Skip to main content

My Financial Journey

🎯 Introduction

Hey, it's Tuhin here! 👋 I'm a FrontendExpert™ with 9+ years of experience, specializing in modern web frameworks like Angular and Vue.js. I thrive on experimenting with technology and staying ahead of the curve. Learning new things has always been my passion.

I also consider myself financially literate. Many of my friends and colleagues trust my knowledge and come to me for advice. In this article, I’ll share how my own financial journey began.

🚀 How It Began

2018 was a turning point in my life. In September of that year, I took my first step into investing by starting a SIP in the Tata Digital India Fund. Little did I know that this small decision would ignite a journey that would reshape my financial mindset.

Coming from a typical Indian middle-class family, I grew up hearing my father say:

🔹"Things were better in my time!"
🔹"Private companies are looting us!"
🔹"The government has failed the common man!"

Every time Sachin Tendulkar appeared on TV saying #MutualFundsSahiHai, my father had the same reaction - "Bloody looters!" 🤦‍♂️

This left me conflicted. On one hand, I admired Sachin Tendulkar - known for his integrity - so I doubted he would promote a scam. On the other, my father dismissed mutual funds as a scam. Naturally, I leaned toward his skepticism.

But then, in 2018, my friend and colleague Souvik Chakraborty told me he had started investing in mutual funds. His plan? Experiment with ₹500 per month in the SBI Bluechip Fund for 12 months.
For the first time, investing felt accessible. And honestly, I was jealous.

"Why was he investing while I hesitated? Wasn’t investing just for the rich — like who golf?!" 😛

I refused to be left behind! I started researching mutual funds. I didn’t understand much, but FOMO kicked in. And sometimes, FOMO can be a good thing! I chose Groww as my platform, completed my KYC, and like any beginner, I picked the fund with the highest past-year returns - Tata Digital India Fund.

And just like that, I started my first SIP of ₹500.

⚠️ The Reality Check – Hard Lessons in Investing

A few days after I began investing, the DHFL crisis hit. 💥 My investments plummeted and stayed at -40% until March 2020. 😨 To my credit, I didn’t panic. I held on. But the experience was nerve-wracking. Then, in 2019, I ventured into direct stock trading through Upstox. In just 3 months, I lost ₹250. Why? Blind investing.

One of my picks was Reliance Power (RPower). I noticed that while other stocks moved up, RPower stayed flat. When I finally researched, I discovered that RPower was bankrupt and under liquidation! 😱 Until then, I didn’t even know that bankrupt companies could still be listed on the stock market. Shocked, I immediately sold all my shares, locking in a ₹250 loss. This shook me. I decided to stop stock trading and focus only on mutual funds. But something didn’t sit right. I had lost money. And my ego couldn’t take it.

"How could a genius like me lose?" 🤯

I had always been a good student. I was great at my job, at technology. How could I fail at this? I couldn’t swallow it!

📚 The Turning Point – Learning to Win

After this horrible experience, I made a vow - I wouldn’t lose again. I needed to understand how the market worked. I had to study, learn, and master:

✅ Capital markets
✅ Equity & Mutual funds
✅ Investment strategies

From 2020 to 2021, I went all in:

📺 Watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos
📖 Read countless articles & blogs
🎓 Took online courses
🎧 Listened to audiobooks

And my mind was blown. 💥 I had been living in financial ignorance. But now? I saw the world through a new lens. My perspective changed forever.

I finally understood:
 
🔹Power of equity investing 📈
🔹How the economy worked 🏦
🔹Path to build real wealth 💰

I stopped investing in fixed-income options like PPF and fixed deposits. Instead, I doubled down on mutual funds, NPS, and equity.

And I set a bold goal:
💰 ₹100 Crores by age 60! 💰
Some might call it crazy. But hey - if you’re going to dream, dream big! 😎 I have been actively investing since 2018, following the best advice from experts:

✔️ Don’t react when the markets rise or fall sharply.
✔️ Don’t tweak your portfolio too often.
✔️ Increase your SIP amount every year.

And most importantly - stay the course. 🚀
Labels:
Location: India

Comments

Post a Comment

Share your thoughts...

Popular Posts

Why I Started Blogging

It's been almost 5 years since I started blogging. This is the 30th post being published. That means over the course of 5 years, I've written 6 posts per year. Although 30 is much less than I would have liked, this is one of those pet projects I have continued even after the honeymoon phase. Today I want take some time and discuss why I started this blog in the first place. I was in my 3rd year of engineering studies when I started out. I had already developed a keen interest towards programming and tech in general by then. Having a blog seemed liked a cool idea. There were couple of more reasons to go ahead with this idea. That's what we are here to discuss today. Setting up a blog seemed like a technically challenging task. I wanted to know how to setup a blog with comments, advertisements and with a custom domain. It sounded like a great way to acquire new skills and learn new things along the way. Back then I didn't know anyone who shared my enthusiasm for tech...
Post a Comment
Read more

Angular's E2E Testing Framework - Why is it called Protractor?

The Angular Ecosystem Angular is an amazing framework. It enables us to build modern web apps easily. Yes we can build a modern web app with just HTML + CSS + JavaScript, maybe with a dash of jQuery 😉 But Angular just makes it whole lot easier. Users today's web apps to be fast, well designed, offline-capable, secure and a delightful. Since Angular is a opinionated framework, it forces you to make the right choices. Today Angular is not just a web framework. it has created its own ecosystem. As you might have guessed, I am a Angular fanboy 😎. But one thing I'm not a fan of is writing test cases 😛 I started learning about software testing in late 2019, because I asked to setup unit + E2E testing for one of our projects. What I learned was, Angular come with Karma + Jasmine setup (for unit testing) out of the box. But it has built a specialized E2E testing framework called Protractor . But I couldn't figure out why they called it Protractor of all things. Later it dawned o...
3 comments
Read more

Tensai Sensei's Wisdom #1 - Simplify Your Life!

Wisdom #1 If you want to live a peaceful and happy life, automate/delegate/eliminate things that don't really add any value to your life. This will help you muster time for things that you want to do in your life. Always remember, time is your only asset that you cannot produce more of. Examples Automate - Your investments using SIPs Delegate - Hire a maid or a cook to do the chores Eliminate - Taking a bath every single day
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Use NPS Tier II Account for Higher Returns & Greater Flexibility

NPS is Misunderstood The National Pension System (NPS) is often misunderstood. Unlike other investment vehicles, NPS is specifically designed for retirement planning . Every feature of this product is geared toward long-term investing , making it fundamentally different from conventional investment options. Financial security is a basic human need. For those earning a salaried income, receiving a monthly paycheck provides a sense of stability. Naturally, we want to maintain the same sense of security even after retirement. One of the best ways to generate a steady post-retirement income is through an annuity . An annuity works by investing a lump sum amount, which then provides a fixed income at predefined intervals — in this case, monthly payments. Importance of Annuities Scientific research has proven that humans are not biologically wired to make complex decisions repeatedly. Our brains tend to rely on shortcuts, which can often lead to poor decision-making . Emotions like f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tensai Sensei's Wisdom #2 - You Want It? Go Get It!

If you want to obtain everything that you dream of, you have ask for it and work towards it. You can't just sit there and wish that you get it. Life doesn't work that way. Nobody's gonna notice you and offer things to you because you deserve it. No, you must seize it yourself! If you don't ask, the answer is always no The more you ask, the more you get. If you don't ask, you better forget (it). Everything is negotiable There is always a budget There are 2 types of people in this world - obtainers and complainers.
Post a Comment
Read more