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 30L from his EPF, savings of about 15L, and sale proceeds of 40L from his house in Hyderabad. It was an independent house, and he felt he and my mother didn’t need such a huge house, so they moved to a rented house, paying 8K as rent in 2008 and decided to invest the 85L and live on its interest. At that time, they were getting about 7L per year and their monthly expense, including the rent, were about 35K. Everything was perfect, and they were happy.
Until 2020, I had taken a mediclaim from a private insurance company. I was paying a premium of 9K for a cover of 2L (floater). In 2020, they hiked it to 45K for a 3L cover (saying they don’t offer the 2L option any more) and then in 2021, they hiked it to 85K for a 3L cover, despite NO claims for the last 12 years. Porting was not an option as other companies charged exorbitantly, and no company offered fresh mediclaim to a 72-year-old man. I had no option but to give up paying mediclaim premium, as paying 85K for a 3L cover didn’t make sense.
Fast forward to 2022. My father had a stroke. My parents could no longer live separately, so they had to move to a flat in my building (my flat is too small for my family and theirs). The rent in my building was 35K compared to 15K in their earlier flat.
There were multiple instances when I had told my parents to buy a flat in my building and save rent, but they wanted to live without their own house, saying they would prefer to invest the money and get returns. My father invested about 8K out of the 85 L he had while retiring in equity, and his corpus is now 1Cr in 2025, despite withdrawing money for the last 17 years—that way, they have done well. But now, with a 38K rent and other expenses, including medicine, food, maid, etc, my parents are incurring an expenditure of about 70K per month.
The house owner is increasing the rent at 8% every year, which is exorbitant, but we have no option because they can’t live far away, I can’t move to some remote location where the rent is less, as my husband works here, and this is our own house. That way, they are stuck. The landlord knows this and is holding us to ransom by increasing the rent yearly. My mother has walking issues and needs help with everything. My father has his right side weakened after the stroke, so them are not that mobile. I have to keep them in a flat in my building alone. Buying is not an option as prices are over the roof, and even my father’s entire corpus won’t be enough to buy a house here now.
I would NEVER recommend not buying a house to anyone unless they are young, healthy, and free to move whenever they have a bad landlord. If you have your own house, you have a safe roof over your head and don’t have to live at the mercy of someone else. Having your own house avoids stress.
Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below.
Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalised investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
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 13 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, AUM-independent investment advice.Our flagship course!Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions!⇐More than 3,500 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!! 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.Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills!⇐More than 800 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 seeking more clients through online visibility, or a salaried individual looking for a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you. (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Our book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!Both the boy and girl-version covers of "Chinchu Gets a superpower". Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So, in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. The narrative revolves around what he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it, as well as teaching him several key ideas of decision-making and money management. What readers say!Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
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 a side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only! Do you 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 screenersand momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.About freefincal & its content policy. Freefincal is a News Media organisation 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: To get in touch, please use ourcontact form. (Sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained.)Connect with us on social media
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is designed to help you ask the right questions and find the correct answers. Additionally, it comes with nine online calculators, allowing you to create custom solutions tailored to your lifestyle. Get it now.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You WantThis book is designed for young earners to get their basics right from the start! 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 exploration of vacation planning, including finding affordable flights, budget accommodations, and practical travel tips. It also examines the benefits of travelling slowly, both financially and psychologically, with links to relevant web pages and guidance at every step. Get the PDF for Rs 300 (instant download)
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 13 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, AUM-independent investment advice.
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is designed to help you ask the right questions and find the correct answers. Additionally, it comes with nine online calculators, allowing you to create custom solutions tailored to your lifestyle. Get it now.
This book is designed for young earners to get their basics right from the start! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.
This is an in-depth exploration of vacation planning, including finding affordable flights, budget accommodations, and practical travel tips. It also examines the benefits of travelling slowly, both financially and psychologically, with links to relevant web pages and guidance at every step. Get the PDF for Rs 300 (instant download)