In this edition of the reader story, we meet a 30-something tech consultant who often ignored logic and followed his heart, but still landed on his feet.
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.
I’m in my mid-thirties and currently work as a tech consultant. My financial journey began way back in 2011, when I started as a software developer. In 2013, I bought land on the outskirts of Chennai (technically, it is Kanchipuram) and in a Tier-2 city for ₹5 lakhs. (Spoiler alert: those plots didn’t turn into gold mines.) Fast forward to 2018—I pursued an MBA, funded 50% from savings and 50% from an education loan. The MBA cost ₹20 lakhs, and yes, I still wonder if the ROI beats an index fund. After completing my MBA, I moved into tech consulting
Armed with MBA wisdom (and a pinch of overconfidence), I jumped into stocks in Sep/Oct 2018. Invested ₹75K across 10–12 stocks. Highlights:
Muthoot Finance – my shining star.
Mindtree – bought at ₹800, sold at ₹650. (Math was never my strong suit.)
Tata Consumer – bought at ₹220, sold at ₹195. It hit ₹400+ soon after. Timing is everything, and I had none.
Yes Bank – bought at ₹230, sold at ₹100. Enough said.
Also sprinkled money across random mutual funds like large-cap, small-cap, contra, banking, and debt funds. Basically, my portfolio looked like a buffet plate at a wedding.
In 2019, I started binge-reading finance blogs and YouTube videos. Eventually, I found Freefincal and Dave Ramsey—finally, voices of reason!
Loved Dave Ramsey’s “debt-free before investing” mantra. So, I focused on killing my education loan first.
Sold all stocks in April 2019 for ₹73K and prepaid the loan. Some stocks were green, some red, but Yes Bank was a black hole. Lesson: Mutual funds > my stock-picking skills.
2019-2021
I started following Freefincal’s Reassemble steps. Got a term insurance. And top-up health insurance
Learned about Portfolio Construction and Asset Allocation—Eye Opener!
“Most people have debt heavy portfolio because of EPF. It will be exceedingly difficult or take a long time for them to achieve 60% equity allocation. Rebalancing from EPF is not an easy option.” This quote lingered on my mind for a long time
Covid Lock-down happened in 2020. Was expecting first child in May-2020.
As a precaution, redeemed ELSS funds in April 2020 (invested in 2017). Even at covid lows, the cagr of the funds were 12%
In April 2020, When the government announced partial withdrawal from EPF because of covid, I applied for the eligible amount hoping to invest in equity post the birth of my child.
In May-2020, after the birth of my kid, I wanted to invest in equity but was not sure if the market will fall further or go up. So took the safe bet and closed the education loan with some of the capital. This is “The Art of Messing Up Correctly” Moment 1.
June 2020: Biggest decision—buying a house for ₹60 lakhs in my hometown (tier-2 city).
Took the plunge. Bought the house as an investment (I stay in my parental house) using loan. Total cost ₹67 lakhs, EMI = 50% of my salary.
I wanted to invest in equity. Asked my parents to invest minor part of their salary in equities. They were reluctant. They preferred to invest in gold and other traditional instruments. When this house offer came, they suggested they will help with the house purchase (a bit of lumpsum for downpayment and supporting with the EMI if required).
My calculation methodology/rationale (fun reference – Budget Padmanabhan Prabhu Style) was if I invest in equity, the principal will be from my contribution only. But if I invest in the house, as a family, the principal will be higher due to additional contributions from parents. I justified my rationale (again my confirmation/or some type of bias) with Pattu Sir’s general take that in the equation A=P*(1+r)^n, P is the most crucial factor. The returns “r” is out of control, but the principal “P” is in our control. We should try to maximize P. I am pretty that this was not Pattu intended when he says focus on P instead of R. His intentions are more on improving your income to increase the P.
Decided to buy the house even after reading almost all articles on FreeFincal on the real estate topic. I agreed at that time (and even now agree) with Pattu’s view on avoiding real estate investments. This is when my irrational brain (with emotions) takes over my rational brain. This is my “The Art of Messing Up Correctly” Moment 2.
