Rs 1 crore at 26, Rs 5 crore at 29, Rs 7 crore at 31: Bengaluru techie reveals how he became debt-free, survived failed AI app & travelled abroad more than 15 times before turning 35

What does it take to build a Rs 7 crore net worth before turning 32? For one Bengaluru tech professional, the answer wasn't simply a high salary or a lucky stock-market bet. His FIRE journey involved early investing, career moves, side businesses, a failed AI app, property debt and a fair amount of calculated risk.

The 31-year-old shared his financial journey on Reddit, claiming his net worth has risen to around Rs 7 crore, up from approximately Rs 6 crore a year ago.

Read more - Rs 1 crore at 26, Rs 5 crore at 29, Rs 7 crore at 31: Bengaluru techie reveals how he became debt-free, survived failed AI app & travelled abroad more than 15 times before turning 35


The interesting bit is that his journey wasn't built around one huge investment win. He started investing small amounts in mutual funds soon after college, gradually increased his earnings and experimented with businesses on the side.

By 26, he says he had crossed the Rs 1 crore mark. At 29, his net worth had reached Rs 5 crore. Now, at 31, it stands at around Rs 7 crore.

Read more - Heart problem spotted in 2 secs by 'superhuman' AI? How this tool can see deep into your heart valves what doctors may miss

How the Bengaluru techie built a Rs 7 crore net worth

His wealth-building philosophy is fairly straightforward: don't just try to spend less, work on earning more.

Early in his career, he realised that cutting expenses had its limits. There was only so much he could save by avoiding purchases. So he focused on switching jobs, getting promotions and creating additional income streams.

His strategy was essentially to increase the size of the pie rather than endlessly trying to make his slice smaller.

He also pushed himself to learn skills outside his comfort zone and explore ways of turning those skills into products or additional income.

“Tech was not my strong suit..so spent time learning how to leverage tech to build products that can be sold,” he said.

He encouraged people to look at their existing abilities differently.

“If you are a app developer, think of which apps are currently selling that can be build easily. If you have a good personality think of dabbling into content creation.”

For him, even an experiment that doesn't immediately make money can still have value.

“Any new skills learnt will never go waste..will definitely come handy sometime later in life,” he added.

From SaaS and D2C ventures to a failed AI app

The road to Rs 7 crore wasn't exactly smooth. Alongside his technology career, the Bengaluru professional tried his hand at small businesses, including SaaS and D2C ventures.

He also spent three months building an AI-powered app. The project was something he worked on after office hours, putting in time at night once his regular job was done. But the app failed.

He lost a couple of lakhs on marketing, turning the experiment into an expensive lesson rather than a successful side business.

Still, he doesn't appear to view the failed AI venture as wasted effort. For him, experimenting is part of the process of finding something that eventually works.

That approach also explains why his FIRE journey isn't simply about putting money into mutual funds and waiting for compounding to do its thing. He has actively looked for ways to increase his earning potential.

Why he travelled abroad 15 times but still drives a 15-year-old car

His spending habits are another interesting part of the story. The tech professional says he has travelled internationally more than 15 times, but not because he wants to project a particular lifestyle. He genuinely enjoys travelling and is happy to spend money on it.

Cars, however, aren't high on his priority list. Despite building a Rs 7 crore net worth, he continues to use his father's 15-year-old car rather than spending heavily on a new vehicle.

His attitude towards lifestyle spending changed further after he deleted Instagram.

Without the constant stream of posts showing what friends were buying, where they were travelling or what sort of lifestyles they were living, he found it easier to stop spending for social status.

Essentially, his approach isn't about avoiding every luxury. It's about being clear about which luxuries actually matter to him.

Rs 2 crore in ESOPs, but he counts only Rs 1.5 crore

A significant part of his wealth is tied to his career in technology. He says he holds around Rs 2 crore worth of ESOPs in the technology company where he works.

However, he has been more conservative while calculating his net worth. Instead of counting the entire Rs 2 crore, he has included only Rs 1.5 crore in his calculations.

The reason is simple: the eventual value of the ESOPs could change, particularly if the company eventually goes public.

He has also ventured into riskier investments, including unlisted stocks. One investment alone is worth around Rs 40 lakh, which he openly acknowledges is a risky bet.

Why he says you don't have to move abroad to earn more

For young Indians chasing higher salaries, moving abroad can often seem like the obvious route to financial independence.

The Bengaluru techie disagrees with the idea that going overseas is the only way to build wealth.

“Stop giving excuses & start looking for opportunities,” he said.

“I see lot of young folks feeling the only way to earn more is to go abroad. Always complaining how bad India is…Going abroad is definitely the easiest way, but not everyone can take that route.”

His own strategy has been to look for opportunities within his existing career, while developing additional skills and income sources on the side.

Why he paid off two property loans

Over the past year, he also made a major change to his finances: he cleared the debt on two properties and became debt-free.

One of the flats was bought for around Rs 65 lakh about two years ago. He says it is now worth approximately Rs 1 crore and generates a rental yield of around 5%.

Paying off the property debt became particularly attractive to him because equity markets hadn't done much over the past year.

Rather than directing the money towards stocks, he chose to aggressively reduce his outstanding property debt.

For him, becoming debt-free offered a more certain financial benefit than taking on additional market risk at a time when equities weren't delivering much.

Why he is buying US blue-chip stocks

His portfolio has also evolved as market conditions have changed. More recently, he has started buying US blue-chip stocks, partly because of the weakening rupee. He plans to invest another Rs 10-15 lakh in US stocks over the next year.

Gold and silver, meanwhile, have not played a major role in his wealth-building strategy. His exposure to gold remains relatively small.

His investments are therefore spread across several areas: mutual funds, stocks, property, ESOPs and unlisted investments, rather than being concentrated in one asset.

Becoming a father changed his FIRE priorities

For all the focus on net worth, investments and debt, the biggest development in his life over the past year wasn't financial.

He became a father. He describes becoming a parent as the biggest development of the year, although the transition also came with some difficult months.

His health took a back seat after the arrival of his child, and that experience forced him to reconsider the balance between chasing financial goals and looking after himself.

It is a lesson that often gets lost in conversations about FIRE. Reaching a particular number means little if the journey leaves you exhausted.

His new health goals include eight hours of sleep and 8,000 steps

The Bengaluru techie now wants to treat his health with the same seriousness he has applied to his finances.

His goals include getting eight hours of sleep, staying active through regular movement or sport, aiming for around 8,000 steps a day and avoiding packaged food.

His broader belief is that healthy habits compound in much the same way financial investments do.

And perhaps that is the biggest takeaway from his FIRE journey. His story isn't really about finding one magical stock or making one spectacular investment. It is about starting early, steadily increasing income, investing, experimenting, avoiding unnecessary lifestyle inflation, taking calculated risks and paying off debt.

The Rs 7 crore net worth may be the headline number, but the journey behind it is a little more ordinary, and perhaps more useful.

Earn more. Invest early. Spend on what genuinely matters. Don't be afraid of failed experiments. And, eventually, remember that financial independence is supposed to give you more freedom to live your life, not simply another number to chase.


Disclaimer: This article is based on a user-generated post on Reddit. ET.com has not independently verified the claims made in the post and does not vouch for their accuracy. The views expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET.com. Reader discretion is advised.