In this edition of the reader story, Rajkumar documents his path from early investing struggles to financial freedom and wisdom. 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…

I am amazed to see a ton of videos advising youngsters to invest in their 20s; the sooner they start, the better it is for them. Compounding is the eighth wonder of the world, etc. Maybe all of that’s true. But I didn’t start investing in equities until I was 29. I am 34 today,…

In this edition of the reader story, “I am Tamil Selvan (name changed), 38 years old, working in the Gulf region for the last 16 years. I come from a simple farming family in Tamil Nadu. My father had taken on significant debt due to farming, and when I started earning in 2009 with a…

In Aug 2024, we published a reader story about a young earner’s journey to one crore and plans to build further wealth: Crossing the Million Mark: Our Journey to the First Crore. This is an update. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some…

In July 2023, we shared an interesting reader story about Shankar (not his real name), who had been burdened with debt for several years. He is now debt-free and rapidly building his equity portfolio. This was quite a different journey compared to an earlier story: My Journey to a Ten Crore Portfolio. As a follow-up,…

In this edition of the reader story,  “Two years ago, I made a decision that reshaped my relationship with money, risk, and peace of mind. Last year, I shared how after losing six months’ worth of income in futures and options (F&O) trading, I stepped away from the chaos and adopted systematic investing. It wasn’t…

We recently received an interesting email, which is reproduced below with the author’s permission. “I have come across your work in the field of saving/investing for financial independence very recently. I come from a family of marginal farmers. Both my parents toil in the fields. For more than 30 years, they used to borrow money…

In this edition of the reader story, “If I were to describe my financial journey in one line, I’d say: It’s been a life of ordinary beginnings, supported by extraordinary people, and driven by quiet persistence.” About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of…

In this edition of the reader story, we have a response to our recent article – Is it better for a young family to rent than to buy a home? My father retired in 2008 from a PSU in Hyderabad. The company is not part of any govt pension scheme, so all he had was a…

In this edition of the reader story, “I’m 42 years old and currently working as a Product Manager in the healthcare sector. My spouse, aged 49, previously worked in the IT industry but chose to step away for personal reasons. We have two children—my son is in the 7th standard and my daughter is in…

In this edition of the reader story, we meet a reader who started with multiple thematic funds, learnt his lesson, and now streamlined his portfolio with three funds. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers. Some of the previous editions are linked…

This is the third in the series of my finance audits. Focus is again on how I track my personal finance related metrics. This should be helpful for DIY investors and should help them to focus on what and how to measure. I am using the same format and adding a FY25 v/s FY24 section….

First, I would like to thank you for sharing your views and guidance with all those who want to achieve a peaceful retirement and financial goals. I have been reading your articles since 2018, especially when you gave an alert on Franklin Templeton Ultra short-duration fund, where you highlighted the risks involved and its NAV…

We are back again with our fourth yearly audit of our financial health (the first three parts are linked below). A huge thanks to the numerous yearly audits posted on freefincal – we were also motivated to document ours, at least once a year. Thankfully, we are doing this for the fourth year in a…

A reader says, “Thank you for being a source of financial wisdom in my journey. Your articles have given me the needed direction and ideas to plan my finances. My situation might be a bit different from that of most of your readers, but I think there might be some lessons in my story”. After…