Also, in 2020 Work From Home hype made Tier-2 city living sound like the future. Spoiler: offices reopened.
Paid EMIs religiously and pre-paid whenever possible. Felt the EMI burden for the first time—education loan was peanuts compared to this.
Mutual fund story: Invested ₹15K in HDFC Small Cap in 2019. By May 2020, it was ₹9K. Sold in Oct 2020 at ₹14K. Today, it’d be ₹50K. Do I regret it? Nope. (Okay, maybe a little.)
2022-2024
Switched jobs during the IT talent war. Got a fat hike. EMI dropped to 25% of salary, so I doubled it to close the loan faster.
Recently Freefincal ran a poll: pre-pay loan or invest surplus? Theory-mesaid “invest.” Real-meacted on “kill the loan!”
Closed the home loan in 2024 after 4.5 years. Total cost: ₹75 lakhs (₹55L mine, ₹20L parents).
Maxed out kid’s SSY and wife’s PPF. Equity investing? Just ₹15K SIP/month.
2025 and beyond
Post-loan life: Redirected EMI money to equity funds.
Current allocation: 80% debt, 20% equity. Target allocation: 60% equity and 40% debt.
Targets: ₹25L equity by 2026, ₹1Cr by 2030.
Build core equity portfolio with mutual funds.
Start stock investing after hitting ₹25L.
Long-term goals: retirement, kids’ education/wedding, house in work city.
Short-term needs: school fees.
Short term wants – Classifying this as wants because I am having the itch (popular in Team BHP forum) to replace these stuff that are working fine but they need not be replaced.
Gadgets: My Android phone (2021), iPad (2019), and laptop (2016) are all past their official support period but still functional. The iPad is used regularly for kids’ online classes, and the laptop is mostly idle except for job interviews. I plan to replace them gradually, not all at once.
Automobiles: My bike (2012) and my wife’s Activa (2013) are showing their age—low mileage and engine issues. Parents’ car (2010) is still in use for short city trips, under 200 km a month.
Travel: We usually take one or two short trips within Tamil Nadu, Kerala, or Karnataka each year. I’d love to explore the North-East, Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, and maybe even a Southeast Asian country or the UAE.
Solar Panel – Install 3KW solar panel in the house.
Current State of Real Estate
House Value – 75 Lakhs. Monthly Rent – 12K
Plots Bought in 2013/14 – Less than FD returns.
Plots my parents bought in 2017 has almost tripled in value by 2025.
Learning – If investing in plots, invest in plots which will enter the city/corporation limits in the next 5 years. The plots I bought in 2013 are far beyond city limits and it may take another 10/15 years to become part of the city limits. The plots bought in 2017 by my parents grew in appreciation primarily because the locality became part of the city corporation. This is based on my limited experience in real estate. This can be a cause-and-effect fallacy as well.
Financial Instruments Used
Insurance
Term Life Insurance – Canara HSBC Life Insurance – 1.5 Crore
Health Insurance – Top-Up Insurance 25 Lakhs for family. 20 Lakhs employer insurance for family with parents.
Banking Accounts
#
Account
Purpose
1
1 Private Bank Salary Account
2
1 Nationalized Bank Account
Primarily for Investments
3
1 Post Office Savings Account
For Emergency Funds
4
1 Post Office Payments Bank Account
For UPI based Expenses
5
1 Credit Card
Expenses. Using for the past 15 years with the same credit limit.
3. Mutual Funds
#
Fund Name
Year Started
Weight
XIRR
1
PPFAS Flexi cap fund
2021
35%
16.5%
2
Axis Nifty 100 fund
2022
14%
13.8%
3
UTI Midcap 150 Quality 50 Fund
2025
14%
11.1%
4
Canara Robeco Aggressive Hybrid Fund
2025
16%
6.6%
5
ICICI Large Midcap Nifty 250 Index Fund
2025
7%
13.5%
6
PPFAS DAAF
2024
13%
4.3%
Freefincal Reader Story – The Art of Messing Up Correctly Mutual Fund Breakup
I invested in PPFAS DAAF as part of my emergency fund since I do not know when I would need those funds. So, I thought this may be efficient from both taxation and return wise.
