How Much Money does one require……

by

Swayamprava 

 

     Many times I wonder how much really one want. If you ask me I have got very little requirements but at times I really want something very big. In fact I always like to have that purchasing power according to my whims. Again those whims shouldn’t exceed to a certain level and that should not really left you with a big hole in your pocket……Then what is my real requirement? Intrigued by my own thoughts I proceed to ask this to my friends. There are people who are doing govt. jobs, corporate, banking jobs and business. But there are special category i.e merchant navy group, pilots, people in show business and writers….In India writing can never be a career option that was proved again and again. In western countries they pay for the article published per word. Even bloggers/writers are getting so much money that they can afford a Caribbean holiday for family for four (Sources HT) But here the publishers, the agents, the shop owners, blogging sites, all earn money except the writer…that is pathetic…. 

     Those who are in show business and creative fields, their earning depends on their demand in the industry. In case of Pilots and Merchant Navy officers, even though they can earn through out life but still to be with their family is a big requirement than to earn money. If family will not exist then what is the point of earning so much money? So I thought how to decide then how much one require to earn to secure one’s future, for rainy days, to afford to give your child a seat in management, engineering or medical college. One needs to plan. But how can somebody plan a future that to an unforeseen future! If I see to my age group people, they are too much after money. Even they don’t bother to cut from vegetable vendor, housemaid, too much bargaining in the shops. But is it really ensures that they are saving something and does these 50-100 rupee saving matters much in enhancing their bank balance…I wonder, in fact I hate that bargaining thing it takes away the charm of shopping….. Then I came across the next age group where they are too much bothered about the study of their children. The children require lots of money to get a seat for the child in a technical college which I felt is genuine. In Mumbai except around first hundred seats the rest are sponsored seats or pay seats. And the money they require at time of admission varies from 4 lakhs to 12 lakhs and sometimes more. On top the yearly fees are about 4 lakhs or something. This is a huge amount. So many talented students couldn’t get a seat where as those who have money they could…no matter at the end of the session they got failed or something…..So how one can plan this .If your kid is in primary class you can’t plan for his secondary class as it depends on so many factors like, Rupee/dollar conversion rate, market value of rupee, inflation, bank interest rates so on and so forth. When bank interest rates suddenly fell they offered only 4$ per 100$. In rupee it’s only 8-9rs per 100rs…with this how much one can earn and how much one can gain? In Mumbai people invest in real estates, stock markets, mutual funds etc. and it does earn them a good amount. But two years back it was a lull period. People were bound to sale 25 lakhs flats in only 10-11 lakhs…..But now those flats are going in 40-45 lakhs. 

     In certain area the real estate is picked up so much that it s about ten times hike….So this one too is just unpredictable. And this fluctuating market may take away all your life long earning within no time and make you a real king in no time too….But one thing which always bothers me is if at all your flats or bungalows value got hiked lets say about ten times and you are basking on the fact that you are the maximum gainer. But basic question is who will buy your 10-15 years old house or flat or whatever for so much money. Will you buy …If you ask me I will never go for an old flat…So is there any meaning TO THAT ESTATE ANYMORE. So it depends on the buyer’s instinct. Your estate is valued by the consumer’s offer that is the ground reality and that is quite unpredictable…. So considering all these factors my pea size brain made some plans. As I am very poor in managing money and I have no control over the money we spend with our instinct and I hardly keep a months earning and expenditure list, I apply a very simple plan to manage. I have kept a limit….I am not going to tell you what is my limit but still as per our earning we can set it to certain amount …lets say Rs 10000. I should manage in such a way that my expenditure will not cross that Rs 10000 limit. But how one will decide this amount? How I decide is if your early earning is something lets say 4 lakhs after paying the income tax and professional tax, then as per my planning I will divide it to half. So my quota of expenditure is 2 lakhs per month. The rest I will save for future. Now out of this 2 lakhs I will spend 1.5 lakhs and again keep that 50,000 for emergency, shopping or something in this regard. So in a month I can only spend to a maximum 10,000 to 12,000. But in Mumbai like cities your expenditure is much higher than this amount. So then I will look for some extra earnings. If I can’t then I will look where I can cut down my expenditure….. But this management never applies to people who are in business or having contractual jobs. There at times they earn a huge amount and at times there is no earnings at all. In that case I have applied one simple formula like, If my expenditure is lets say Rs.20000 per month then I should keep so much that I will gain this much as interest. So taking the interest rates these banks offer, I need to keep at least 20 lakhs in my emergency fund.  Which can be easily put in fixed deposited in banks, post office MIS,KVP schemes etc. which is absolutely risk free. This amount should be untouched, whatever may be the requirement. And if at all I spend this amount then immediately I need to fill it up. This amount should no be mortgaged or used for anything. That is my mental peace. like If  I every run short of money I can still live a decent life…..After keeping this amount you can spend whatever way you like. Like this I can create one fund for my kid’s education. 

