GASP

This is an acronym developed by Arun Agarwal when working on his Ph.D thesis. The acronym provides an explanation to the life cycle.

Growing (G)

This is the early stage of our life. During this stage we are learning about life, getting educated and understanding the attributes that will shape our later years of the life. Usually this period lasts from birth until about age 20.

Adjusting or Adapting (A)

During this period we usually start working and getting education on the parameters of the life that relate to marriage, job, advanced education and discharging of the liabilities acquired during the Growing years. This period usually lasts from age 20 to about 30.

Settlement (S)

This is supposed to be the most important phase of our life. During this period we start building our life and family. We concentrate on starting a family, advancing our career, increasing our earning potential, caring for our family including the education of our children and potentially building a security nest for the later years of our life. This period can last from 30 to 60 or 65.

Passing (P)

This is the period that is most neglected resulting in pain in the later years of our life. This is the phase or more accurately the process or plan to cope up with the years of our life when our earning potential has come to zero or an insignificant amount. This is the most important part of this site. It distinguishes it from other sites. We will discuss it in detail.

Passing represents a phase in life but more importantly it represents how to pass the later years of our life with pleasure and in peace. This phase assumes significance as capacity to earn has been reduced to almost zero and any external factor that adds to the expense disturbs our life for years to come and sometimes it almost becomes impossible to bring our life on track. Therefore it’s very important to plan for this phase in advance. How do we plan? This is where the real meaning of this phase comes in play. Passing in essence means Quit, Omit, Leave out or Give Up. Any word that signifies reduction can address this phase.

All Financial advisors develop a plan on the premise that one should maintain the same lifestyle as before. Some even go further by suggesting a lavish lifestyle without realizing that it’s neither possible nor its desirable. Think of the body as a vintage car in this stage of the life. The car is maintained without putting on any mileage. the same goes for our body. It needs to be taken care of without subjecting it to daily stress and strain. To do this, the word ‘Pass’ comes in handy. It is not easy to explain everything, however in one sentence we can explain the meaning of ‘Pass’.

At this stage our objective should be- “Eat to live rather than Live to eat”. Give up the things that are detrimental and require significant expenditure and we should be able to live within our means and savings. Give up or Passing should start at least after we attain the age of 50 so that by the time our earning potential has been reduced to zero we are well prepared and placed to enjoy the later years of life with pleasure and in peace.