Akshat Shrivastava

My wife, Zayn and I are designing our life around taking vacations.

It sounds super fun, but a lot of prep goes into this:

[1] We are super asset light. Almost all of our work is done through a laptop & a phone. We don't carry much while travelling.

[2] We are homeschooling our son, Zayn.

[3] Both of us are trying to get fitter: so we now do 10-15mins HIIT & are now going to do 10K steps challenges for fitness.

This can be done from anywhere.

[4] We are non-fussy eaters. And, we try to eat basic food, as often as possible. Yes, we do go out to expensive places, every now and then.

[5] Financial preparation is an imp aspect of living a flexible life.

You don't need to earn millions, but have a fairly good estimate of how much you REALLY need to earn, save and invest.

The most important aspect of such a life is the philosophy with which you operate: we are minimalists and it works well for us.

Also, we are not glorifying this lifestyle. And we understand that there are pros and cons to living any type of life, including the one that we are trying to build.

The perk: we get to enjoy good weather and views like these :)

Some basic things about my personal investing/spending habits:-

1) Every winter I buy 3 hoodies; every summer I buy 6-7 basic T-shirts. Therefore, you see me repeat my clothes on Youtube videos.

2) My primary phone is Honor-X, which I purchased 3 years ago. However, I shoot my videos on i-phone-11.

I also own some expensive work gadgets: eg. MacBook.

3) I own an i-20 car, might upgrade to a slightly bigger car when Zayn grows up, so we can go on more road trips. But, it will not be a luxury car.

4) Whatever products/stocks I talk about on my videos, I invest my own money/my family's money in it. Therefore, I show you live investing.

5) My philosophy: create more experiences than accumulate things. This according to me is Curated Minimalism. Interestingly, this is the title of the book, I am writing.

In India more than 90% of our population earns less than 1.5L INR/year. That is less than 6$/day.

So this Diwali if:

- You can afford to buy a Diya, you are lucky.

- You can afford to buy some crackers, you are super lucky.

- You don't HAVE to go out and work today to put food on the table -- and can instead spend that time with your family, probably you are living a good life.

This post in not meant to depress you. It is to help us realise that in a world where most people are unlucky, we probably are a few lucky ones.

It was an honour to be invited by Hon'ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal ji.

He spoke with 50 creators on how digital media could contribute towards strengthening India.

He was very upbeat about India's growth story.

And, spent close to 4 hours sharing ideas and soliciting our opinions on how creators could contribute massively to fields like Finance, Education, Travel/Tourism, Health and Economy.

And, make India a more vibrant democracy.

I met an American in Goa. I asked: are you travelling? He said no. I am settled here.

I asked why? Well, because I can live a 5X better life here than in America, paying half the price.

Travel to South East Asia, you will see: a bunch of Americans leaving their own country because the prices are sky-rocking.

Why am I telling you this?

Because

Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, won this year's Noble Prize in Economics.

His innovation was: Quantitative Easing 1. Post which:-

Common citizens all across the globe (and especially America):

- Saw their taxes rise.
- Saw inflation rise faster and higher.
- Started witnessing more wealth gap.

In fact,

While the ultra-rich can use the debt and tax loopholes to build a better life, others are thrown to a wolf called inflation.

Of course this Noble Prize is well deserved.

I lived in Singapore for a few years.

Every time, I would board a metro, I would see literally 95% glued to their phones.

This was back in 2014.

Over the next few years, I saw the same thing happening in India as well.

Board a metro now-- and you would see almost 90-95% people glued to their phones.

People don't like to get bored.
Phone provides a constant stimulant.

But, boredom provides an opportunity to engage with your thoughts. And, reflect on the way you think.

Not getting bored, ever-- is one of the fastest ways to kill creative thinking.

Phone is an addiction.

You are losing years of your life, without even realising it.

After yesterday's budget, any sensible investor should ask:-

What's the guarantee that in the next 30-years, the long-term capital gains on equities won't be 30%?

All your retirement planning will fail.
And, all the excel calculation would look like a joke.

The only (somewhat protection) is: asset class diversification, international diversification.

Learning these skills are not 'optional' any more.
Going forward, I will cover: these topics on my Linkedin posts/YT videos.

In Portugal, it is illegal for your boss to call you after office hours.

In Germany, if you work beyond office hours, you are considered inefficient.

Because it indicates that you can't get stuff done on time.

Having free time is critical for creative thinking, pursuing entrepreneurial activities and boosting your overall happiness.

In economic terms, a well rested employee is likely to generate better marginal return on every working hour.

We should:-

- Show up on time.
- Cut longer meetings.
- Be straight and to the point.

Time is the most precious commodity we have. And, it should be revered.

****
My courses: https://wisdomhatch.com/

Everyone is hustling to get ahead in life.

But what if life is not really a hustle?
You don't need to beat others to get ahead.

Think about it:

- If your peer gets promoted, will you get fired? (No, you just need to be useful to your firm)
- Is anyone pinning you down to have just 1 source of income? (No, you can make money from 100 other sources)
- If your startup is not at the top, will you have to shut shop? (No, it just needs to be sensibly profitable)

The point is: Don't burn yourself thinking about the competition. The World is abundant. You just need to improve upon yourself to find your right place.

