Last Updated on January 10, 2026 at 11:40 am
In this edition of the reader story, a 42-year-old doctor shares his journey to financial freedom.
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.
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My portfolio is an outcome of all the mistakes I have made. I am a 42-year-old. old doctor, having my own practice. Being a first-generation doctor in my family came with its own set of challenges; long duration of study, having to start from scratch as I did not inherit a legacy medical practice, etc. I was born and brought up in the suburbs of Mumbai. Both my parents were government employees. We were a modest middle-class family. But since childhood my parents ingrained us (me and my elder brother) with the values of hard work, honesty and a frugal lifestyle.
I started my medical practice at the age of 30. Initially, I was working as an associate with a senior doctor. Within a year, I set up my own practice. The initial 3 years were a lot of struggles. But gradually the practice picked up with word of mouth from satisfied patients. For the first 5 years, I was barely able to save much. The entire revenues were being used to run the practice. But as the practice did well in the coming years, I was able to start investing.
I first built up my emergency savings and invested in ppf. Then in 2016, I bought my first stock with the guidance of my friend. It was a small cap company. Although the amount wasn’t much, I lost most of it! But it intrigued me and made me read more and try to understand the markets. Later on, I invested in my friend’s advisory stock agency and lost 3.5 lac out of my 5lac investment!
Then I moved to investing in direct stocks. I used help of a reputed stock advisory; I invested across market caps. I made some money in a few of them and lost money in some. But with increasing work commitments, I wasn’t able to research companies or dedicate much time to it. I also started trading in derivatives and lost almost 2lacs in it! When I tried to do an audit of my direct stock portfolio, I realised the returns were probably lower than the Nifty. That is when I learnt about index funds. The simplicity of index funds really appealed to me.
Since COVID, I started investing in index funds. I do not hold any active funds. I own a very small stock portfolio. Now, I channel most of my savings into index funds and long-term debt funds. Investing in mutual funds freed up a lot of mental bandwidth, due to which I was able to focus more and give more time to my work and family. My savings rate is almost 80%. We live in a multi-generational home with our parents. We have a simple lifestyle, but we do spend on experiences with kids. We take two international vacations every year and prioritize healthy lifestyle for us and our kids.
I have two daughters, they are 11 and 5 years old. My upcoming goals are higher education for my daughter in 7 years, higher education for my younger daughter in 13 years. I also want to give a seed/business fund for my daughters of 5cr each. I do not have term insurance as my assets are comfortable to take care of my family. I have health insurance of 1 cr for my family.
Real estate assets are 60%, and financial assets are 40% (index funds Nifty 50, Nifty Next 50 make up 65%, debt funds/FD/PPF are 30%). I maintain 5% cash at all times to take advantage of market opportunities. At present, I am only investing in financial assets as I do not want to increase my exposure to real estate. I have engaged a fee-only financial advisor. And it is highly recommended.
I have funds for all my goals. I have 50x of my annual expenses. So, I have hit the proverbial ‘FIRE’ number. But I do not plan to retire. I love my work and plan to continue as long as I can do it physically and mentally. Work brings me satisfaction, purpose, identity and joy.
My learnings in my financial journey are as follows
- The biggest investment you can ever make is YOURSELF. Upgrade your skills, be in the know and work hard. Make use of the human capital that you have.
- Risk mitigation and protection should be the first step of financial planning. Adequate health and term insurance, along with emergency savings, will make you bulletproof.
- Keep a high savings rate, but do spend on things/ experiences that bring you joy.
- For every investment that you make, ask a few simple questions. What is the risk? Who is the regulator? What are the expected returns? (Market returns vs fixed returns). What are the exit loads and liquidity options? what are the fees/expenses? And what is the taxation on it. These factors will determine whether the investment is suitable for you and your goals.
- Real estate investing is a hassle. I do not personally like investing in real estate anymore, although bulk of my investments are in real estate. I am trying to sell some of them and investing the proceeds in financial instruments.
- Pick up an asset allocation that you are comfortable with and rebalance annually.
- Equity returns are non-linear. When it rains, it pours! 80 % of times the markets will do nothing or go down. It is the 20% that will make your returns. Do not miss the best days in the market. Stay invested. Position your portfolio to take advantage of the bull market.
- Returns are over-rated. Accumulation is underrated! If your portfolio is 1Cr and you save 10 lacs a year, it’s a guaranteed 10% return! The base capital is what matters, as the returns are generated on the base amount. The absolute number of the returns barely matter.
- Make funds available for short term needs. Anticipate the amount and keep that money safe.
- Always keep an opportunity fund. Courage in a crisis but without cash is of no use.
- For those investing in direct stocks, maintain an investment journal. Write down the investment hypothesis, entry price, position sizing/allocation and exit strategy for every stock that you own.
- Have an answer ready to two basic questions, what if I die today? And what if I live till the age of 100? The financial plan should be made in such a way as to handle both these circumstances.
- Make a will irrespective of age and register it.
- I do not believe in small exposure! I will dig an inch wide, but a mile deep. I keep my investment eggs in a small basket and watch that basket. Any investment that I make has to make a meaningful difference to my portfolio.
- While tax optimization via legal means should be done, the resistance to pay tax and making investment blunders in the process may turn out to be more costly in the long term.
- Make time for family and friends. Develop real social connections. Money is just a tool and a means to an end. Money does buy happiness. But more important than that money gives you security and peace of mind.
- Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. William Bruce Cameron
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.
- First audit: How Suhas tracks his MF investments and reviews financial goals.
