Frugal On Fire

“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” – H. James Harrington I cannot emphasise more on the significance of the above quote as far as personal finance is concerned. I have observed that many people approach their finances in a very haphazard manner.  That is not an optimum approach. Just like CEO of a company, a person who wants to get hold of their finances should have only three targets, increase earnings, reduce expenses and building assets that eventually add to earnings.  A first milestone in that direction is analysing their monthly cash flow statements.  What is Cash Flow Analysis? In very simple terms, a cash flow analysis is a study of how the cash is flowing, meaning, from where the cash is generating (income source) and where the ...

There are a lot of articles floating around on the internet about financial Independence. The reason this topic is close to my heart is because of the experiences I got in life. You can read about them here .   The reason FI intrigues me is because it empowers the individual to live life on his/her own terms. I mean look at all the things that one can do if we can get rid of the 9-5 slog. It opens up so much free time, opportunities and experiences. The best being remaining in bed on a cold winter Monday morning when all the world around you is stuck in the daily commute. I have not yet attained FI, but with my experiences on the path to FI, let me tell you that I am experiencing a calm feeling as the basics (emergency funds, insurance cover) of FI are covered. The epiphany while walking on the path to FI for me was loosing the fear for failure. I am now facing the issues with much more confidence than before.   I am not saying that financial independence is e...

Today, I am going to tell you a story, a story of my investment journey. How it all started? First, let me introduce myself. I am Software Engineer by profession based out of Pune in India working in an MNC. My Family consists of me, my wife, our six yesr old son and my father. I recently lost my mother. So, coming back to my story, I always lived a disciplined life with typical Indian middle class values. I guess this is the most important attribute for becoming a decent investor. Completed my engineering and got a decent job. A software job was chosen as it was ensuring good and regular cash flows,in the form of salary. Once in the job, like every one else, I felt like a free bird and I wasn't aware of "i" of investing. I was spending freely without tracking any expenses, not doing any budgeting and not caring where my money was going. Then, bought a house in Pune. The year was 2008. The world was in the middle of economic crisis and I had taken a home loan which...