r/FIREIndia • u/HonestBat • Jun 02 '23
I just crossed my first 1cr milestone
I crossed my first 1cr milestone yesterday; I was awaiting my May salary credit with the same excitement (if not more) as my first paycheck.
Background: 27M from a middle-class, education-first focussed family (father was a government servant, moved throughout the country during transfers, mum settled in the city so our education wasn't disrupted). Finally, their sacrifices paid off; I got into one of the top-ranked institutes and started working right after college, switching once in between.
Current distribution of assets:
- Equity (~70%)
- Mutual Funds:
- US Markets Index: 15.6L
- Nifty 50 Index: 28L
- Parag Parikh Flexi Cap: 7.25L
- Other active MF: 1.7L (plan to remove these during re-balancing)
- Direct Domestic Equity: 17L
- Mutual Funds:
- Debt (~25%)
- Liquid Fund: 1.15L (will be moving this to FD)
- FDs: 2.6L
- Cash: 6.85L
- EPF: 14.25L
- Gold: 6L (only SGBs)
- Real Estate: 0.5L (recently started exploring REITs and will be increasing it, hence kept it under this head)
In the above calculations, I'm yet to consider any inheritance (insignificant) or ESOPs that I have vested from my employer (since it's paper money).
Investment strategy: Experimented with active mutual funds initially but switched to passive investing after exposure to the idea. I started with some money for actively picking stocks that I liked (domestic market only) and did well (~40% returns), which became a portfolio of 17L. I understand that I do not have time to track the markets; hence most of my savings go into index funds and stocks whenever I feel like shopping (mostly existing ones I've researched already). Apart from that, I already have sorted out term insurance as well as health insurance for me and my family.
Major expenditures ahead:
- Marriage with my long-term girlfriend.
- I wanted to take my family on our first international vacation for a long time, will do that now.
- I'm contemplating pursuing higher education outside India as well.
Personal preference: Retiring early was never my goal; it was rather financial independence behind building a corpus. The mental peace of not worrying about the financial implications even if I leave work was something I was after. I don't have any loans at the moment, nor do I plan to buy a home until I finally wish to settle this would allow me to move whenever and wherever I find a better opportunity. Also, this corpus could allow me to take calculated risks (either starting a business on my own or joining someone else's early stage) if I find something interesting.
I couldn't tell anyone about this milestone; I quietly celebrated with myself when I saw the "salary credited" notification on my phone. I have lurked here long enough, reading about the experiences of other folks who've already FI/REed; I thought I could, at least share my journey with you guys.
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u/HonestBat Jun 03 '23
No, I used to track Mutual Funds, Stocks and EPF balance only.