I have many friends who invested their entire life's earnings into starting their own businesses and ended up facing significant challenges. One such example is my friend Abdul Khader, who lived with me in Jeddah for ten years. (To maintain the privacy of my friend, the name, place and photo given here are not real.) Abdul Khader moved to Saudi Arabia in the early 1970s when he was just 21 years old. When we met in Jeddah in 1996, he was 46. After 33 years of working abroad, he returned to India in 2003, having already arranged his daughter's marriage. His daughter lived in England with her husband, and his son, after completing nursing, secured a job at a government hospital in Riyadh.

When his wife was left alone in a big house, Abdul Khader decided to return home. Along with a substantial amount from his company as retirement benefit, he also had a significant sum saved over the years. Not wanting to sit idle at home, he started a construction materials shop in his town. By 2007, when I visited him to invite him to my son’s wedding, his shop was the busiest in town.

When I visited him again in June 2024, the business landscape had changed. Several modern showrooms selling the same materials had emerged, and his shop was no longer as profitable. On top of this, Abdul Khader faced several health issues. He underwent hernia surgery twice and later had open-heart surgery due to heart-related problems. His wife is also battling cancer.

Despite these challenges, Abdul Khader still opens his shop every day at 9:30 AM and stays until 8:30 PM, personally managing the cash counter. He now realizes that his prolonged hours sitting at the shop have contributed to his health issues. At home, his wife also laments that they hardly get any time together. Invitations to weddings and social events often go unattended because Abdul Khader cannot leave the shop.

When I asked him why he does not retire and rest at home, especially at 76 years old, his response was revealing. After his surgeries, he tried resting at home but found that kind of life unsuitable for him. "It’s all about mindset," I told him, but he only smiled in response.

The High Price of Risky Ventures

Our country is full of stories of people who, after years of hard work, lost everything in risky ventures. Many remember the tragic case of Sajan from Anthoor, who invested millions to build a convention center, only to be denied permission to operate it. Unable to cope with the loss, he took his own life in that very building.

Similarly, Rajmohan, a retired soldier from Thiruvarppu in Kottayam, who had earned distinguished service medals, fell into a similar trap. In a moment of weakness, he decided to become a private bus owner. When disputes with his employees led to a strike, he was assaulted even when he was under police protection—a scene many of us saw on television.

Risky Investments

Those who invest in the wrong institutions and lose their savings are just as unfortunate as those who run businesses and are forced to live under extreme mental stress. When depositors of these institutions try to get their money back, what they receive is ridicule and sometimes even violence! Wicked forces are always on the lookout for ways to trap and swindle us.

There have been countless cases where private financial firms — which functioned well for decades and earned a reputation— disappeared overnight with investors’ money. We can never be sure how the next generation of such family-run firms will handle things. Banks controlled by corrupt politicians are prime examples of misgovernance. In such places, our money is not safe; and when we need it most, we might not even be able to withdraw it.

There are many incidents where people deposited their hard earned money of a lifetime in banks managed by politicians and ended up earning neither interest nor capital. Even for treatment of critical illnesses, the depositors could not withdraw the money they have deposited.

Fortunately, there are now many avenues in our country where we can invest our hard-earned money in ways that are genuinely useful for ourselves and our dependents. Some of these include:

• Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS)
• Pension (Annuity) plans from insurance companies approved by IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India)
• Fixed deposits in recognized banks like the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)
• Systematic Withdrawal Plans (SWP) in mutual funds

With so many reliable options available to us, we must never fall into traps laid by deceitful forces and lose the fruits of our life-long labor.