Work like a Lion.
And, relax like a Panda.

Your comfort zone (watching movies, going to a beach etc) does not kill your potential or your career.

It just simply relaxes you.

What kills your career is: stupidity.
And, having no strategy.

Work hard. Work smart. Relax.
And, enjoy life.

I work like a Lion on my courses at: https://wisdomhatch.com/
And, yes I also relax:

If you tell people that you are a Minimalist...

- Why do you use an Air Conditioner? You can just use a fan.
- Why do use a MacBook? You can buy a 2MB RAM laptop.
- Why do you eat food? Why can't you just survive on air? 😂

Because that is not what minimalism means (at least to me).

I am not running after a bigger house or a bigger car. But, I would like to avoid unnecessary discomfort and save time, whenever I can.

The goal is: to consume (information, materialistic things etc) more mindfully.

And, that is my version of Curated Minimalism.

Your friends smoke, so you'd smoke.
Your boss drinks, so you'd drink.
People do dumb stuff-- because they want to be relatable.

Camouflaging with the crowd, gives people comfort.
And, makes them feel a part of the “tribe“.
Most consider this as a win.

But is it really?

You won by destroying your true, you.
You won by pretending.

Be different. Be you.
Even at the cost of offending others.
Maybe, that's win.

- An MBA, doesn't necessarily help you become an Entrepreneur.
- Studying a lot, doesn't necessarily help you get a great job.
- Going to a great college, doesn't necessarily set you up for life.

Life probably doesn't even follow any equation: eg. do X to get Y.
But, every little thing adds up and ends up shaping you.

[1] A slow life consists of:

- Getting up when you want.
- Working as much as you want.
- Taking 30 mins to finish your lunch.
- Brewing your own Coffee.
- Going to places where the weather is good.

Slow life is good life.

Everyone gets it!

[2] But, there is always an internal debate:

- Should I do more?
- Am I optimising my potential?
- Am I making the best use of the opportunities around.

[3] And, the world convinces me that the “slow life“ is probably bad:

- They say: move to XYZ location, work options are great.
- Earn a million by 30, it is super cool.
- Hustle or perish.

[4] May be we need a more practical rat race:

- Work hard upto a point
- Be efficient & skilled.
- And, get to enjoy a slow life for a significant period.

[5] But, it is tough, not because it demands efforts, but because it demands restraint:

- Knowing when is enough
- And, discovering your own meaning of life is something even the wisest philosophers have struggled with.

As I write my book on Curated Minimalism, I am dedicating a chapter on why living a slow life makes sense.

Spending 75 Lakhs on a degree seemed ridiculous.

In 2012: I was deciding to pursue my MBA. Any top MBA program in the world would cost anywhere between 60 Lakh-1.5 Cr back then.

The very thought of investing this money seemed ridiculous.
Why? because I had very little.

Even after asking money from parents, loan and everything: I would never be able to get 75 Lakhs. Banks would not even give me that much loan.

I knew there were scholarships. But, the chances of winning one was slim.
But I thought: let's get started. And, where this goes.

I took the leap: wrote GMAT twice -- the first time I scored a 720, the second time 770 (top 1%)

Networked for over 2 years with my intended schools.
Did everything possible I could.

The end:-
I got into 7 top schools.
1 offered a significant scholarship.
I attended the program. And, it changed my life.

Right from: working abroad, to expanding my networking, to building different ventures-- the network I built, helped out every step of the way.

If I go back to 2012: focused on 75 Lakhs? And, decided to quit. My life today would NOT have happened.

Point is: when you start chasing any goal, things from the starting line, always look risky. And, to an extent-- ridiculous.

But, you will never know: where the journey takes you, unless you START.

It is unfortunate that people are working their way to poverty. Consider entry level IT salaries:

2012: 2.45 Lakhs
2022: 3.55 Lakhs

This salary growth does NOT even beat inflation.

It is no surprise that the cost of living crisis is crushing people.

But, every time, I talk about a solution, people tell me a problem.

For example:-

[1] If you learn to build a side business, you can easily grow your income by 10%. This would help you deal with the ever rising costs.

Problem: But, I work 9am-9pm?

Solution: Use your weekends better.

[2] If you buy a land, build and construct, you can own a property at half the price (which you will get from a builder).

Problem: But, buying a land is very tough?
Scams, and whatnot.

Solution: Invest time. And, scout better.

[3] If you learn to invest your own money in the stock market, you will save lakhs of commissions over your investing career.

Problem: But, that requires so much time.

Solution: Learn Investing. Not trading.

See folks: making money has always been tough. Smart people figure out solutions. Most average people just keep on talking about problems.

It is your call who you wish to be.

Do you wish to LEARN and change your life?
Or do you wish to keep pointing why everything is tough?

The world doesn't pay to complain.
The world pays to solve problems.

