25-year old techie shares how he built a ₹20 lakh portfolio in 3 years while earning under ₹10 lpa

A 25-year old tech professional has caught attention online after sharing how he built a ₹20 lakh investment portfolio in three years, despite earning under ₹10 lakh per annum. In a detailed Reddit post, he outlined his approach to a disciplined saving, consistent investing, and diversified asset allocation, offering a roadmap for young earners looking to grow wealth without a high salary.

According to the original poster, he belongs to an upper middle class family and began his career with ₹4 lakh per annum salary. “A bit of background. Grew up in Bangalore in an upper middle class family. Got an entry level IT job, fresh out of college. Been working in the same org for almost 3 years now,” he wrote.

In the first year of career, he was earning around ₹4–5 lakh per annum, which gradually increased to ₹8–9 lakh over the next three years. While his income grew each year, it wasn’t a massive hike. What set him apart, however, was his disciplined approach to saving and how much of his earnings he set aside.

How did he save around 80% of his salary?

Despite earning under ₹10 lakh annually, he managed to invest a significant portion of his income. “I am able to invest around 80-85% consistently every month without controlling my spends too much. I still enjoy and i go on trips regularly on my own dime,” he wrote in the post.

Living with his parents helped keep his expenses low, allowing him to channel most of his earnings into investments. His discretionary spending remained largely limited to travel and occasional weekend outings. “Because I stayed at home with my parents, I was able to keep my expenses low and due to my frugal nature I was able to invest,” he shared.

How much did he diversify his portfolio?

Over time, his investments expanded beyond a single avenue and became more diversified across multiple asset classes. He gradually allocated money into equities, mutual funds, debt funds, among other instruments, ensuring his portfolio wasn't dependent on one source of returns.

“Equity Mutual Funds - 2.77L, Direct Stocks - 4.27L, US Stocks - 6.3L, Savings A/c + debt funds - 6.14 EPF - 75k,” he detailed in the post.

His current portfolio now stands at ₹20.23 lakh. In addition, he holds a separate corpus of around ₹9 lakh in Public provident Fund (PPF), contributed by his parents. He has kept this amount outside his own calculations, focusing only on the wealth built through his personal earnings and investments.

Redditor shares his future plans

The original poster further shared that he is now preparing for his first job switch and aiming for better opportunities ahead. “Got few offers but I'm on the lookout for the best possible offer,” he said.

“These numbers might seem small or large to people based on their circumstances, but the purpose of this post was to keep myself accountable and show people that you can save and invest even with a low salary,” he wrote.

“I hit the milestone of 20L portfolio value. But my journey still has a long way to go onwards and upwards,” he added.

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Mint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)