No time to shop, no time to spend: Jaitley

NEW DELHI: BJP general secretary ArunJaitley is undoubtedly one of the more high-profile faces of the BJP. From DUSUpresident to ace lawyer and Cabinet minister, Jaitley was entrusted last yearwith the task of beefing up the party organisation. Devoting himself topolitics has meant that Jaitley has had to put his legal practice on hold. Andalso that he''s had to plan his finances "in such a way that I have enough moneyto see me through during the phases when I am not earning my usual amount, likewhen I was Cabinet minister".I''ll put myself in the moderate category. Ilive comfortably but I''m not extravagant. I do save because there have beenphases in my life when I have had to live entirely on my savings. This makes mecautious and desirous, always, of the need to planahead.Not much - a few 500 rupee notes, but I almost neverspend them. My circle of activity is now restricted to Parliament House, the BJPparty office, the courts and travelling around the country for party work. Iseldom have time for shopping and have not been to Connaught Place for a longtime now. The only time I get to do some shopping is when I travel outside thecountry. Basically, my wife does all the shopping, including buying herself abirthday present from me or buying presents for thekids.I carry a whole lot of them - American Express, Visa,Mastercard - the whole gamut.My secretary, who has been with meever since I became a lawyer. He takes care of everything, including myday-to-day accounts. My household expenditure is looked after by mywife.I own a house in which I live - it serves as my office aswell. I own another property, which I have rented out to supplement myincome.No. I have never bought a single share in my life. I findthe share market very fragile. Whenever I am out of law practice I have to leanback on my savings, so I need a stable income from a non-volatilesource.Investing in Reserve Bank of India tax-free bonds. Istarted doing so when I was getting a 10-per cent tax-free income, and continueto do so even when interest rates are down to seven per cent. Even at this rate,considering present inflation figures, they offer the best form ofinvestment.Investing in the Unit Trust of India - I have ended up losinga lot of money.Not really, but I do admit I have a weakness for goodpens and spectacle frames. Whenever I go abroad, I am definitely on the look-outfor a pair of good frames.I prefer not to answerthat question.I was born into a middle-class family, my parentswere refugees from Lahore. They spent a lot of money educating their threechildren, including myself, in good public schools. We were a disciplinedfamily, and so we lived in basic comfort with no extravagances at all. Once Istarted earning, I was never hard up.That oneshould never be too attached to it. The other thing: Not to keep any black moneyin the house, since this generally gets frittered away in wasteful expenditure.I believe it is always better to go in for stable investment than to attempt tomake a fast buck.