While as an Entrepreneur, I am comfortable working 16hrs/day for my businesses, I would not expect the same from my teammates.

I have 0 ambitions to build a unicorn. But, 100% intent of building happy work places.

If you cut out all the fluff, it boils down to one simple thing: money is a tool to live a happier life. Not an end in itself.

People who invested in Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) would lose at least 9-10% post budget.

The selling of SGB began roughly in 2015. Most of these bonds would start maturing now.

All of a sudden (in budget 2024), the Government reduced the import duty on Gold from 15% to 9% on the budget day. This increased the supply of gold. And, crashed the gold prices.

But, unlike SGB where people got locked in, If you had physical gold-- however, there was no obligation to hold it till maturity.

And some of you might have booked your profits earlier.

I was probably the only Finance guy who spoke against SGB. And, got a lot of heat. But, it is fine-- it doesn't change macroeconomics. My goal is to teach that.

There are 8 different types of rich people in the world:

[1] Money Rich= have a lot of money temporarily. Eg. winning a lottery.

[2] Wealth Rich = have multiple pieces of cash flows (income). Well diversified, sustainable.

[3] Time Rich= have a lot of free time.

[4] Health Rich= strong mental and physical health; high energy.

[5] Social (breadth of network) Rich= one-to-many networks. Eg. Social Media Stars. Many people know them.

[6] Depth of network Rich= old relationships, meaningful network, which has been cultivated overtime.

[7] Mindset Rich= very happy with intrinsic abundance; less impacted by external validations.

[8] Skill Rich= can use their skill to convert it into more free time, money, heath, social.

Aim for being overall rich.

Share this with someone, who needs to understand this rich mindset better.

You would have often seen folks, who might be half as talented as you are. BUT are growing 5X better in their careers, why?

Self-confidence.

Confident people DO stuff.
And, that separates them from 99% of the crowd.

People often worry about going from 1 to 100.
But most people fail going from 0 to 1.

Simply because they are too worried about their abilities, the criticism they will get and imagining “what if they fail?“ scenarios

How to overcome this?
Be stupid. Laugh with your kids. Try hard.

And, teach them the same.

At 30, I decided that I wanted to change my life.

I was always a 0 to 1 type of a person, who loved building new things. And, realised that I was a misfit in the corporate world. 

So the decision was simple: stay in it forever, just for the heck of money. Or, live life.

I would argue that many of us would reach this point, but would take a different direction than the one I took.

I too would had hard time taking a leap of faith. But, a few things helped in my case:

1. I had a strong pedigree- if things failed, I realised that I could go back (brands do matter!)
2. I had taught myself about money for years; saved, invested (planning helped) 
3. Most importantly, I had a strong family support (if I failed, my wife and parents would step in and support me)

While it is easy for me to take credit for everything and gloat about the path that I eventually took, it is needless to say that a person is a sum total of his/her environment.

Every single thing in life matters (your family, hard-work, luck and everything in between), don't let people tell you otherwise.

*****

So if you are working towards something: be it pursuing a degree, preparing for an exam or doing a job, try your best-- because everything adds up in the end.

Like it or not, talented folks leaving India is plain economics.

You need to give someone a very good reason to stay-- earn way less and get taxed more for little benefits.

Result: most folks who can leave, do.

Several of my friends are multi-millionaires. But, continue to overwork at the expense of their health & family.

They can leave their jobs any time they like.
But, they don't.

Taking a salary cut.
Or giving up a job to pursue a hobby.
Or taking a flexible job for better health.

Are all acceptable things we should do.
But, we don't.

We continue the grind.

Because:

As humans, we struggle to give up what we have built.
As humans, we fear the unknown.
As humans, we delay making difficult decisions.

Most of us are worried about our retirement.
Rather than how to live better today.

Look around: a normal white bread, which used to cost 15 Rs a couple of years back, now costs 30 Rs.

If you are worried that things are getting expensive-- here are some critical points you need to know:-

[1] Big cities are going to get even more expensive.

- With limited land. And, more money flowing into India. The land prices are getting more expensive.
- Even construction (at least in Goa) has gone up by around 25-30%. This will directly translate into higher prices for almost everything going forward. Why?
- In traditional economics: Land, Labour and Capital is defined as means of production.

When land prices go up, everything goes up: rent, business cost etc.

While, flats might not go up massively in prices in big cities (due to massive supply and builder games), the cost of land/rentals will likely go up.

[2] We are far away from having multiple Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad to absorb our excess working class population.

Pandemic started a change. But, still (at least for the next 20-30 years) physical work > online work.

And, people will have no choice but to flock to cities for earning their livelihood.

This makes certain hubs in India quite expensive.

Want to save money? build a career where you don't NEED to live in these hubs.

[3] Investing is getting harder by the day.

Why? because figuring out the correct value of anything (stocks, real estate, gold, bitcoin) is getting tougher due to increased debt.

The last 2 decades have exhibited debt fuelled growth. We celebrated:

- Unicorn money burning culture.
- Banks lending out crazy money and defaulting.
- Rich getting richer by taking debt.