- Second audit: How Avadhoot Joshi evaluates his investment portfolio.
- Third audit: How a single mom is on track to financial freedom
- Fourth audit: How Gowtham started goal-based investing & took control of his money
- Fifth audit: Why my financial independence & early retirement plans were postponed by four years
- Sixth audit: How Abhisek funded his marriage & is on track to financial freedom.
- Seventh audit: How Rohit’s early struggles defined his investment journey
- Eighth audit: Why my investments are still on track despite job loss and lower income.
- Ninth audit: How a retirement planning calculation scared me to take action
- Tenth audit: I made several investment mistakes but have turned my life around.
- Eleventh audit: My net worth doubled in the last financial year, thanks to patient investing!
- Update: How I achieved investing nirvana.
- Twelfth audit: My financial journey: from novice to goal-based investor.
- Thirteenth audit: My journey: from a negative net worth to goal-based investing.
- Fourteenth audit: From Fixed Deposits to Goal-based investing in MFs.
- Fifteenth audit: My 10-year financial journey – mistakes made and lessons learnt.
- Sixteenth audit (part 1): How I achieved financial independence without mutual funds or stocks.
- Sixteenth audit (part 2): Lessons from my financial independence journey and future investment plans.
- Seventeenth audit: How I plan to achieve financial independence and move to my native place
- Eighteenth audit: I used the current bull run to reduce my mutual funds from 14 to 4!
- Nineteenth audit: How a conservative investor created his financial plan
- Twentieth audit: I plan to achieve financial independence by 46; this is my master plan
- Twenty-first audit: I have made many investment mistakes but am on course to financial independence by 45.
- Twenty-second audit: I felt worthless six years ago but have achieved financial stability today
- Twenty-third audit: My financial journey was directionless until age 40: this is how I made up for lost time
- Twenty-fourth audit: Why I increased equity MF investments by 275% and reduced PPF contributions.
- Twenty-fifth audit: How I track financial goals without worrying about returns
- Twenty-sixth audit: I am 24 and started investing 1Y ago, but what am I investing for?
- Twenty-seventh audit: How we plan to achieve a retirement corpus 50 times our annual expenses.
- Twenty-eighth audit: I thought equity investing was a gamble, but now I aim to hold 60% equity for retirement
- Twenty-ninth audit: My journey: From 5 lakhs in debt to building a corpus worth six years in retirement
- Thirtieth audit: My investment journey: From random purchases to a goal-based portfolio
- Thirty-first audit: My investment journey: from product-driven to process-driven
- Thirty-second audit: How a young couple is trying to balance travelling and investing
- Thirty-third audit: My journey: From Rs. 30 bank balance to financial independence
- Thirty-fourth audit: Our journey: From scratch to a net worth of 18 times annual expenses.
- Thirty-fifth audit: From a net worth of Rs. 6000 to auto-pilot goal-based investing
- Thirty-sixth audit: How I retired from corporate bondage at 46, two years ago!
- Thirty-seventh audit: How I learnt to keep it simple and build a net worth 19 times my annual expenses
- Thirty-eighth audit: How Abhineeth plans to achieve financial independence and build a house.
- Thirty-ninth audit: How Sahil plans to achieve financial independence by efficient tracking
- Fortieth audit: My Journey to a Ten Crore Portfolio
- Forty-first audit: Burdened with debt for several years, I am now aggressively investing in equity
- Forty-second audit: From Engineer to Librarian after Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE)
- Forty-third audit: I lost six months’ income in F&O and ditched it for systematic investing
- Forty-fourth audit: My retirement plan to handle the harsh realities of the IT industry
- Forty-fifth audit: My investment journey: mistakes, 10 years of MF investing and recovery
- Forty-sixth audit: My MF portfolio is worth six crores despite multiple mistakes
- Forty-seventh audit: Saving, Investing, and Running Marathons: My 25-year Journey to Financial Independence
- Forty-eighth audit: Never Too Late to Start: How I Became Financially Savvy at 40
- Forty-ninth audit: My Investment Journey to a net worth 29 times my annual expenses
- Fiftieth audit: How I audit my portfolio without tracking returns
- Fifty-first audit: Financial Lessons Learned During and After a PhD
- Fifty-second audit: Investment & Financial journey of a 23 year old
- Fifty-third audit: The system I use to draw income and spend after retirement securely
- Fifty-fourth audit: From Start-Up Employee to Millionaire: A Success Story of Resilience and Smart Investing
- Fifty-fifth audit: 25-Year-Old Software Engineer’s Investment Journey: From Stocks to Mutual Funds and Beyond
- Fifty-sixth audit: Crossing the Million Mark: Our Journey to the First Crore
- Fifty-seventh audit: Navigating Market Volatility: How an IT Professional Transformed His Investment Approach for Retirement
- Fifty-eighth audit: How Sahil achieved a 10X retirement corpus by efficient portfolio tracking
- Fifty-ninth audit: How I achieved financial freedom by 45 without onsite assignments or ESOPs
- Sixtieth audit: Building Wealth on a Government Salary: Lessons Learned
- Sixty-first audit: Minimalism, Index Funds, and Staying Calm: My Investing Journey at 28
- Sixty-second audit: Building Wealth and Breaking Barriers: How Swati Took Control of Her Financial Future
- Sixty-third audit: My financial journey: How I missed the Compounding Bus!
- Sixty-fourth audit: My MF investment journey: From thematic funds to a 3-fund portfolio
- Sixty-fifth audit: From Debt to ₹1 Crore Liquid Net Worth: My Journey of Financial Awareness.
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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