     One needs to carry out a small risk assessment i.e. identify the hazard, risk of the deposits and then decide the best option. Some may say real estate investment or stock market or mutual fund investment is very safe. Fair enough, that varies form individual to individual and the risks identified by them. But still I found it is not full proof as I have not seen that unforeseen future. So in this regard I would like to know your view and your way of spending and keeping money and your method of money management you can say. I will be very grateful if you people share your views here….    

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It is copy protected. Don't copy...

   

    On Thursday, the 13th of September 2001 at Paradeep, I signed on the Nobel ship E-Trader, - called by some in those days, E- Terror. I signed on as an Intern. "E-Trader" was a large bulk carrier of some 36,000 GRT.

    On Tuesday the 11th of September, after being fare welled by friends and relatives, I left for my ship! I had been kitted out with some overalls, and some 'civvie' clothes - which I intended to get into at the first opportunity!

    It's a bloody difficult life son. It was the final comment of our brief conversation with the warden. I really didn't know how to respond to such a cryptic, and to me, such a deflating statement, so I said nothing. He didn't say it with any bitterness, but his comment was enough to dampen much of the enthusiasm I had felt until then about what lay ahead for me. Years of training required me not to answer back, nor to express the disappointment I felt in the face of his prophecy. After all I told myself, what did he know of life at sea today? He was an old man, and if he had been to sea, he probably sailed in rust buckets. Things were much different these days weren't they? Life at sea can be hard, but so can life in general.

    Now I was in the plane, at the Mumbai Domestic airport finally! As the plane slowly made its move on the runway, I sat thinking of all the constraints that had governed my every move prior to today, making mental notes of how I imagined my new life would be. I further started imaging that I would have nice big cabin, a good cafe, even have a large ice cream or a cream cake in a cafe! At that moment, the sky was the limit; reality was yet to come!

    I finally arrived at the Bhuvaneshwar airport, where a certain Agent was waiting with a placard of my name. We went straight to the taxi. The taxi itself was a vivid experience. As we were passing through several textured roads, I could imagine the rolls of ship already! We were finally at the Paradeep port & were through with all custom works. Then agent introduced me to a port taxi driver, and left me with a cheery "Best of luck, soldier", a handshake, and he was gone!

    I was finally inside the Pradeep port!

 The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by a line from Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and then back to Florida. It is one of the biggest mysteries of our time - that isn't really a mystery.

The term "Bermuda Triangle" was first used in an article written by Vincent H. Gaddis for Argosy magazine in 1964. In the article Gaddis claimed that in this strange sea a number of ships and planes had disappeared without explanation. Gaddis wasn't the first one to come to this conclusion, either. As early as 1952 George X. Sands, in a report in Fate magazine, noted what seemed like an unusually large number of strange accidents in that region.

In 1969 John Wallace Spencer wrote a book called Limbo of the Lost specifically about the triangle and, two years later, a feature documentary on the subject, The Devil's Triangle, was released. These, along with the bestseller The Bermuda Triangle, published in 1974, permanently registered the legend of the "Hoodoo Sea" within popular culture.

Several books suggested that the disappearances were due to an intelligent, technologically advanced race living in space or under the sea.

The only problem was that the mystery was more hype than reality. In 1975 a librarian at Arizona State University, named Larry Kusche, decided to investigate the claims made by these articles and books. What he found he published in his own book entitled The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved. Kusche had carefully dug into records other writers had neglected. He found that many of the strange accidents were not so strange after all. Often a triangle writer had noted a ship or plane had disappeared in "calms seas" when the record showed a raging storm had been in progress. Others said ships had "mysteriously vanished" when their remains had actually been found and the cause of their sinking explained.

More significantly a check of Lloyd's of London's accident records by the editor of Fate in 1975 showed that the triangle was a no more dangerous part of the ocean than any other. U.S. Coast Guard records confirmed this and since that time no good arguments have ever been made to refute those statistics. So the Bermuda Triangle mystery disappeared, in the same way many of its supposed victims had vanished.

Even though the Bermuda Triangle isn't a true mystery, this region of the sea certainly has had its share of marine tragedy.

The following is a short story that my teacher told me on my last day of school. I have taken it as a lesson for life, and i hope it will others who read it too. There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the ! day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

   Yesterday I was watching this program called "One life to Love" which was very interesting and triggered some interesting questions in my mind... So though of sharing them with you all...

   You know the very name of the program is so meaningful. One life to Love. I was just wondering how many of us must have actually given time for ourselves? Everybody must be loveing themself like crazy, then why not spend sometime and think of what you really like. Think of what really makes you happy... what is it that you really want for your ownself... not your social responsibilites, but you... this rat race of life has made at least me forget of what really pleases me... or for that matter, what is real me... i never had spent even a minute thinking about what I really am, untill this thought struck me... and tell you honestly it gave me immense satisfaction. I just spent a minute, but that set a lot of things clear in front of me.