You don't need to know any economics/finance to understand that poorly run banks like Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse and in India (Yes bank) -- when they failed, they were bailed out.

And, this is WRONG!

Who bailed them out? well money printing.
Better question: who foots the bill?
The same folks who pay the most taxes.

Going forward:

- It will become even more difficult to beat inflation.

In notional terms you might be growing your salary at 10%, but if the price rise (inflation is) 12%, then you are getting poorer.

- Debt taking is not optional anymore. Smart people NEED to learn how to take intelligent debt and survive. I'm too learning this skill.

It is just sad that money has been made extremely complicated.

People don't understand how badly inflation hits them.
How much money they truly need.
And, why they need to ace investing.

12 years ago, my salary was INR 10,000. I used to work with a non-profit organisation. And, loved my work.

But, I wanted to study abroad. And, there was no way I could afford that on my salary. So I started looking for more opportunities to earn.

[1] Since, I had a good GMAT score, I started teaching for the GMAT. I found my first clients by posting regularly on GMAT club.

[2] For close to 3 years, I took 0 weekends off. Every weekend, I made some additional money that would help me fund my MBA

[3] I had no intent of building a business. Or even knew how to build one.

I had a simple goal: to fund my MBA. And, Teaching helped me cover a part of it.

With time, my love for teaching evolved. And, I taught at top business schools, undergrad program and on YouTube as well.

Money helps, no doubt. But, my real wealth has always been that my students remember me.

Even till date, whenever I go to a beach or to a restaurant: I often get to meet my students, who learn from my YouTube or courses. Or would have worked with me on their Case Solving/GMAT/MBA prep.

Thanks to all of you, I have a reached a point in my career, where I can truly pursue my passion projects without worrying about money.

One such project for me is Finance for Kids. This is a 100% free initiative (and will remain so) for the end audiences.

Thanks to our partners TaxBuddy.com (and its Founder Sujit Bangar) for helping us run this mission.

We did our first event in Delhi, NCR. And, will soon expand to other cities.

In case you want to be invited for the next event, please fill the form in comments.

5 critical lessons we all learn at some stage in our life:

[1] We lose touch even with our best friends.
As life evolves, so does our friend circle.

[2] For most people:

- Early stage: Money > Time
- Some stage: Money = Time
- Later stage: Time >> Money

[3] You don't make friends in the corporate world.
You make connections. 99.99% people have an agenda.

[4] You are either a cost centre or a profit centre for the firm.
To grow in your career, up-skill and stay as a profit centre.

[5] Value actions, not opinions.

Almost everyone has an opinion on everything.
Because opinions are free.

Ask people to put their money/time/effort on things where their opinions are. Very few will follow through.

Honouring your word is a rare trait.

The 9-to-5 jobs are dying.
By 2034, there will be a massive slowdown in 9-to-5 jobs.

This is what: Reid Hoffman, founder of Linkedin, predicts.

Before, we dismiss this as “yet another“ prediction, we should know, that he predicted correctly:-

[1] Rise of Social Media in 1997.
[2] Rise of sharing economy (he invested in AirBnB).
[3] Predicted the rise of AI much before ChatGPT.

More important question is: what happens when 9-to-5 go extinct? And, how to prepare for this change?

[1] Ability to monetise your skills would be essential
[2] This requires a “generalist“ knowledge, with expertise in field X (any field of your choice)
[3] Example: a Software Engineer, who can sell has much better odds of doing point #1 compared to just a Software Engineer.
[4] More skills you have--- better your odds are of doing #1
[5] The rise of gig economy also means that: you won't have a regular salary. Some months you will make crazy money. Some months would be slow.
[6] So learning how to invest becomes critical to manage your risk, cash flows.
[7] More global knowledge= more opportunities
[8] With no office culture, loneliness will peak. People would form online communities/rise of structured networking events.

****
In case you are interest in learning: How to Invest? And, join an investor community.

I am doing a 4 day intensive program (over weekends) in Mumbai. This comes with a 2 day networking session/in-person meet-up: https://lnkd.in/dBCrChJx

Your life will change:

- If you understand finance.
- If you don't understand finance.

Here are 3 simple things you need to know:

1) Rule of 15*15*15:

- If you invest 15K monthly.
- At 15% growth.
- For 15 years.

It becomes 1Cr.

2) 70% savings rule:

- If you are able to save 70%+ of your salary
- For 10 years
- And, do not undertake lifestyle inflation

Then, you can theoretically retire [that's the rule, I am not saying savings 70% is easy]

3) 4% withdrawal rule:

- For every INR 100 of savings, you could spend INR 4. And, your money would stay the same.
- Provided you can grow your wealth at least at 10%. And, this is not too difficult.
- Math: The inflation in India would be approx 6%, your money grows at 10%. So net you are making INR4 on INR 100 savings.

Need a simple rule to spend, this could be a goto rule.

If you truly wish to grow your wealth, you should learn how to invest.

To get started, do check out some of my free Smallcase list: https://lnkd.in/envmhA7e

This is when the tax on the middle class will go down:-

[1] Broaden the tax base:
- Crorepati farmers don't pay direct tax.
- No one has the guts to make them pay.

