different.“Cancer punches a hole in your self-esteem as well as your financial situation. Fortunately, as a very senior executive in an MNC which had extremely good staff health and welfare policies, I was fully covered for my medical expenses through the company. Prior to moving to London from Singapore, where we were earlier based,I had purchased a personal (life) insurance policy with a ‘critical illness’ insurance added to it that also covered cancer. So, I was in a lucky situation where my medical costs got covered by my company policy and my other complimentary therapies, psychological counselling, all of that got covered in my critical illness policy. So, I did not personally have to bear any expenses,” Bhat shares.“My advice to people is talk to your company. I was covered by my company’s insurance, but I know that many companies who don’t have group insurance will step forward on compassionate grounds. So, don’t hesitate to ask. Also, have your own policy with a critical illness rider attached.”

When one is young, earning well and in robust health one neglects on financial planning and health insurances, foolishly comfortable in the assumption that ‘it will never happen to us.’

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}This can be a mistake as Bhat observes.“I was quite young, financially unplanned and didn’t have that much wealth to think about financial planning. I was working for a good company, had housing and transport allowance, various benefits that looked after my basic needs more than comfortably. It was this insurance agent who started me on this path,” he says.Bhat’s father was in insurance and had invested in LIC policies. His mother, a banker had advised him to “save and put money in fixed deposits.” He followed their advice but it was nowhere near to being able to bear the expenses of a significant tragedy like cancer.“It was good fortune that I had the coverage. It was only after the coverage that I realized that there is a big risk here, not only for me but for the people who I will leave behind in case something happens to me. That’s when I got into financial planning. I had help on medical, non-medical and financial fronts from my friends who connected me to the right people. Since then, I have been diligent in my financial plan.”While purchasing financial products Bhat weighs the “product and its role in my strategy. So, if a product from Franklin Templeton, Tata or the Aditya Birla group makes sense, I’ll buy it. When you choose the financial house, you are going to make sure that these are good strong companies with a good reputation and credit ratings.”Today, “I have a balanced portfolio, evolved over time. My priorities have changed. Because of what I started 18 years ago; I feel financially secure today. But have I met all my financial aspirations? No. Will I ever meet them in my lifetime? I don’t know. But I do feel secure that the bigger issues have been planned for.”

A good age to start financial planning is late 30s, he says. “You should not keep it beyond 40. In today’s generation, people are incurring debt too early but are not planning for the future early enough. This puts them in a very risky situation.

.quote-box-content {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 22px;
position: relative;
text-align: center;
padding: 18px;
color: #CC1F35;
font-weight: bold;
margin-top: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}
.quote-box-content .quote-box-right {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
right: 0;
}
.quote-box-left {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
}
.quote-box-right {
display: block;
position: absolute;
border-top: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-right: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 6px solid #8a0a1c;
.quote-box-content .quote-box-left {
border-top: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-left: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
border-bottom: 3px solid #8a0a1c;
height: 100%;
width: 10%;
top: 0px;
left: 0;
}I have advised my children to spend within your means, save for a rainy day and become financially literate as soon as possible,” he says, adding that he has purchased both life insurance and medical cover for his wife and the children, with the help of a financial planner. The portfolio includes insurance, bonds, debts, mutual funds, etc. Small, simple but well-grounded.”Age and near-fatal episodes in life changes one’s perspective on life, living, money and happiness. Bhat agrees that money is a dominant factor in our life but is often equated with happiness, the fuel that empowers our aspirations. The problem arises when “we start mistaking the fuel for the destination. One can get out of this vicious circle if one can put money in its rightful place. My advice to people is plan for the best, prepare for the worst, do what you can and leave the rest to life.”

• To start early with your financial planning is the key to live a financially stable life. Insurance and investment are the two most important financial assets, which is necessary to build a diversified portfolio. Not only investments but cautious spending would also help build wealth that would help one prepare emotionally, mentally, and financially during the worst times.
• Health Insurance- Health concerns are often inevitable, and sometimes critical illness like cancer, or heart problems can dig majorly in your savings and leave you penniless. So, to help the family with financial stability even during these worst times, medical insurance is a necessity. Also, a critical illness plan would help in covering the huge expenses incurred during the treatment of such illness.
• Term insurance - Term insurance is a necessity to secure the income of the family in the absence of the sole breadwinner. Having term insurance early in life attracts a lower premium as compared to having it at an older age.
• Mutual Funds – Unlike fixed deposits, mutual funds are risky, but also one can benefit from higher returns if invested for a longer tenure. Depending upon one's goals and risk appetite, a person can choose among funds such as equity, debt or hybrid funds.
• One can also choose to invest in Funds like ULIPs that are a combination of insurance as well as investment. Choosing your investment avenues wisely is another way to make your future financially secure.

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.