Last Updated on March 26, 2025 at 6:15 am
I’m Rajkumar, a 40-year-old professional who has been part of the hospitality industry since 2006. My investment journey began the same year, sparked by an early encounter with *Rich Dad Poor Dad* during my college days.
Though the book ignited my curiosity, the equity markets truly captured my imagination. I started small, with SIPs of Rs 1,000 per month, steadily increasing my contributions over time. Alongside SIPs, I dabbled in stock picking, often guided by tips from friends rather than any structured strategy. My approach was impulsive—buying randomly, selling quickly for small profits, or holding onto losers until they turned green. Patience was never my strength. Over the years, I invested in several poor-quality companies, many of which went bankrupt, but my journey continued.
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Please note: We welcome such articles from young earners who have just started investing. See, for example, this piece by a 29-year-old: How I track financial goals without worrying about returns. We also have a “mutual fund success stories” series. See, for example, how mutual funds helped me achieve financial independence. Now, back to the reader.
As my career progressed, so did my capacity to invest. I clung to a simple yet powerful belief: if my investments exceeded my expenses, I’d come out ahead. My SIPs remained consistent, even as I kept experimenting with stocks. In 2017, I moved to the Middle East. The unstructured approach persisted until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. During the market crash, a friend who had launched his Registered Advisor (RA) services convinced me to join him. It turned out to be a brilliant move. Leveraging the downturn, my portfolio doubled quickly, catapulting me into sudden wealth. But with this windfall came a detour into dangerous territory.
The rapid gains skewed my judgment. I fell in with the wrong crowd at work, who introduced me to Futures and Options (F&O) trading. Initially, I made some quick profits, but the tide soon turned. Between 2022 and 2023, I lost a staggering Rs 1.93 crores. Worse than the financial hit was the mental toll. F&O became an addiction—consuming my thoughts, wrecking my sleep, and derailing my focus at work.
I’d stay up nights tracking US markets and SGX Nifty, haunted by overnight positions. I couldn’t concentrate at work, and I started lying to my family about my financial troubles, hiding the extent of my losses and my obsession. The addiction grew so severe that even on the day my mother passed away, while funeral preparations were underway, I found myself glancing at my mobile, checking trades. I feel deeply ashamed of that moment, but I’m sharing it openly now to show just how destructive this addiction can be.
The constant trading on mobile apps took a toll on my health too. My weight ballooned, my stress levels soared, and I was a shadow of my former self. Though I managed to hold my career together, I spiraled into depression. This was, without doubt, the darkest phase of my life.
In my search for a way out, I stumbled upon the *Freefincal* website. I devoured its articles and watched countless videos by Pattu Sir, which shifted my perspective entirely. I realized my strength lay in value investing, not speculative trading. Determined to rebuild, I immersed myself in learning—studying company valuation, reading extensively, and turning to YouTube for guidance.
Mohit from SOIC’s videos were a revelation, opening my eyes to the power of buying quality companies below their intrinsic value. Over the next two and a half years, I made bold yet calculated moves in the stock market. By God’s grace, my aggressive stock picks paid off spectacularly, helping me recover all my losses.
Around this time, I connected with Mr. Sriram Jayram, a fee-only financial advisor recommended by Freefincal. His guidance was transformative. He introduced me to goal-based investing and restructured my portfolio, bringing my equity exposure down to 60% and allocating 40% to debt. From Pattu Sir, I also learned the concept of index investing, which brought me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in years. This balanced approach gave me stability and clarity. Looking back, one constant anchored me through the chaos: my SIPs, which I have never stopped since 2006. They proved to be my financial lifeline.
Today, I stand with a corpus of Rs 7 crores, split between equity and debt, and completely debt-free. All I do now is invest in a few good stocks and index funds—a simple, disciplined strategy that keeps me grounded. I share this story to warn others about the destructive lure of F&O trading—a weapon of mass destruction for wealth, health, and well-being.
My journey taught me invaluable lessons: delayed gratification is a superpower, and the bliss of long-term compounding is unmatched. Currently, I’m working in the Middle East, with 20 years of my career still ahead. I plan to slow down at 50 and retire by 52, taking life one steady step at a time. By coming clean about my struggles, I hope to inspire others to break free from such addictions and find peace in sensible, long-term investing.
With Gratitude to Pattu Sir, Rajkumar.
Reader stories published earlier:
As regular readers may know, we publish a personal financial audit each December – this is the 2023 edition: Portfolio Audit 2023: The Annual Review of My Goal-Based Investments. We asked regular readers to share how they review their investments and track financial goals.
- First audit: How Suhas tracks his MF investments and reviews financial goals.
- Second audit: How Avadhoot Joshi evaluates his investment portfolio.
- Third audit: How a single mom is on track to financial freedom
- Fourth audit: How Gowtham started goal-based investing & took control of his money
- Fifth audit: Why my financial independence & early retirement plans were postponed by four years
- Sixth audit: How Abhisek funded his marriage & is on track to financial freedom.
- Seventh audit: How Rohit’s early struggles defined his investment journey
- Eighth audit: Why my investments are still on track despite job loss and lower income.
