Jesish shares his journey from a modest salary in 1987 to achieving ₹4-5 lakh per month in passive income through disciplined saving, smart investing, and prudent asset allocation. He emphasizes starting early, understanding risk, seeking professional advice, and balancing career growth with financial planning. His story offers valuable lessons on humility, risk management, and family support in personal finance.
Jesish, a seasoned professional with nearly 50 years in Bangalore, shares his inspiring journey from a modest starting salary in 1987 to building a substantial passive income of ₹4 to 5 lakh per month. His story is a testament to disciplined saving, smart investing, and the importance of balancing career growth with financial planning.
Jesish began his career at Vipro in 1987 with a starting salary of ₹850. Over the years, he transitioned through various roles and companies, including Sun Microsystems and Mindtree Consulting, before spending over a decade at Fidelity Investments. His salary progression was significant, culminating in a total package comparable to that of CEOs, ranging between $500,000 to $1 million by the time he left Fidelity in 2018.
One of Jesish's key nuggets of wisdom is the importance of starting to save early. He emphasizes that investing is preceded by saving, and without the habit of saving, discussions about complex investment instruments are futile. Jesish's largest accumulation came from his Employee Provident Fund, where he consistently contributed even when his salary was as low as ₹2,000.
Jesish highlights that the amount one saves is influenced by their environment, neighborhood, and the company they keep. He notes that some friends who earned more spent lavishly and thus accumulated less wealth, while others who were conservative saved more. This underscores the role of lifestyle choices and peer influence in financial health.
Jesish explains asset allocation as a critical aspect of personal finance, focusing on how much to invest in equities, debt, real estate, gold, and other asset classes. He advises a dynamic approach:
He also stresses the importance of understanding financial risk, including catastrophic scenarios that people often overlook.
Initially, Jesish's involvement in personal finance was limited due to career demands. It was only after 15 years into his professional life that he began to take personal finance seriously, aided by his aptitude and the environment at Fidelity Investments. He advocates for continuous learning and staying informed about one's investments.
Jesish strongly recommends seeking help from a competent and honest financial advisor. He warns against relying solely on internet information due to the prevalence of misinformation. A good advisor should be registered, unbiased, and possess both competence and integrity. However, he advises investors to remain engaged and not delegate all decisions entirely.
Jesish candidly shares a significant setback during the dot-com boom when he invested heavily in a single stock that soared from ₹280 to ₹7,200 before crashing to ₹30. This experience taught him the importance of understanding risk appetite, avoiding arrogance, and never counting unrealized gains as actual profit.
Jesish planned his retirement carefully, influenced by a colleague's advice about the unpredictability of career longevity. He emphasizes that retirement decisions affect the entire family and that the family's collective risk appetite should guide financial planning. He shares a touching story of his children supporting a potential career shift, highlighting the emotional aspects of financial decisions.
If Jesish could go back 30 years, he would shed his fears and take more risks earlier in his career. He believes that starting to learn about personal finance sooner would have enabled bolder decisions and potentially greater returns.
Jesish attributes his career growth to forcing himself to learn areas outside his comfort zone, such as change management and process adherence. He worked hard, often 10-12 hours a day, and focused on overcoming personal weaknesses to avoid fatal flaws in his professional and financial life.
Jesish has never regretted taking loans, viewing them as useful for tax planning when matched by investments. He maintained some debt during his working years but cleared all debts upon retirement, choosing to remain debt-free thereafter.
Jesish disagrees that younger people take smarter financial risks today, believing decisions are as good as in the past. He agrees that renting property often makes more financial sense than buying, especially given current real estate returns, but acknowledges nuances based on individual circumstances.
He also discusses the hustle culture, agreeing that while hustle is necessary in crises, a permanent hustle culture indicates systemic weaknesses and is unsustainable.
Jesish's parting advice centers on balance, good judgment, and humility. He stresses that no matter the level of success, maintaining humility is crucial. His journey offers valuable lessons for salaried employees aiming to build passive income and achieve financial freedom.
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