Starting from a modest salary and a humble background, a young engineer’s candid Reddit post details how frugality, skill-building, and perseverance helped him achieve financial independence before the age of 30.
May 17, 2025: In a Reddit post that’s winning hearts across social media, a Bengaluru-based tech professional has revealed how he built a net worth of over ₹1 crore before turning 30, starting with a salary of just ₹2.4 lakh per annum in 2018.
Sharing his journey on the Personal Finance India subreddit, the techie, now in his late 20s, described his financial and career growth as anything but linear. Raised in a low-income household—with a combined parental income under ₹15,000—he studied in a modest private school, cleared the JEE exam, and joined a local engineering college more for convenience than prestige.
While pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), he gravitated toward coding. He landed a job with a service-based IT firm during college placements, which offered him a starting salary of ₹15,000 per month. That’s where the hustle began.
He shared stories of his early struggles and learnings in Bengaluru: managing savings of ₹2,000 a month, living on tight budgets, absorbing knowledge from peers, and even enjoying the grind.
Milestone Check: Started at 2.4 LPA at 23, Achieved 1cr before turning 30
byu/No-Drawer1706 inpersonalfinanceindia
The real breakthrough came during COVID-19, when a failed Big 4 offer was followed by an HR call that changed everything—an offer of ₹12 LPA. By 2022, riding the job market boom, he cracked 13 job offers and finally joined a product-based company offering ₹32 LPA. With stock grants and bonuses, his total compensation today is close to ₹50 LPA.
Despite the financial success, his lifestyle remains minimalistic. “I still use a phone from 2019, wear office t-shirts, and walk around in ₹250 shoes—with ₹1,000 soles,” he joked.
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Now, he invests ₹71,000 monthly via SIPs and saw his portfolio grow from ₹31.6 lakh in 2023 to ₹1 crore in 2025. He credits compounding—both financial and skill-based—as his biggest enabler and aims for financial independence by 40, possibly retiring by 45.
He signs off with simple but powerful advice:
“Be frugal where it matters, splurge where it counts, and stay humble. Life has a funny way of keeping you grounded—like your ₹250 shoes falling apart while your stock portfolio climbs.”
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Personal finance, Bengaluru techie, ₹1 crore net worth, Indian engineers, frugality, SIP investments, career growth, Reddit stories, FIRE India, tech jobs India