Every year, when Rekha’s bonus arrived, a quiet discussion began at home. Rekha wanted to prepay the home loan. Sameer wanted to buy a bigger television, for what he called “financial morale.”
They sat down with the loan statement, which Sameer had never read and Rekha knew by heart. The interest component in the early years looked like a villain from an old movie: dramatic, large and impossible to ignore.
They agreed on a pact: half the bonus would go to prepayment, a quarter to savings, and a quarter to joy, and joy included the television, provided it was under ₹40,000 and came with a warranty.
Sameer argued that joy deserved a bigger share. Rekha said joy was welcome to grow, as long as it learned to pay its own EMI.
Three years later, the loan tenure had shrunk by almost two years. The television had survived two cricket seasons. Sameer calls the pact the best deal of his life. Rekha calls it the only meeting he has ever attended on time.