4 ms·
Great post Paras. However, I wish you would have addressed what you do with your new found financial freedom. I suppose running your business takes up most of y
by ashray 13y ago
Great post Paras. However, I wish you would have addressed what you do with your new found financial freedom. I suppose running your business takes up most of your time. That's fine as long as it's enjoyable I guess.
The question here is, if something, what would you have done differently ? Or, going forward, what are you going to do differently ?
Also, the modern economy is poised against us in terms of preserving the value of our wealth. Because of this, I disagree with your final conclusion (the sweating over investments bit..). The hard part about money is making it, but it's also hard to keep it. Inflation eats away at what you have, furthermore, depending on your country (India in this case..) you don't have 250 years of documented economic history to make your investment decisions.
If you've reached your financial goal, mine is 25x of annual expenses then yes, maybe you are truly financially independent and now free. You have literally bought freedom. You're right, materialistic pursuits will probably never lead to happiness. However, for some the road to financial independence is longer than others. And yes, many people lose the plot along the way ;)
Maybe a more apt title for your post would be: "Having a successful business and a good amount of money buys you freedom" ? :)
- paraschopra 13y agoThere's an interesting thread on Quora titled 'What does it feel like to be a self-made millionaire under the age of 25?' http://www.quora.com/Becoming-a-Millionaire/What-does-it-feel-like-to-be-a-self-made-millionaire-under-the-age-of-25?share=1 http://www.quora.com/Becoming-a-Millionaire/What-does-it-fee... As you will read through it, terms like insecurity, worry, surprise on unchanged happiness levels would be quite common among the answers. I have been thinking a lot about investments and have concluded that my main criteria is minimum management. If an investment requires active maintenance and management, it's not for me (unless I'm doing it for charity). This excludes many common investments such real estate and stocks. With others (say fixed deposits, metals, etc.) the post-tax returns are less than inflation so it may not be wise. Right now I have decided to invest mostly in mutual funds. I'm okay with the risk because the biggest asset I have is myself. The insecurity about future never leaves us, but as long as I believe that I would be employable in future, I can always jump back. EDIT: added ?share=1 to the URL. Thanks Casseres.
- ashray 13y agoThanks for your response, the Quora thread is very interesting. Another question, and this is a little more personal. Also, I don't mean to be accusatory at all or anything of that sort so please don't take it that way. Do you feel any new found desire to help those less fortunate than you ? I don't mean by providing employment, etc. I'm sure you do plenty of that through your business. I just know plenty of fairly rich people who feel like they're not 'rich enough' to help those that are less fortunate (even people whose net worth is in the tens of millions!)
- Casseres 13y agoHandy Tip: Add ?share=1 at the end of the URL so others don't have to log in to read all of the answers. Thanks for sharing, it was a good read.