The requirement may arise in future when I must invest as part of debt allocation for long term goals when approaching the goal time.
But the returns in Midcaps and the risk reward ratio of midcap funds are too good to ignore. I have FOMO and do not want to lose out on the additional returns from the midcaps. The fluctuating experience with HDFC small cap fund in 2019-20 has ensured that I align with Pattu’s view on not requiring small caps in the portfolio.
In 2025 added ICICI nifty LMC 250 Index fund. This is a redundant substitute of the above two fund.
If I ever move from a unified portfolio to a goal-based approach, here’s the plan:
ICICI fund will be assigned to one goal.
PPFAS Flexicap will handle another.
Axis Nifty 100 and UTI Midcap will be grouped for a third goal.
Target Strategy: I came across an interesting idea on YouTube (thanks to Shankar Nath):
“PPFAS Flexicap is basically a glorified asset allocator.” The suggestion was to replicate it using 70% Nifty 500 + 30% Nasdaq 100. The backtest looked solid (as Pattu and Fin experts say, “Show me a backtest that failed!”). So, my future plan is to implement something similar: 70% Nifty LargeMidcap 250 Index + 30% Nasdaq Index.
Current Challenge: Investing in Nasdaq isn’t easy right now. Mutual funds are closed due to SEBI rules, ETFs have a big price-to-NAV mismatch, and options like GIFT City or LRS feel like too much hassle. I’m exploring INDmoney, but after the Paytm Money experience, I’m cautious about tech platform lock-ins.
Global Diversification: As Pattu says, most people don’t really know why they want global stocks or how diversification reduces risk. Honestly, I’m in the same boat—I understand it at a high level, but the technical details and nuances? Still fuzzy.
Apps and Tools Used
I started investing in mutual funds in 2019 through Paytm Money, but later closed the account when they switched to holding MFs in Demat form instead of a Statement of Account (SoA).
After that, I moved to AMC websites and apps. Initially (2022–2023), I invested manually every month by logging into each AMC app. Over time, this became a hassle due to website glitches and password issues. So, in 2024, I set up SIPs for automated investing to make life easier.
Using MFCentral and Tickertape for a unified portfolio view and analysis.
View on Gold
Gold is the hot topic in 2025, but here’s my take: I come from a South Indian family where gold is practically part of the DNA. Traditionally, families here hold a significant amount of gold as inheritance—often around 30% of total wealth, with the rest in real estate.
Many experts suggest ignoring family gold when planning investments, but I disagree. If I add gold ETFs or gold mutual funds to my portfolio, my overall exposure to gold (family + portfolio) would be excessive. In a hypothetical scenario where gold prices crash (unlikely, but still), both family wealth and my portfolio would take a big hit.
So, I prefer not to invest in paper gold.
Conclusion
Thanks to Pattu and Freefincal for guiding me through this rollercoaster. Without them, I’d probably be trading crypto and praying for miracles.
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.
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Dr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over 13 years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), LinkedIn, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free, AUM-independent investment advice.Our flagship course!Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions!⇐More than 3,500 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter the market condition!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills!⇐More than 800 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner seeking more clients through online visibility, or a salaried individual looking for a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you. (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Our book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!Both the boy and girl-version covers of "Chinchu Gets a superpower". Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So, in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. The narrative revolves around what he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it, as well as teaching him several key ideas of decision-making and money management. What readers say!Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
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Dr M. Pattabiraman (PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over 13 years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), LinkedIn, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free, AUM-independent investment advice.
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is designed to help you ask the right questions and find the correct answers. Additionally, it comes with nine online calculators, allowing you to create custom solutions tailored to your lifestyle. Get it now.
This book is designed for young earners to get their basics right from the start! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.
This is an in-depth exploration of vacation planning, including finding affordable flights, budget accommodations, and practical travel tips. It also examines the benefits of travelling slowly, both financially and psychologically, with links to relevant web pages and guidance at every step. Get the PDF for Rs 300 (instant download)