   That prepared me to align my priorities. and now i have decided to make that as a routine. i will spend at least one minute each day to think of what i had set to do & what i am doing, what i really like to do. i will try and be my actualself for at least a minute everyday... i will try and think of nothing but me for that minute... it has worked for me, for both days & more than anything it gave me a lot of happiness... Try it yourself and let me know if that helps in any way... even though it looks very simple, but it is a very difficult exercise, at times even difficult than board exams... you have to be extremely honest with yourself... it almost gave me a new and fresh life... try it yourself & be prepared to get reformed for better...

pinch of obsession,,litres of blood,,gallons of sweat,,
pitted against hundreds of kilograms of lead,,
doin "n" rounds till am half dead
then to rise up again,,enjoy immense pain,,
then to loose a hundreds pleasures
only to gain inches of unknown treasures

passion against glory,knowin my side well
madness aint dying come what may
this aint damn no clay,to be by the waves sway
n I'm doin this,fallen,bleeding...even the knell

Regardless of how you feel about Al Gore as a politician, this documentary is worth seeing because of the gravity of the issues discussed. Gore proves to be a worthy spokesman and his arguments are clear and concise at the beginning of the film. In other words, you do not need to be a scientist to understand what he is saying about the environment and the consequences of global warming. He is an effective communicator and good at explaining the problem in layperson's terms.

The problem with the film is, ironically, too much of Al Gore himself. Less than halfway through I began to ask myself "Is this a documentary about global warming or about Al Gore?" There is a shift from the message to the messenger; global warming fades into the background while Al moves to the front and center. While a brief personal portrait (family background, political career) could have enhanced the story, in this documentary the focus on Gore dilutes the film's central theme.

Towards the end, Gore's examples become slightly disjointed as he tries to "throw too much into the bag" (ex: overpopulation). I blame this more on the editing of the film than on his live presentations (people have criticized the movie as being "about a slideshow", but seeing the film made me want to attend one of Mr. Gore's presentations in person!). Thankfully, "An Inconvenient Truth" ends on a positive note. That alone makes this documentary recommended viewing.

Even when most human beings go through pretty much the same crisis points in life, each individual has a completely different set of experiences, situations and circumstances that makes him or her unique from others – or so we like to think.

Research has proven time after time that there are more similarities between humans than our minds feel comfortable accepting. Still skeptic? Take a look at the following list and tell me how many of these common human traits apply to you…

Common traits - Most people consider themselves:

• Reliable, dependable and hard-working
• Friendly and fun to be around
• They feel they’re not as satisfied as they could be
• They feel they’re not as recognized as they should be
• Considerate to others and with good people skills
• Honest and loyal to their friends and family
• Have a moderate amount of self-esteem
• Good problem solvers
• Proficient at completing tasks
• Adaptable to most situations
• Overall capable and generally smarter than others
• Good leaders (many think of themselves as natural leaders)
• Resourceful and skilled
• Good-natured
• Proficient in their communication skills
• Family-minded
• Likely to respond positively to flattery
• Likely to respond positively to enthusiasm
• They never question their own belief systems
• Have a deep fear of rejection
• Worry about what others think
• They all cherish the past, complaint about the present and fear the future
• They consider themselves good-intentioned, even when behavior is negative
• They want to make decisions that will make them look good in the eyes of others
• They think about sex far more than they will ever admit
• Almost everyone is afraid of growing old and dying
• Only those in some sort of pain work to change their status quo
• Most are not 100% satisfied at what they see in a mirror
• They will continue with a bad habit until it pains them
• They dislike the feeling of being controlled or manipulated
• They dislike doing things that don’t make sense to them
• They dislike change without a clear benefit or outcome

This list of human similarities is very powerful .

A ship is always called 'SHE' because:

 

. There are usually a gang of men about her

. She has a waist and stays

. It takes lots of paint to keep her good looking

. It is not the initial expense that brakes you, it is the upkeep

. She can be all decked out

. It takes an experienced man to handle her correctly

. And without a man at the helm she is absolutely uncontrollable

. When she is coming into port, she always heads for the bouys... ;)

    Sometimes I wonder how lucky I am to have so many great experiences. I have spent hours leaning over ship's railing to see the dancing & rolling sea, as if she has just been proposed. I still can hear the gushing sound of water as the ship cuts through. The calm moonlight pretends to be shy & the cool wind blowing as if trying to have a conversation with me. It's just the wind and me sometimes. I would close my eyes & have long & deep talks with her, nobody to bother us. Wind passing all over my body as if she can't get enough of me.

