The real measure of your wealth is how much you are worth if you lose all your money. Some investors seem to have taken this old saying literally, given the way they are losing their hard-earned money. They are buying insurance policies only to dump them mid-way. In the process, they are gifting away the amount paid as premiums to agents and insurance companies. While there are many other ways of losing money, this one seems to be in vogue; nearly 1 crore insurance policies are expected to lapse by the end of this financial year. What many investors don't know is that they can still salvage some of the money they have paid as premium. This is what our story on lapsed policies is all about (Don't Blow your Cover).
As we talk of losing money and lost opportunities, we should not miss out on spending; after all, not getting your money's worth amounts to frittering it away. For many of us, the most significant expense lined up for the summer would be a vacation. After the slowdown, there are discounts everywhere; even the so-called star hotels may turn out to be good bargains if you know where to look. This is where our special feature on travel comes in. So be an intelligent investor this summer-and as you take that deferred holiday, be an intelligent spender as well.
