Career Journey and Financial Milestones
📌 The speaker started working early in 8th grade, tutoring English, and moved to Bangalore in 2004 at age 16 to find work while completing education.
💼 Initial jobs included working as a waiter and in a sweet counter; progressed to managing an entire restaurant by age 17, overseeing about 30 staff members.
💰 First corporate salary was ₹8,000/month (₹1.5 Lakh CTC) in 2006; achieved a 100% hike switch to Cognizant in 2010, using the funds to buy a residential plot in Bangalore.
🚀 Experienced multiple career jumps with significant raises, including a 100% or 150% hike at FedEx, leading to roles in Pune before moving to the current role in software in 2021.

Investment Strategy and Philosophy
🏠 The first major investment was buying land, achieved by saving ₹3 Lakhs, breaking an initial ₹1,000/month SIP, withdrawing PF (approx. ₹90k), and taking personal/parental loans totaling about ₹15 Lakhs.
📉 Started stock market investing late (2018) by buying Yes Bank and Tata Motors, which were falling; stopped all SIPs and now prefers lump-sum investments aggressively when markets are low.
📊 Current portfolio allocation: 45% direct stocks (equity), 35% real estate, 11% gold, and 11% mutual funds, with a current monthly investment park of about ₹40,000.
🎯 Investment criteria focuses on: Buying value companies (>$5,000 Crore market cap) at cheap valuations, finding monopoly/asset-light, cash-rich businesses, and tracking sector rotation.

Life Choices and Priorities (Bangalore to Rishikesh Move)
🏃‍♂️ Relocated from Pune/Bangalore to Rishikesh to prioritize physical health (running, yoga, dipping in the Ganga) and mental peace over city life stress.
⚖️ Took a pay cut and a demotion from a team-leading position at the peak of his career to strike a better work-life balance and focus on family.
💧 A critical trigger for moving was the poor water quality in certain Bangalore areas, indicating a refusal to compromise on basic necessities like air and water quality for his child.
📚 Education costs were a factor; his child’s primary school fee in Rishikesh is about ₹36,000/year, compared to friends paying close to ₹1,80,000 for LKG in Bangalore, representing poor value for money.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Wealth definition extends beyond money: Physical fitness ("My physique will be my wealth" at age 65) and family relationships are crucial net worth indicators.
➡️ Financial Literacy Service: Speaker is passionate about spreading financial literacy to help people avoid solving only the "money slice of the pizza" and neglecting other aspects of life.
➡️ Investment Discipline: When riding a rally, aim to take out the initial capital once the investment doubles ($\text{2x}$), then continue riding the rest with profit money.
➡️ Self-Reliance in Investing: Avoid blindly following external sources (like YouTube channels predicting market lows); build your own conviction, understand your temperament, and rely on fundamentals and position sizing.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 09, 2025, 10:18 UTC