Finding My Own Way: A DIY Investor’s Journey from Doubt to Discipline

Published on / By M. Pattabiraman Twitter: @pattufreefincal

Published: December 26, 2025 at 6:00 am

In this edition of the reader story, Sanjoy shares how he found his way in money management.

Sanjoy’s earlier contributions:

About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this article. You can also access the full reader story archive.

Opinions expressed in reader stories do not necessarily represent the views of freefincal or its editors. We must appreciate multiple solutions to the money management puzzle and empathise with diverse views. Articles are typically not checked for grammar unless it is necessary to convey the right meaning and preserve the tone and emotions of the writers.

If you would like to contribute to the DIY community in this manner, send your audits to freefincal AT Gmail dot com. You can publish them anonymously if you wish.

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, over to the reader.

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I am very new to investing. Since 2021, I have had a demat account or SOA account, but it has felt like a very long journey in my mind. One good thing I have learned to do in this short period is to go back in time and delve into old records of videos, news articles, and research reports, leaving me with a permanent doubt about everything, as all were either absolutely wrong for the right reasons or absolutely right for the wrong reasons. So with this understanding of everything that can go wrong, I have found my nature and what I can or can’t do. I have understood that I can’t be on this journey with others’ conviction, I am completely on my own, and I am willing to live with the outcome. I don’t want to beat the index or be the index; I am my own comfort style, which might look highly risky or stupid to others, and that’s okay.

Section 1: Insurance. I have basic term insurance. The health insurance for me and my dependents is covered by my employer (PSU), for which I am extremely grateful. I haven’t taken outside insurance because my employer’s insurance is far superior to any private option, and matching it externally would result in a very high premium, which doesn’t make sense to me. Anyhow, I am willing to explore it, and I know I need to change my current inertia.

Section 2: Emergency Fund. My emergency fund is 5% of my net worth. However, I have made it the experimental ground for my family. As the breadwinner in the family, I can manage funds for emergencies if anyone else needs them, but what if I am in distress and my family needs to access funds? The family’s investment sceptics have been trained on Conservative Hybrid Funds for over 3 years, with me getting occasional blasts for even a few thousand rupee drawdowns on days. I know they are not yet ready for drawdowns in lakhs. I didn’t keep in pure liquid funds or ultrashort bond funds because they’re likely to be held for longer horizons without disturbance.

Section 3: Borrowings. None except the monthly cycle of credit cards (< 3% Utilization). Although I have been displaced 3 times in the last 3 years because of various Bengaluru reasons, I still didn’t think it was a problem worth a few crores (cost of a decent apartment in Bengaluru) and my family have been very supportive in this sense (because in Kolkata, that money would bring you a Bungalow). I may buy an apartment in the future, but not in this FOMO era or stress, rather in comfort in future if possible.

Section 4: Locked Instruments. I am not a fan of locked instruments, but I force myself to do it; my nature would force me to invest 100% in equities. Locked instruments include employer-given EPF and NPS Tier-1 contributions, as well as self-managed NPS Tier-2 and PPF accounts. I do contribute additional VPF in my EPF, just not to touch the tax liability on interest limit, but I do not make any additional contribution to NPS Tier-1. I find NPS Tier-2 to be an excellent place to use as a Corporate Debt Fund (Tier-2 C). Although not locked, I used NPS Tier-2 as an MF, which I do not redeem, and only a one-sided deposit traffic has been maintained. Unlike advised, I also make a full contribution to PPF by the 5th of April, and it has turned April Fool’s Day into a positive surprise over the last 4 years, as the interest is credited.

Section 5: Liquid Instruments / Stocks. I maintain two savings accounts, one for all incoming and one for all outgoing. It really helps balance the act. I do not keep much in my savings account, as it only enables me to spend more in my previous experiences.

Regarding equities (stocks), I have 0 in MFs. All my holdings are individual stocks, which are very risky and not recommended for anyone. However, having a 2.5-hour daily bus commute has really given me ample time to learn over the past few years. I am very comfortable in individual securities, and being a penny pincher in fallen stocks has become my interest. I don’t think my record is long enough to justify it, but I don’t intend to justify my actions. Maybe 10 years in the future I will re-evaluate myself and my story will be worth telling or an example of failure, but I am ready to accept and live with that outcome.

Sanjoy's net worth evolution
Sanjoy’s net worth evolution

Figure 1 – Overall net worth evolution since having a job (white bars). The orange bars depict the liquid portions (dominated by stocks). The y-axis is an arbitrary unit as NW is not disclosed.

 

Overall trend.

  • A positive “sequence of returns” of 2023-2024 have helped in jumping ahead.
  • The absolute realization of the above’s non-repeatability and unsustainability was very important. Converting paper profits to realization, clearing taxes, and keeping what is left for myself in forgotten and relatively secured places was a work in progress.
  • All current assets are net of taxes paid, as they are relatively newly re-invested in individual securities, unrealized P&L is near zero. Thus, if all amounts are withdrawn, the same amount will be available.
  • First milestone / Relief – The first step of accumulating 30 years of expenses is achieved by age 37. However, to create absolute certainty of success, the goal is moved to achieving the current expenses equivalent only in fixed income instruments (say 40% of net worth), which will be possible only after another 2.5x journey or accumulating 75 years of expenses.
  • Second milestone / Snowball effect – The second step of investment returns crossing in-hand decent salary has been possible in the last two consecutive years. At this stage, managing the corpus becomes a greater deal than additional contributions.
  • Third milestone / Doing nothing – As Pattu sir mentioned, I also always wondered of growing up and doing nothing (just imagining things in my mind). I am taking the steps towards fewer decisions and longer ingestion periods.
  • Changing the milestones – As the portfolio evolves, the mind also does. Finally, a peaceful investment is the best way of investing for a DIY investor. Closing all gossip among colleagues, and taking my family with me on the journey is the ultimate goal.
  • A system that works – One may not find the best or most optimised system. One shouldn’t even try to get above-average systems (beyond Index funds) if they can’t add incremental value. My system is only for me, if I am not there, my nominees are also advised to put in index funds.

Reader stories published earlier:

As regular readers may know, we publish a personal financial audit each December – this is the 2024 edition: Portfolio Audit 2024: The Annual Review of My Goal-Based Investments. We asked regular readers to share how they review their investments and track financial goals.

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. You can also publish them anonymously.