Last Updated on September 23, 2021 at 8:32 am
We have an incredible rag to riches story in this episode of “how I increased my income”. If ever we needed proof that it is possible to change our social station by grit, sacrifice and perseverance, this is it.
About this series: We all appreciate the importance of a higher income but increasing our income is not easy. It requires time, effort, sacrifice, dedication and opportunities. In these articles, we showcase inspirational stories about people who have increased their income, their station in life via self-improvement, upskilling or side-hustles.
This idea started when 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 accounts were quite extraordinary. These are the stories published earlier:
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- How my mother moved up the corporate ladder with constant self-growth.
- How I started a side hustle at 16 by blogging and web development
- How I learned new skills with side hustles and advanced my career
- Side-hustle journey: How I started a children’s book club following my passion
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. It can be published anonymously if you prefer.
The following is essentially a comment shared on the thread mentioned above. Although telegraphic in style, it is pretty straightforward. Therefore we have not edited/expounded it further.
This is my wife’s story:
- She lived on ration rice, one pair of jeans and three tops and a torn shoe.
- 1996 – finished college. 1st job was for a day, selling encyclopaedia/dictionary in Chennai’s Parry’s corner.
- 2nd job – joined a Medical college as an office assistant – her job was to source and get dead bodies from govt hospitals to use in the college class. Paid her Rs. 1500 a month for three months.
- 1997 – joined a pizza co as a project assistant. She grew in the role.
- 1999 – joined a famous textile showroom as a manager. The company went bust in 2000.
- 2000 – joined a textile manufacturing co as MD’s PA grew to become a garment merchandiser.
- 2001 – got married and quit the job.
- 2003 – after our child was born joined a BPO as a training assistant for 18000.
- 2005 joined a bigger BPO, Chennai. 28k/month
- 2007, when our child was four took the call to shift to Pune alone (family stayed in Chennai. My mum took care of daughter)(air Deccan was a blessing with low fares). The salary jump was excellent. She got promoted to Manager of the training dept in six months.
- 2009 – joined a global Oil & Gas co in Chennai. At home with a better salary.
- 2012- seeing her potential – transferred abroad. 2 promotions in 4 years.
- 2017 – She was transferred to another country and promoted again. (Salary is 150x of what she started in 2009). Now, senior-most Indian in the location.
- Top performer bracket every year since 2010
I am proud of her. Sheer hard work; Her mantra – Always give 150% of what is expected of you.
Everyday question – what have you done extra & have you helped anyone else grow?
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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 ten 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 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 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.
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