Every Sunday morning, Ramesh goes to the local vegetable market.
He slows down at the tomato stall.
He presses one tomato gently.
He turns another to check for dark spots.
He rejects a few.
The vendor smiles knowingly.
“These will be eaten by my family,” Ramesh says. “They should be good.”
Five minutes later, Ramesh is on a call with his bank relationship manager.
“Sir, this product is very good. Tax saving is also there. Returns are excellent,” the RM says confidently.
Ramesh doesn’t ask:
What problem does this product solve?
How risky is it?
What happens if I need money early?
Is this suitable for my goals?
He simply replies,
“Okay, go ahead.”
No pressing.
No checking.
No rejection.
Why the difference?
Ramesh knows one thing for sure:
Rotten tomatoes will show their effect today.
But financial mistakes? They are polite. They don’t shout.
They don’t spoil immediately.
They wait.
Ten years later
Ramesh is older.
His child is ready for college.
He opens his investment statement.
The “excellent” product:
It is hard to exit !
Gave lower-than-expected returns
Is full of charges he never noticed
The loss is not just money.
It’s time.
It’s options.
It’s peace of mind.
No one says, “This investment is rotten.”
Because unlike tomatoes, bad financial products don’t smell. The uncomfortable truth is people don’t skip due diligence because they are ignorant.
They skip it because:
Finance feels complicated
The pain is delayed
Trust is outsourced
And salespeople know this.
A vegetable seller cannot sell rotten tomatoes by renaming them.
A financial product seller can by using brochures, jargon, and promises.
A simple rule for investors
Before buying any financial product, ask yourself:
“If this were food my family would consume every day for the next 10 years, would I buy it this easily?”
If the answer is no, stop.
You don’t need to understand every financial term.
You only need to care as much about your future as you care about your Sunday vegetables.
Because money feeds futures
And futures deserve at least the same attention as tomatoes.
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