[2] Increase corporate tax:
- Corporates have a lot of options
- They can shift base to low tax countries
- Increase their taxes more, they will move shops.

[3] Abolish corporate debt write-offs:
- How will business friends benefit?
- Enough said.

[4] Kill freebies:
- This kills vote bank (a big one)

[5] Who is left?
- Office goes
- Who will continue to pay: TDS, CESS, Capital Gains, Toll Tax and every possible tax that can be levied.

Welcome to the world of reality.

Oh by the way: these office goer are now being programmed to work 70 hours/week and whatnot.

I have been working from home for the last 4 years.

The experience has been both challenging and enjoyable.

Few things that have helped:-

[1] Take time to enjoy first [4 hours slot], then work [8 hours slot].

This way things don't get boring.

[2] Planning is a challenge. You own your time. This also means that you are responsible for planning your work day, free time etc.

I keep this 80-20. I simply focus on 20% of important things and don't plan for the remaining 80%.

[3] Saying NO to things gets very important.

You miss out on a lot of opportunities by not staying in networking circles/big cities.

Depending on what you want from life: you might prefer to chose peace over progress.

[4] Making personal and professional progress -- BOTH -- is important.

We all set our own individual milestones.

[5] Being light helps. Buy less, so that you have the flexibility to move around.

This way you get to discover new places often.

5 simple finance rules that can change your life:-

[1] Should you buy X? [X=Car, iPhone etc]

- If you can't afford something twice, don't buy it once.

[2] When to invest in Stocks?

- You invest in the equity markets (stocks) if you don't need that money for at least 5 years.

The biggest wealth is created through compounding, not by trading stocks.

[3] How much money you need to retire?

- If you can save 70% or more of your salary for a period of 10 years, you can retire at that point.
- Provided, you are not inflating your lifestyle AND you are investing at market returns (in India around 12% returns).

[4] When will you be financially independent?

- When you learn to separate needs from wants.
- Live a frugal lifestyle (or make crazy high money!)
- Learn to invest AND invest!

Also avoid big ticket purchases which give poor returns.

For example, if you buy a crazy expensive house, which does not appreciate much in value, you will hurt your financial well-being.

[5] When can you say that you are RICH?

- When you are both MONEY RICH (have a decent amount of liquid money).

- And, TIME RICH (can spend time however you like)

If you have 10 EMIs on your head, guess what? you will theoretically own a lot of stuff.

But, technically that stuff will be owning you. Because you would have to continue to work to pay those EMIs.

******
I teach more about finance through my courses: https://wisdomhatch.com/

Right from Socrates to Jeff Bezos, high achievers use frameworks to live their lives.

Here are some of my favourites:-

[1] Avoid zero days: A zero day is when you don’t do a single thing towards your goals.

It is okay to have bad days, slow days, fast days-- just avoid ZERO days.

[2] Regret minimisation framework: What will you regret NOT doing when you grow old?

This helps you eliminate the “what if“ debate. It is often better to pursue things than not pursuing them.

[3] The worst case scenario: If everything goes wrong, whats your personal worst case scenario, and is it really that bad?

We as humans learn to adapt. We can adjust to extremely harsh circumstances.

So living with our worst assumptions is often worse than living a bad reality.

Follow these 3 frameworks, it will help you enrich your life :)

Tomato today is being sold at 100Rs/Kg across various cities in India.

If your mindset is to only SAVE money, then you are missing the point.
Saving 10,000 Rs from your monthly budget is a very tough task NOW.

You will have to probably:-

- Buy poor quality pulses.
- Switch from private to public transport.
- Or shift from a 3BHK to 2BHK.

All this involves making major lifestyle changes.

Of course you should save whatever you can. But, understand that: it is much easier to add 10,000 Rs to your monthly income than SAVE it.

How?

[1] If only one partner is working; encourage other to build an income stream.

[2] Learn investing (not saying trading); make money from money. Invest time learning how to make money from money.

[3] Negotiate your salary harder. If your salary is not even growing at inflation, you are being taken for a ride by your employer.

If you think price rise or taxes are going to stop, you are highly mistaken.

With each passing year, we will all de-facto pay higher taxes. And, will pay higher price for everything.

The only silver lining today is: that building parallel incomes has never been easier.

If you are NOT doing that, you will be in for a tough time, in the next few years.

CEO's build their personal brands, along with their full time jobs.

- Some speak at colleges.
- Work on government committees.
- Invest in startups.

But, many of them call creating a parallel income stream by their own employees, illegal.

Well, that is BS :)

Improve your skills, leave such organisations and find better ecosystems to grow.

Top 1% earners in India make roughly 55 Lakhs/year.
While, top 10% earners in India make roughly 12 Lakhs/year.

This math applies across professions.

[1] If you work with top-tier Management Consulting firm (1%) you would make most money in Management Consulting.

[2] Banking, Marketing, Startups you name it. The difference between top 1% and top 10% would be huge.

