20-20

20-20
19th June 2006

The most difficult question to answer isn’t, “Do I look fat in this?”

It isn’t even, “How much do you love me?” Or, “Didn’t you just hear what I just told you?”

It’s, “What if?”

While you can fudge the examples above, how do you fudge your way through a question like, “What if?”

Don’t ask yourself that question if you aren’t prepared for some serious thinking.

What if she hadn’t broken up with me?

What if I’d had a body like Jean-Claude Van Damme?

(And a face like Tom Cruise?)

What if I’d been born a girl rather than a boy? Or vice-versa?

The question I find myself thinking about is this:

What if I’d done my MBA?

Rewind...

I remember my parents’ insistence that I did my MBA. Even after I’d gotten admission in Pune, even after I’d joined the agency. They kept insisting that I should do my MBA.

“It’ll give you options,” they said.

“I’ve had options all my life. I’ve finally figured what I wanna do,” I replied.

“It’ll pay more. Much more! Big, big bucks!” they said.

“So will advertising. Creative grows very fast, and I’m sure I can do it,” I replied.

“Okay, but we still think you should do it,” they said.

To their credit, they let me be. And after my first couple of increments, they gave up on the MBA.

Then why am I asking myself that question?

Simple. Money.

Much as I hate to admit it, I’m a little concerned about money right now. My own.

I’ve always said that I’ll get married only when I’ve bought a house of my own.

A few years ago, it seemed possible. Now, the picture ain’t as rosy.

Property prices are shooting up, through the roof. A tiny 1BHK in Colaba won’t cost less that 35 lakhs. A bigger one can go for about 60.

Prices have gone up everywhere else too. Wadala, Bandra, Santacruz, you name it.

Unfortunately, my salary hasn’t quite kept up. My last increment (I felt) was a little low, compared to the quality of my appraisal.

To make a serious bid of my hopes and dreams, I started working with a financial planner. MoneyMan.

So every month, I put about a third of my salary into a Systematic Investment Plan. In the hope that when I need it, the money will contribute towards the down payment on my house.

As if the house wasn’t enough, I have a few other things to think about. My wedding. My sister’s wedding. Where I will obviously bear some of the burden. And my first car.

So where will all the money come from?

Well, if I consistently outperform the growth pattern MoneyMan has planned for, I should have some extra funds. And, on top of that, I’ll need to start freelancing a lot more (consider that an ad for a freelance writer – send a mail, and we’ll talk).

Maybe it’d have been easier with an MBA. Just looking at my sweetheart (who’s just started work at a bank), the Bitchy One, and all the rest of my MBA friends.

Each of them started at a salary equivalent to my current package. Reached after three years of slogging.

I console myself thinking that I wouldn’t have been as happy in any other industry. Where else do I get paid well to write jokes? Where else can I go to work in jeans (shorts on weekends)? And hobnob with hot models?

The other side – money matters. Almost as much as job satisfaction.

No answers to my dilemma. Just questions.

They say that hindsight is always 20-20.

Then why is my view of the picture still so blurred?