Need Financial advice
I’m 23, a fresher at a small product-based company. I live with my parents and commute to office, so my expenses are relatively low.
My in-hand salary is around ₹50k/month. Currently, I save about ₹15k/month in a savings account, but the interest feels negligible. I don’t have any urgent financial needs right now, but in the near future I want to:
- Buy a bike
- Support my family financially
- Gradually improve my parents’ lifestyle
I’ve been researching SIPs and investing (mostly via YouTube), but opinions are very mixed. Some suggest:
- Allocating money across multiple asset classes
- Increasing SIP by ~10% every year
- Staying invested for 7+ years to see compounding benefits
Others say:
- Don’t overthink savings
- Spend on experiences, travel, and things you enjoy while you’re young
I have no loans or EMIs right now and can take moderate risk. My goal is long-term wealth creation while still enjoying my 20s.
I’m a bit conflicted and would love to hear from people who have actually experienced long-term investing and compounding.
Questions:
- How did you structure your savings/investing when you started working?
- What do you do as soon as you receive your salary?
- How do you balance enjoying life vs saving for the future?
- Any beginner mistakes you wish you had avoided?
Thank you 😊
Looking for practical strategies, lessons, and mindset advice from those who’ve been through this journey.
I had done this when I was your age.
Structure: Identify your goal, it's timeline & then decide the financial instrument.
If it's 5+ years then equity or ELSS; 3-5 then MFs or Gold, 1-2 Mix of MFs (Low Risk) + RDs
I am sure you may have many goals with timelines but you cannot allocate the money to each one of them... In this case, prioritize & then keep on adding them along with your monetary raises.
Enjoying while saving: Well, plan it out. How do you define your enjoyment ? I enjoy riding my bike, I set aside some money like 2k /month to buy riding gear, or spend money on something that adds up to riding. Figure it out!
Finally, Don't overthink. Keep your portfolio diverse, Risky + Moderate + Low risk & no risk.
Hope this helps, Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this
I’ll try to point out my goals with timelines first and then decide allocations accordingly. Appreciate you taking the time to explain this from your own experience 🙏
Also, a few questions if I am allowed to ask:
-
As income increased, did you increase enjoyment spending first or investment allocation first?
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Did you automate SIP's from day one, or did you wait until you had more clarity and stability?
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Looking back, is there anything you would not do again in your first 2–3 years of investing?
Proportion out your savings between Investments and enjoyment.
Personally would say that a lot of "enjoyment" items are frivolous and wasteful. To me, it needs to add some value to my life. Else it's not worth enjoying when I have responsibilities towards my future self and my family. I can always enjoy it later when I have 10cr.