[3] The same logic applies to investing as well.

If you simply do Index Investing, you could be in top 10% of investors (not kidding).

But, to be in top 1%, you need to buy undervalued things, show patience, build an investment philosophy, save commissions and whatnot. This requires efforts.

Is it worth the effort? Here is the math.

Let's assume that you'd invest for the next 30 years of your life (even if you are 55, this might apply to you)

- At 12% CAGR, NIFTY, you will turn 25K/monthly investment into 8.82Cr after 30 years.

- At 16% CAGR (this will most likely put you in top 1%), 25K/monthly for 30 years give you 22Cr.

Almost 2.5X your portfolio.

You can easily dismiss this math saying: it is all paper excel.

But, these calculations are important to understand where you should direct your effort.

****
I'm building India's biggest investment community on Wisdom Hatch: https://lnkd.in/dDpRMS3J

Just because your boss treats you badly, does not mean you should do the same.

The world is harsh.
We are all going through our own battles.
If you are someone's boss: try to be kind.

What you can change is: how you behave, if you are in a position of power.

In a ruthless world: being compassionate is really tough.
But, your compassion can save someone.
And, people really need this today.

I have lost a lot of money in my life:

(1) I did not learn about equity investing:

- As a result, I kept on investing in Mutual Funds via Mutual Fund agents. 
- Every time, I invested: I lost commissions not just to Mutual Fund managers but also to Mutual Fund agents, who sold me these products.

How to avoid: while individual equity investing is tough, anyone could invest in passive mutual funds (eg. any #NIFTY50 Index).

(2) I purchased Term Insurance quite late in my life:

- As a result, I now have to pay higher premiums. 
- I delayed my decision to purchase insurance because I was extremely lazy about this topic. 
- Don't be lazy like me: my friend Pawan Kumar Rai runs Ditto Insurance. If you are confused about buying insurance speak with his team (for free and get expert help)

(3) Excessive trading:

- Once I felt confident about picking stocks, I overdid it. 
- Every now and then, I would buy and sell stocks; and I lost a lot in terms of paying commissions. 
- Overtime, I realised that you should buy good stocks at the right price and hold them. This is the most sensible way of making money.

I teach this on my YouTube, so do check it out :)

Here are some facts:

[1] In almost all countries, people pay 'direct' and 'indirect' taxes.

[2] The return on our taxes are poor. People often quip: that Nordic country folks pay 50%+ taxes.

Yes, but they get basic income, free healthcare, free education and a bunch of benefits.

In India, the benefits are on paper.

Most middle income folks would rather take a loan for healthcare treatment, rather than take the free (bad) healthcare.

No job security, nothing.

[3] The % of people paying direct taxes in India is abysmally small.

This is primarily due to political reasons.

[4] It makes 0 sense why farmers with income more than 1Cr should continue to pay 0 taxes.

But, a taxpayer, who makes an income of 10Lakh should pay direct taxes.

[5] Most of our economy is informal economy. It is hard to push these folks to keep proper records (therefore, it is hard to tax them)

[6] For people who pay taxes, they are made to pay A LOT of taxes. Why? because they are easy to track. And, therefore, are TAX COWS.

Therefore, almost all folks, look for ways to save taxes.

If the overall tax rates are lower (eg. in Singapore) more folks will willingly comply.

[7] The effort that goes into tax compliance is massive. And, small businesses with 1-2 member teams (which makes up most businesses in India) struggle to comply.

In short: talk to small/informal businesses, you will see-- half of them are scared that if they pay tax once, they will have to do it forever. The compliance would be a big headache.

Therefore, dealing in cash economy gives them a peace of mind.

Narrative was being built: that cash economy is going away. Well, it is not.
None of the political parties are making an effort to truly address this issue.
In fact cash % of GDP is well alive and kicking.
And, is one of the highest now.

Sad part is: I am not writing something revolutionary here. All our know the problem. And, we are well aware what the solutions are.

But, no one has the guts to implement (or maybe people do not care enough).

[1] Imagine this: you work all your life. And, you are set to retire. But....

The government tells you:

- Inflation is 10% (so earn more now, or see your savings disappear)
- And also you can't withdraw more than X% of your money

What would you do?

[2] You would say this is a hypothetical case -- can't happen.

Well, not really: the same situation played out in Lebanon recently.

People saw their savings get depleted.

There were capital controls, so folks couldn't withdraw their own hard earned money.

[3] Another scary situation is playing out in Russia as we speak: what Vladimir Putin is doing is plain wrong.

But a lot of common Russians are also suffering.

Many of them have been cut off from their accessing their own hard earned money.

[4] The excess high debt that the US has taken and the current war with Russia-Ukraine is bankrupting nations like Sri Lanka, which is facing one of its worst economic crisis.

You'd ask how? The answer is simple: high inflation.

Sri Lanka's economy is not as resilient as the US's.

And, the high inflation environment is the US's gift to the world post 2008.

Many small nations will suffer for decades.

[5] The point of this post is simple: to encourage you to think that all your life savings can be gone in a matter of months (no matter how much you earn).

