Last Updated on December 29, 2021 at 6:23 pm
A few days, I had asked members of Facebook, Asan Ideas for Wealth, to share real-life stories of how they or someone they knew increased their income by upskilling, self-growth (personal development) or side-hustles. Many of the stories were quite extraordinary. In the first such account, we meet Mrs Rajalakshmi Rangarajan as narrated by her son, Sudharshan.
We have similar stories lined in the coming weeks. If you have increased your income and changed your station in life, please share it with our community. It will inspire and motivate many. Contact us at freefincal {AT} Gmail {DOT} com with a short outline to take it forward.
My mother started as a clerk with SBI at 19. She got places before completing her degree. Even though everyone felt she need not complete her degree, she still aced her degree. She was then transferred to Mumbai post marriage.
In the early 90s, she did a CMC computer course for three months. She will say it was mandatory, but she could have said no. Dad insisted she learns computers while her office was using typewriters. Whenever an opportunity or course was possible, she completed them.
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email! 🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥
She consistently kept appearing for some exam or other without any compulsion every year. A bunch of banking exams were given between 1991 to 1998, for which Dad used to teach her on their half an hour mandatory walk together to the railway station and on some Sundays.
She joined the SBI’s net banking team, 2004. One of the two women in the team.
Then onwards she started completing courses like
1. Diploma in Finance, distance education from CFM
2. Distance MBA from Sikkim Manipal University
3. CCNA
4. CISA
5. CISM
Courses like CISA and CISM require mandatory webinar attendance. So her Sundays were spent on these.
Now a chief manager, she was selected to work as VP IT in SBI Singapore for a while.
She never shied away from work. Late nights were okay for her; we backed her up all the time. She has also worked in some sexist teams where they had preconceived notions, but she endured and prevailed. She probably worked twice as hard as every other team member.
Her policy has been to take up work and understand it from the ground up.
Always ready to help anyone with the same zest and interest, the poorest of farmers who have been scammed via some phishing calls or senior officials of SBI who have issues with internet banking, even though she left that dept a decade ago.
Even now keeps giving some exam or the other. I have no idea how many more qualifications apart from the mandatory banking exams. She can retire now but won’t.
She has been posted in rural India for 5 yrs. During promotion from clerk to officer (Trainee Officer route), she worked across Maharashtra and underwent training across India. While at Internet banking, she travelled a lot on work and racked up frequent flier miles.
Was it hard? Yes. Did we miss her? Yes. Dad backed her 100%, and we backed him up. When her Singapore posting news came around 2018, our question was only when and how, if she wants to proceed. Everyone asked why she does have to go now; my marriage discussion was happening around that time.
Were there issues around scheduling? Yes. But these are operational issues.
I realised that we should not question why someone wants to progress in their career. It is a personal aspiration. Before she became my mom, she had her aspirations too. We can’t be selfish and ask people to sacrifice their aspirations for our needs; this has been our ideal all along.
Ms Rajalakshmi is an amateur photographer. Her work can be found here on Facebook: Raji’s Photography.
If you have increased your income and changed your station in life, share it with our community. It will inspire and motivate many. Contact us at freefincal {AT} Gmail {DOT} com with a short outline to take it forward.
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with the form below.
- Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!
About The Author
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 ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter, 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 investment advice.Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3,000 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 what the market condition is!! 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.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 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 who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & it's content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our YouTube Videos
- Posts feed via Feedburner.
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)