- Ninth audit: How a retirement planning calculation scared me to take action
- Tenth audit: I made several investment mistakes but have turned my life around.
- Eleventh audit: My net worth doubled in the last financial year, thanks to patient investing!
- Update: How I achieved investing nirvana.
- Twelveth audit: My financial journey: from novice to goal-based investor.
- Thirteenth audit: My journey: from a negative net worth to goal-based investing.
- Fourteenth audit: From Fixed Deposits to Goal-based investing in MFs.
- Fifteenth audit: My 10-year financial journey – mistakes made and lessons learnt.
- Sixteenth audit (part 1): How I achieved financial independence without mutual funds or stocks.
- Sixteenth audit (part 2): Lessons from my financial independence journey and future investment plans.
- Seventeenth audit: How I plan to achieve financial independence and move to my native place
- Eighteenth audit: I used the current bull run to reduce my mutual funds from 14 to 4!
- Nineteenth audit: How a conservative investor created his financial plan
- Twentieth audit: I plan to achieve financial independence by 46; this is my master plan
- Twenty-first audit: I have made many investment mistakes but am on course to financial independence by 45.
- Twenty-second audit: I felt worthless six years ago but have achieved financial stability today
- Twenty-third audit: My financial journey was directionless until age 40: this is how I made up for lost time
- Twenty-fourth audit: Why I increased equity MF investments by 275% and reduced PPF contributions.
- Twenty-fifth audit: How I track financial goals without worrying about returns
- Twenty-sixth audit: I am 24 and started investing 1Y ago, but what am I investing for?
- Twenty-seventh audit: How we plan to achieve a retirement corpus 50 times our annual expenses.
- Twenty-eighth audit: I thought equity investing was a gamble, but now I aim to hold 60% equity for retirement
- Twenty-ninth audit: My journey: From 5 lakhs in debt to building a corpus worth six years in retirement
- Thirtieth audit: My investment journey: From random purchases to a goal-based portfolio
- Thirty-first audit: My investment journey: from product-driven to process-driven
- Thirty-second audit: How a young couple is trying to balance travelling and investing
- Thirty-third audit: My journey: From Rs. 30 bank balance to financial independence
- Thirty-fourth audit: Our journey: From scratch to a net worth of 18 times annual expenses.
- Thirty-fifth audit: From a net worth of Rs. 6000 to auto-pilot goal-based investing
- Thirty-sixth audit: How I retired from corporate bondage at 46, two years ago!
- Thirty-seventh audit: How I learnt to keep it simple and build a net worth 19 times my annual expenses
- Thirty-eighth audit: How Abhineeth plans to achieve financial independence and build a house.
- Thirty-ninth audit: How Sahil plans to achieve financial independence by efficient tracking
- Fortieth audit: My Journey to a Ten Crore Portfolio
- Forty-first audit: Burdened with debt for several years, I am now aggressively investing in equity
- Forty-second audit: From Engineer to Librarian after Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE)
- Forty-third audit: I lost six months’ income in F&O and ditched it for systematic investing
- Forty-fourth audit: My retirement plan to handle the harsh realities of the IT industry
- Forty-fifth audit: My investment journey: mistakes, 10 years of MF investing and recovery
- Forty-sixth audit: My MF portfolio is worth six crores despite multiple mistakes
- Forty-seventh audit: Saving, Investing, and Running Marathons: My 25-year Journey to Financial Independence
- Forty-eighth audit: Never Too Late to Start: How I Became Financially Savvy at 40
- Forty-ninth audit: My Investment Journey to a net worth 29 times my annual expenses
- Fiftieth audit: How I audit my portfolio without tracking returns
- Fifty-first audit: Financial Lessons Learned During and After a PhD
- Fifty-second audit: Investment & Financial journey of a 23 year old
- Fifty-third audit: The system I use to draw income and spend after retirement securely
- Fifty-fourth audit: From Start-Up Employee to Millionaire: A Success Story of Resilience and Smart Investing
- Fifty-fifth audit: 25-Year-Old Software Engineer’s Investment Journey: From Stocks to Mutual Funds and Beyond
- Fifty-sixth audit: Crossing the Million Mark: Our Journey to the First Crore
- Fifty-seventh audit: Navigating Market Volatility: How an IT Professional Transformed His Investment Approach for Retirement
- Fifty-eighth audit: How Sahil achieved a 10X retirement corpus by efficient portfolio tracking
- FIfty-ninth audit: How I achieved financial freedom by 45 without onsite assignments or ESOPs
- Sixtieth audit: Building Wealth on a Government Salary: Lessons Learned
- Sixty-first audit: Minimalism, Index Funds, and Staying Calm: My Investing Journey at 28
- Sixty-second audit: Building Wealth and Breaking Barriers: How Swati Took Control of Her Financial Future
- Sixty-third audit: My financial journey: How I missed the Compounding Bus!
These published audits have had a compounding effect on readers. If you would like to contribute to the DIY community in this manner, send your audits to freefincal AT Gmail. They could be published anonymously if you so desire.