The centralised systems are deeply messed up.

When people/governments make you believe that centralisation is the key to prosperity. Understand that “prosperity“ is held by a selected few.

Not getting access to your own money is the epitome of how unfair centralised systems have become.

Waiting for a stock market fall? You might have to wait longer.

While I can't predict whether markets will rise/fall.
But, I can help you understand better: why markets rose in the first place.

- Pre COVID, we were at 12,500 NIFTY levels
- The markets fell to roughly 8500
- Then went up to 18K after a year

Now, we are at 25,000. And despite COVID, we have generated roughly 125% returns from NIFTY 50 in the last 5 years.

These are better than average returns.

Now, comes the question: why did we make so much returns?
1) Better economy? no (for context last year the best performing stock market in the world was Pakistan. Look at its Economy)
2) More optimism? possibly
3) Real reason is: more liquidity

For context: US, in 1 year, added 20% of its existing money supply. When money is added at such volume into the economy, the price for EVERYTHING appreciates.

When US prints more USD, it flows to the world.
Because most of the world trade happens in USD.

As people get more USD, they buy more assets. Therefore:-

- Gold doubled
- Real Estate doubled
- Stock Markets doubled

This will all look like a good thing (yes, it is for some). But this also increases your rent, your school fee, your petrol prices etc.

What happens in the next 5 years?

The FED recently cut the interest rates (to increase more liquidity). This is an indication that they want to pump in even more money into the economy right now.

In economic terms: your asset prices (stocks, RE, gold etc) are likely to go up.
And, so would the inflation.

People who invest, would continue to benefit.
People who don't, would pay the price for inflation.

Things have not become expensive, we have become poorer.

In the last 10 years, Indians have lost roughly 30% of their wealth.

Last 10 years real data:-

- The total increase in prices= 60%.
- Total increase in per capita GDP= 30%.

The real problem is the slow growth of wealth.

Here are simple steps to grow your wealth:

[1] Get better at your job (up-skill)
[2] Negotiate your salary (and keep a track if its growing at inflation)
[3] Learn to invest (stocks, bonds, real estate etc)
[4] Respect money (don't do YOLO/FOMO, just spend sensibly)
[5] Gain more experiences. And, turn those into income streams
[6] Cut out the negativity. Mirror people you wish to be like; observe their strategies and try to do what you can.

From working 14hrs/day to now trying to work 6hrs/day, here is what I have truly learnt about the hustle culture.

[1] Working 14hrs/day (like truly working) is advantageous.

The harder you work, the luckier you get. But...

[2] Hustling is not FOREVER.

With age, most of us will have more responsibilities and our priorities need to shift.

At 20, make me work 18hrs/day, I would gladly do it.
But at 34, I need to plan things better.

It is not as if I CAN'T work hard now -- I very much can -- and I do work excessively hard from time to time.

But, there is life outside work.

[3] Meaning.

We work for three reasons:

- Sustenance
- Meaning
- Creating a legacy

As we progress in our life, the gravity of these factors would change

- For example, you might see no reason to work if you have made a lot of money) or
- You might be making a lot of money but wouldn't want to work because you don't find any meaning to that work.

Life exists in a flow and how hard you want/need to work also changes with that flow.

Bottomline: don't slack off, work as hard as you can -- yet live a life. And, honestly you can't quantify this in terms of “4-hours“ or “14-hours“ work days.

PS: Folks ask: why do I write “Ex-Child“ as my designation on some of my YT videos.

Well, that was the best designation I ever had: I hustled (played, learned and did a range of things) without even realising what hustling was.

Our education system in 20 years:

(1) As India moves from a low income country to a mid income country, the nature of jobs will shift from agriculture to services (since we have a very small manufacturing base).

(2) This trend would improve the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) across all education levels.

Small scale intensive agriculture is not lucrative as of now. The situation will only worsen with time.

(3) Educated folks will keep on paying more and more for their kids education.

Monopolisation of education is inevitable. We already know the names of the firms that will monopolise the education sector.

(4) These firms --- in the name of 'revolution' and 'innovation'--- will deliver their last blow to the archaic education system that currently exists. They will formally enter into schools as well.

Entire India will be converted to a 'Kota Factory' model even at a nursery level.

These firms will become rich beyond measures and might even hold the biggest market cap on Indian stock indices.

You as an investor will get filthy rich by investing in these firms (hey, I will invest too!)

But you as a student will get intellectually bankrupt by participating in these models.

(5) India will celebrate trends like: improving GER, highest market cap for EdTech, more access to education etc.

(6) However, kids who go onto creating next-gen innovations are likely to be homeschooled (and to an extent protected from the monopolisation of education).

If you are 30 years old with a wealth of $180Mn, would you retire?

The answer for many of us would be a YES.

And, this is precisely the reason why we will never have $180Mn.

****
Right from a young age, we get into the habit of being goal obsessed.
- Get 95% marks.
- Get a 750 on the GMAT.
- Work at a top-3 consulting firm by age 25.

We assume that life is some kind of a race with a very clear finish line.

