This is the archive of all our articles from readers detailing their investment journeys.
You too can share your investment journey in this section (anonymously if you wish). You do not need to be financially independent, a crorepati, or have experience to write your journey.
Just write down your relationship with money in chronological order. You do not need to include portfolio amt or investment details (you can if you are comfortable). Please write naturally without the use of AI.
This will inspire the DIY community, and most authors tend to get a better perspective on money management as a result.
There is no required format or age limit. English fluency is also not required — only a willingness to share and aid the community.
Contact us if you are interested. You can send the article to the email from which you respond.
PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL NOT OFFER ANY PERSONAL ADVICE ON YOUR PORTFOLIO.
In this edition of the reader story, we feature a 38-year-old who started his career as a hotel helper at the age of 10! 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…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader-story, “I believe many people in this group, especially those who are still learning about personal finance, may relate to my financial journey. This is not a story about extraordinary investment returns or a perfect financial plan. It is a story about financial mistakes, poor decisions, learning, recovery, and starting again.”…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader-story, “I’m 38 years old today, working a private sector job, and living in a Tier 1 city on rent with my spouse and our 4-year-old kid. Around 2021, I stumbled upon Pattu Sir’s videos. Luckily, I had a light workload at the time and binged his entire YouTube channel —…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “Hi friends, I am Abhineeth, and this is my 4th financial audit. We welcomed our baby boy in 2025, a sweet blessing. 2025 was an eventful year for us financially. I pre-closed my personal loan by withdrawing from mutual funds in September 2025(when the Sensex was around 82000) as…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “When I wrote to Freefincal in January 2025, my overall corpus was around ₹3.4 Crores, and my thought process was still largely centred around accumulation and reaching a financial independence number over the next several years”. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, Sahil presents his fourth financial audit. 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…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “Here we are again with our fifth yearly audit. If you missed the earlier ones, you can read our previous audits on freefincal below. A huge thanks, Pattu sir, freefincal community and AIFW group on Facebook, which has been the constant source of guidance.” A very brief background: we…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “Hi, I’m Pretorius, a 30-year-old Software Engineer, sharing my 2026 financial audit. My upbringing has been very middle-class, so investing, saving and spending money prudently is almost second nature to my family. I review my personal finances and retirement portfolio annually, and I would like to thank Pattu sir…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “The path to financial independence is rarely a straight line. For me, it has been a story of shifting mindsets, career pivots, and learning how to manage risk without losing my mind”. I am 32 years old, married for four years, and a father to two daughters aged three…
Continue reading →A reader shared a health scare he recently experienced and the lessons he learnt from it. He would like to remain anonymous. I have diligently built my net worth to Rs. 10 crores over the past 20 years, with a good but not spectacular salary, all of which has been earned in India. Thanks to…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, we have “a late-starter story with a few bruises, some luck, and a system that finally makes sense”. 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…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, we have a 25K salary-to-25X corpus growth story. 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…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “Like most engineering graduates in India, I pursued a non-IT engineering major but ended up joining an IT services company as a campus recruit. Unfortunately, the 2008 recession delayed my joining by almost a year. Even today, I regret wasting that precious year. With some additional effort, I could…
Continue reading →I have been a follower of Freefincal for 3+ years now and have immensely benefited from Pattu sir’s articles and fellow reader stories. I wish to share my journey, which I hope will help someone just starting their financial journey. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives,…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story … It all started in 2010. I wanted to pursue engineering. I had scored around 90%, yet I joined a tier-3 college for my B.E. in Computer Science. Even today, I don’t fully know why — whether I failed to filter colleges well, or whether competition was already that…
Continue reading →