    Coastlines are my messengers who passed me the messages of my dear once just so many times. If I don't get sleep & start to linger on the bed; sea would create nice and big swells & wind would start to blow faster as if patting me a swing & singing a lullaby. How on earth anybody could experience this otherwise?

Your suggestion plz!!
i've worked as 5th Engr, for 9 months in a bulk with 5-Stars shipping.
i'm almost done with my class-4 part-B.
I would like 2 get into a Gas Tkr
thinkin of Exmar, Varun, If not NYK, but a problem is tht i've heard they want us 2 do as 5th for 1 contract n then only b promoted,
is there any other means of gettin into gas tanker directly as 4th or atleast as an addnl. 4th for a few months(b/w 3-6) n then b promoted.
n would also like 2 know abt Tanker Pacific(for oil tkrs)

"Times of India" has officially broken the news of a Bangladeshi duo selling "Fake C.D.C's" to Indian sea-farers in Mumbai for Rs 50,000 a "C.D.C". Shipping being a very "Close-Knit" circle with its own "Viscious gossips" and thorogh sea-farer scrutinization seems to surprise even the "Press" with the "Fake C.D.C Scam". Next What? Dr Watson.

 

I'm still trying to get over this new change in my life................

World recognised best-selling author Jeffrey Archer commented in an interview in Mumbai that out of every aspiring thousand authors only one author gets published., ridiculous odds of success to failure ratio.
Thanks to "BLOGGING" an "INTERNET INVENTION", at least all "BLOGGERS " from the Merchant Navy  can fulfill their writing ambitions, including yours truely, proving that  professional life doesn't end in the "Engine-Room" or "Navigation Deck" .

Who knows, a great writer might originate from the sailing fraternity?  According to my personal experience and interaction with other mariners, the experiences of sea-farers could be the  subject of  thrillers , tragedies  and human achievements.
Ultimately blogging is the surest therapy for self-realisation and inter-mingling of ideas leading to a better understanding of one's own strengths and weaknesses.

Code of Conduct on a Pirate Ship:
The rules of each pirate captain were clearly stated to each member of the crew. There was little ambiguity about acceptable behavior among pirates on a typical pirate ship. When a rule was breached, the crew was often without pity or remorse in punishing a guilty crew member. Although in cases of particularly useful pirates such as skillful fighters, exceptions were inevitably made. Below, a sample code of conduct is provided. Outlined below is a sample.

Sample Code of Conduct:  

• Every man shall obey civil Command; the Captain shall have one full share and a half in all Prizes; the Master, Carpenter, Boatswain and Gunner shall have one Share and quarter.

• If any man shall offer to run away, or keep any Secret from the Company, he shall be marroon'd with one Bottle of Powder, one Bottle of Water, one small Arm and shot.

• If any Many shall steel any Thing in the Company, or game, to the Value of a Piece of Eight, he shall be marroon'd or shot.

• If at any Time we should meet another Marrooner (that is Pyrate) that Man that shall sign his Articles without the Consent of our Company, shall suffer such Punishment as the Captain and Company shall think fit.

• That Man that shall strike another whilst these Articles are in force, shall receive Mose's Law (that is 40 stripes lacking one) on the bare Back.

• That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoak Tobacco in the Hold, without a cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall suffer the same Punishment as in the former Article.

• That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit.

• If any Man shall lose a Joint in time of an Engagement he shall have 400 pieces of Eight; if a limb 800.

• If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death.

    This is my first ever blog I have written. I don't know how to write a good blog, but I will try my level best. Hope you wont be bothered...:)

    I wonder being a marine engineer my life is full of events that I could write about. Starting from my pre-seadays till today. How can I forget my first interview at the institute. I still could not figure out how I got selected... :)) That morning muster, daily routine was all so new to me. The feeling when I got my first haircut at the institute, as if shaving it completely, was something. But I just loved that haircut. And later that haircut only made me stand out amongst others, when I went home on my first vacation. :)

    My first signon. I had my first ever international flight that time. I still remember that beautiful airhostress.:) But I was so tensed that I was not bothered about anything, but thinkning about how life onboard will be. I just can't forget my first ship. It was all very difficult on board initially, yet very exciting. The first day on board, before I could figure out anything, I was in the bilges :)) but now I realise how important that was.

Then to my first port. After long sailing when I got down on land the first time, I was still rolling...;)

 

 

So people you see there are just so many things I can think of to write now. I hope my blog was not bugging. I think even when I was thinking that I could not write, I managed to make you read whatever I wrote. So you see its not all the difficult... :)

Thanks for reading it.

 

Ayyappa

I really liked the initiative taken by SeaFolks.com. And I am here totally supporting them. I also have desire to shine in my life. And SeaFolks.com has shown me new way to make that happen. Thanks SeaFolks...