When we run this race day in and day out, we feel exhausted.
Be it working with a firm, running your own startup or preparing for an exam.

****
The key is to enjoy the journey towards achieving your goals.

Whether it is Taylor Swift, Elon Musk or Sundar Pichai, I can bet, they never started with the goal of being the best in their respective fields. They enjoyed their journey of pursuing their traits. Money was just an outcome.

Thinking about results, comparing yourself with others and scrolling through Instagram feeds is the fastest way of hating your journey towards your own respective goals.

#Motivation

Last 10 years of my life have been about building a career where I make $, gaining free time, developing location flexibility.

My time at INSEAD played a pivotal role in shaping this vision. Meeting like minded, driven people, changed how I viewed career/life.

Since graduating from INSEAD in 2015:-

[1] One of my batchmates founded a Unicorn (in Europe)
[2] 100+ ended up garnering wealth in excess of a 3Mn$+ each in the last 10 years (through jobs)
[3] At least (20 folks) I know did not go through the job route. But, profitable startup route. And, generated in excess of 10Mn$ in the last 10 years.

I had the pleasure of knowing these people.
I still talk to many of them on one-on-one basis.

3 things stood out for me about these wealth builders.

[1] They are EXTREMELY comfortable leaving their comfort zone.

- They are okay shifting countries/firms for professional growth.
- They are not scared of doing hard things. Or learning new things.

[2] They are EXTREMELY focused. They know what they want. And, they go for it.

- Many of my friends were startup guys, wanted to shift to consulting
- Worked hard. Got into Consulting
- Then quit to do a startup again

Excelling at something gives you confidence to do more amazing things subsequently.

[3] They have EXTREMELY good judgement.

- Whom to trust, what career move to make, how much risk to take etc
- Can't be taught. There is no course on this.
- But, this aspect of your life is going to impact you THE MOST.

Good judgement comes from making harder and harder decisions.
My teachers at INSEAD played a pivotal role in helping me cultivate this skill.

While, I can never thank my teachers enough for helping me get ahead in my life-- from time to time, I would love to share their work with you.

Associate Professor Abhishek Borah, has written a wonderful book called Mine Your Language (you can find this on Amazon)

It teaches you about how to communicate effectively (in your job & through social media) through better use of language.

Do give it a read-- it is a wonderful book :)

My first job was with a non-profit organisation, where I got paid INR 10K/month.

I started a small GMAT tutoring business on the sidelines, where I made 60K/month.

Now, I can go around preaching that building side hustles is a great game (and no doubt it is).

But, here are a few things that people won't tell:

1) Building any hustle requires you to invest ADDITIONAL TIME.

So if you feel exhausted with your existing work, work on your time management skills first.

Else you will burn out quick.

2) Start small with 0 expectations.

If you are putting pressure on yourself for your side hustle to succeed, you will feel a lot of heat.

Pursue it as a hobby. And, consider your side hustles as an experiment.

3) Don't do it just because everyone else is doing it.

Building anything is tough and complex. Experiment and see if this is a good fit with you.

Else, figure out opportunities to grow in the corporate workspace itself. There are enough opportunities there.

****
Follow me on: Wisdom Hatch

India's GDP by 2033: 6.5Tr$
US's debt by 2033: 50Tr$

US's debt is roughly 7X the size of India's GDP.

More interestingly, from 2033: US will pay roughly 1.6Tr$ as interest repayment on its debt, every year (this is ~25% the size of India's GDP in 2033).

Most people will shrug their shoulders and say: this is US's problem.
Why should I care, sitting here in India?

Well, you should because this single thing is going to impact you THE MOST in the coming 10 years.

Why?

[1] US prints more money.
[2] This devalues USD dollar.
[3] The world trade happens in the USD.
[4] Weaker currencies suffer more (they fall eve more in value compared to USD).
[5] The buying power of local citizens come down.
[6] To buy the same assets, you need more money.

This applies to the government as well. So they end up (de-facto) taxing you more.

Solution:

[1] It is becoming easier to earn (you need to be smart, structured and increase your earning sources).
[2] In a high inflation world, money will erode, if you can't grow it faster than inflation. You need to learn investing.
[3] Become half CA. Lean every tax optimisation strategy there is to learn.

You can follow Wisdom Hatch: I write in-depth posts. And, share macroeconomic analysis for my community there.

Three life-defining skills that are not taught in schools & colleges:

(1) Investing and finance:

- It does not matter whether you earn 10,000 or 10L per month, you need to invest.
- If you don't know how to invest your money, you will end up losing A LOT of it over your lifetime.

(2) Emotional Quotient:

- School is a great place to build your EQ muscle.
- Unfortunately, group projects are a joke in most schools and colleges.
- We understand the value of EQ once we get a bad feedback from our Managers

(3) Entreprenurial skills:

- Knowing that you can make money, even if you get fired from your job, is a great skill to have.
- Teaching basic money making skill is something that schools should look more into.

School systems should be skilled based.

College should get more practical: the fees of a college should be contingent upon the performance of the students in the job market.