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Thursday, January 22, 2026

How I Went from Unfavourable Web Value to 6x My Annual Bills


On this version of the reader story, we meet a 39-year-old who has remodeled his life from destructive internet price to 6 occasions his annual bills with self-discipline.
About this collection: I’m grateful to readers for sharing intimate particulars about their monetary lives, which advantages us all. Among the earlier editions are linked on the backside of this text. It’s also possible to entry the complete reader story archive.

Opinions expressed in reader tales don’t essentially symbolize the views of freefincal or its editors. We should recognize a number of options to the cash administration puzzle and empathise with various views. Articles are sometimes not checked for grammar except it’s essential to convey the fitting which means and protect the tone and feelings of the writers.

If you want to contribute to the DIY neighborhood on this method, ship your audits to freefincal AT Gmail dot com. You possibly can publish them anonymously if you want.

I’m a 39-year-old male working in IT, primarily based in Pune. I’m married and would not have youngsters. Once I started my profession in 2011 after finishing my M. Tech, I had nearly no understanding of private finance, financial savings, or cash self-discipline. I spent my total wage each month with out a lot thought.

My mother and father are retired bankers, in order that they understood the significance of financial savings and glued earnings nicely. At the moment, my father would usually ask me to switch some cash to his account in order that not less than a small quantity could possibly be saved in my title. Trying again, that was in all probability my first oblique publicity to saving, although I didn’t absolutely recognize it then.

I obtained married in 2016. My earnings remained stagnant as a result of I stayed with the identical firm, whereas bills naturally elevated. Across the similar time, I bought an house—largely as a result of my father insisted. He inspired me to take a house mortgage and alter the remaining quantity from financial savings. His logic was easy: paying an EMI would pressure self-discipline, and proudly owning a house would not less than guarantee I had an asset in my title.

Nevertheless, my wage was fairly low at that time, and managing bills turned tense. To manage, I began utilizing bank cards excessively to bridge the hole. There have been a number of events when my spouse needed to step in and assist clear the dues. This cycle repeated a number of occasions and left me pissed off and anxious.

In 2019, I overheard colleagues discussing SIPs and mutual fund investing. Across the similar time, I got here throughout an IVM podcast the place they talked about mutual funds and a platform referred to as Goalwise (now NiyoMoney). I began investing by way of it, however the quantities have been small and directionless. I had no clear objectives or long-term plan. In 2020, I ended up redeeming most of those investments to handle family bills.

In 2022, we confronted a medical emergency when our pet cat was identified with renal dysfunction. The remedy prices crossed ₹1 lakh, forcing me to redeem nearly all of the emergency funds I had collected by way of mutual funds. At that time, my internet price was destructive, primarily because of the excellent house mortgage.

Whereas paying for my pet’s remedy, a thought struck me deeply: if medical look after pets is that this costly, how rather more pricey would it not be for people? That realization shook me. From that second, I began pondering significantly about monetary independence, emergency planning, and long-term safety.

Someday in 2022—although I don’t recall the precise date—I got here throughout the Paisa Vaisa podcast by Anupam Gupta, the place he interviewed Pattu Sir (Freefincal). That episode turned a turning level. I began following his work, studying extensively, and regularly altering my mindset round cash. The remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.

In 2025, I took a decisive step and employed a fee-only monetary advisor, Basavaraj Tonagatti. Since then, I’ve been making an attempt to strictly comply with the monetary plan laid out for me.

In the present day, my internet price is not destructive, though I nonetheless have a house mortgage. It’s roughly six occasions my annual bills. I do know this isn’t a big quantity, however it’s significant progress for me. My aim is to retire by the age of 55, and for now, my focus is on consistency slightly than velocity.

I’ve not included my house’s worth in my internet price calculation, however I’ve absolutely deducted the excellent house mortgage from the web price calculation.

Present Asset Allocation

  • 50% Fairness and 50% Debt
  • Mutual Funds: Nifty 50 and Nifty Subsequent 50
  • EPF, PPF, RD, and FD
  • No publicity to gold or NPS
  • Restricted publicity to direct shares by way of RSUs/ESOPs

Key Lesson: If there may be one factor my journey has taught me, it’s this: begin now, don’t delay, and keep on with the plan. You don’t want good information or giant sums to start—self-discipline and consistency matter way more over the long term.

I’m deeply grateful to Pattu Sir. By his work, I realized the true significance of private finance, disciplined saving, and long-term investing. Extra importantly, I gained readability on important ideas corresponding to asset allocation, portfolio rebalancing, and de-risking methods—subjects which are hardly ever defined clearly on the web right now. His steerage basically modified the way in which I take into consideration cash and monetary safety.

Reader tales revealed earlier:

As common readers might know, we publish a private monetary audit every December – that is the 2024 version: Portfolio Audit 2024: The Annual Evaluation of My Objective-Primarily based Investments. We requested common readers to share how they evaluate their investments and monitor monetary objectives.

These revealed audits have had a compounding impact on readers. If you want to contribute to the DIY neighborhood on this method, ship your audits to freefincal AT Gmail. It’s also possible to publish them anonymously.

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About The Writer

Pattabiraman editor freefincalPattabiraman editor freefincalDr M. Pattabiraman (PhD) is the founder, managing editor and first creator of freefincal. He’s an affiliate professor on the Indian Institute of Know-how, Madras. He has over 13 years of expertise publishing information evaluation, analysis and monetary product growth. Join with him through Twitter(X), LinkedIn, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You might be wealthy too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY traders. (2) Gamechanger for younger earners. (3) Chinchu Will get a Superpower! for youths. He has additionally written seven different free e-books on varied cash administration subjects. He’s a patron and co-founder of “Charge-only India,” an organisation selling unbiased, commission-free, AUM-independent funding recommendation.


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Our e-book for youths: “Chinchu Will get a Superpower!” is now obtainable!

Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpowerBoth boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower
Each the boy and girl-version covers of “Chinchu Will get a superpower”.

Most investor issues might be traced to an absence of knowledgeable decision-making. We made dangerous choices and cash errors once we began incomes and spent years undoing these errors. Why ought to our youngsters undergo the identical ache? What is that this e-book about? As mother and father, what would it not be if we needed to groom one capability in our youngsters that’s key not solely to cash administration and investing however to any facet of life? My reply: Sound Choice Making. So, on this e-book, we meet Chinchu, who’s about to show 10. The narrative revolves round what he desires for his birthday and the way his mother and father plan for it, in addition to instructing him a number of key concepts of decision-making and cash administration. What readers say!

Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)
Suggestions from a younger reader after studying Chinchu will get a Superpower!

Should-read e-book even for adults! That is one thing that each dad or mum ought to train their youngsters proper from their younger age. The significance of cash administration and determination making primarily based on their desires and desires. Very properly written in easy phrases. – Arun.

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About freefincal & its content material coverage. Freefincal is a Information Media organisation devoted to offering unique evaluation, experiences, critiques and insights on mutual funds, shares, investing, retirement and private finance developments. We accomplish that with out battle of curiosity and bias. Observe us on Google Information. Freefincal serves greater than three million readers a yr (5 million web page views) with articles primarily based solely on factual info and detailed evaluation by its authors. All statements made shall be verified with credible and educated sources earlier than publication. Freefincal doesn’t publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions with out knowledge. All opinions shall be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible proof/knowledge. Contact Data: To get in contact, please use our contact kind. (Sponsored posts or paid collaborations won’t be entertained.)


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