Financial independence has always been a talked about subject, what is changing however is the trend of FIRE – which means Financial Independence, Retire Early. Several people are sharing their FIRE journeys on social media platforms, detailing what worked for them and what didn’t.One such individual on Reddit claims that he has achieved a net worth of Rs 7 crore at the age of 31. The tech professional from Bengaluru has taken his net worth to around Rs 7 crore, up from roughly Rs 6 crore a year ago.His financial journey, however, did not begin with a large salary or a carefully constructed investment portfolio. He claims he started investing small amounts in mutual funds soon after college, when he first became interested in financial independence. By 26, he had reached his first Rs 1 crore. Three years later, his net worth had crossed Rs 5 crore.
How Bengaluru techie achieved Rs 7 crore net worth
He said his approach to building wealth has been fairly simple: don’t focus only on cutting expenses, find ways to earn more.Early in his career, he realised that there was only so much he could save by restricting purchases. So he concentrated on switching jobs, getting promotions and finding additional sources of income.“Tech was not my strong suit..so spent time learning how to leverage tech to build products that can be sold. People in tech think this is impossible to do..but it is a mindset shift. Eg. If you are a app developer, think of which apps are currently selling that can be build easily. If you have a good personality think of dabbling into content creation. If nothing else, you will learn how to be confident in front of camera, editing skills etc. Any new skills learnt will never go waste..will definitely come handy sometime later in life,” he says.
Rs 7 crore net worth break-up shared by the Reddit user
Alongside his technology career, he experimented with small businesses, including SaaS and D2C ventures. He also spent three months building an app using AI, working on it at night after his regular job.The app failed and he lost a couple of lakhs on marketing. It was disappointing, he says, but he sees failed attempts as part of trying to find something that eventually works.His approach to spending is equally personal. He has travelled internationally more than 15 times because he genuinely enjoys exploring new places, but has little interest in buying a new car and continues to use his father’s 15-year-old vehicle. He believes one of the biggest changes came from deleting Instagram. Without constantly seeing what friends were buying or where they were travelling, he found it easier to stop spending for social status.A large part of his wealth is also tied to his career. He holds about Rs 2 crore worth of ESOPs in the technology company where he works, although he has counted only Rs 1.5 crore in his net-worth calculation because the eventual value could change if the company goes public.He has also started investing in unlisted stocks, including a Rs 40 lakh investment in one company, which he openly describes as a risky bet.He has also said that one doesn’t need to go abroad to earn well.“Stop giving excuses & start looking for opportunities: I see lot of young folks feeling the only way to earn more is to go abroad. Always complaining how bad India is…Going abroad is definitely the easiest way, but not everyone can take that route,” he said.More recently, he has begun buying US blue-chip stocks because of the weakening rupee and plans to invest another Rs 10-15 lakh there over the next year. Gold and silver, meanwhile, have largely passed him by, as he has only a small exposure to gold.Over the past year, he also cleared the debt on two properties, making him debt-free. One of those flats was bought for Rs 65 lakh about two years ago and is now worth around Rs 1 crore, with a rental yield of about 5%. With markets not going much of anywhere over the past year, he says aggressively paying down the property debt worked out better for him than putting that money into equities.
Health a concern
Money has not been the only measure of the past year. He became a father, which he calls the biggest development of the year, although the transition came with some difficult months. His health has also taken a back seat after the arrival of his child. Looking back, he says health is one area that is easy to ignore while chasing financial goals. His own experience has changed that view.He believes healthy habits compound in much the same way as money, and points to eight hours of sleep, regular movement or sport with a target of 8,000 steps a day, and avoiding packaged food as the habits he wants to build. His financial journey, in his telling, is therefore less about finding one winning investment and more about starting early, increasing income, spending on what matters, taking calculated risks and giving compounding enough time to work.(Disclaimer: The Times of India could not independently verify the claims of the Reddit user. Any recommendations and views on financial planning, stock market, or any other asset classes or personal finance management tips do not represent the views of The Times of India. Please consult an advisor before investing.)
