In continuation of our effort to interlock you with some common men and women who have been seeking financial freedom, today, it is a chance to meet Vijay Margam. Vijay is a Consultant Biochemist at Vijaya Medical Centre, Visakhapatnam, India.
Early years, 2000 – 2013, my financial
life:
“The biggest reason you
don’t get answers is that you haven’t asked the questions”.
~ Richard Bach (Messiah’s Handbook)
Being
grown-up in a middle-class family with parents who are honest and frugal and a
home where discussions about money are of utilitarian purpose and of secondary
importance, my knowledge about money was almost nil. My life experiences made
me not to compromise on values for earning more money, so, though I was in to
the medical profession, I remained aloof from most of my contemporaries. And
some of the situations made me believe that more money is associated with more
negativity.
I
started earning money in the year 2000, a small stipend of Rs. 5000. During my
post-graduation (MD in Medical Biochemistry), I got married. I completed my
studies in 2003, got into a teaching job with decent enough income to meet my
needs of that time. I realized after some years of this sort of life, that my
needs are increasing with time, and if I continue doing the same thing, I may
be living a decent enough life but can’t do justice to my inner needs of
knowing and growing myself to be able to achieve a more meaningful and
purposeful life.
I
grew my skills in diagnostic and research areas throughout the years, did a
fellowship program in 2007, changed my career from teaching profession to
medical diagnostics, acquired additional skills that added up my income and
satisfaction of providing quality services to patients.
I
started saving and investing some money that I earned beyond my needs, in
traditional ways that I knew that time such as chits, RDs, FDs, and LIC
policies. A little later, I joined as a partner in a diagnostic firm that I
thought was aligned to my values. With the additional savings based on the
advice from bankers, I made some investments in NFOs and ULIP. Though I knew a
little about mutual funds that time, I was not aware of the ways to select and
invest.
But,
as the income grew, so also the differences with my business partners, and at
once I knew that I can’t fit into a place of compromise of my value system. I started
feeling the need to come out of this race. Thoughts of early completion of
earning cycle and achieving financial security to be able to dedicate time for
the things that give satisfaction and meaning started coming but I didn’t have any
clarity on how to move ahead on that path towards freedom.
That
kindled me to search for ways of achieving financial freedom, but my faith on
achieving was near to impossible and my path toward the goal if any was vague.
Year 2014 – 2017
“When the student is ready, the teacher
will appear"
-
Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
It was in 2014,
October middle…
Being a
passionate and avid reader of books, I was searching, intensely and intently, by
entering key phrase “financial freedom” in Google … Titles of books available
in market kept rolling on screen…
Financial freedom – 11 principles to
achieve…
Financial freedom – a proven path…
Financial freedom – mantra for…
Financial freedom – without sacrifice…
Financial freedom – a promised
opportunity…
None was
touching my heart except this one:
From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom – A common man’s journey….
Resonated exactly
with what I was feeling that time – coming out from ‘the Rat Race’, and
a complete reassurance – a ‘common man’s
journey’ to financial freedom – if it’s taken up by a common man, why can’t I?
At once I
placed the order, and after visiting the details of the author – Manoj Arora,
registered to the ‘Elevate Your Life’ portal.
On Oct 22nd,
2014
First email
from Manoj sir begins with this:
Welcome to Elevate Your Life – your personalized financial freedom portal.
Objective – with ultimate assurance - To help
get started on the journey towards financial freedom, and to mentor till completion
Steps – laid crystal clear – Eat the book, Shout for help.
Advises
– at their best – Stay connected, ask questions, raise doubts, and
seek help as and when needed.
Motivation– most impactful – Strengthen your dreams, have faith in your abilities, and work passionately towards it.
As I started
reading the book, it removed all the financial misconceptions that I had. I started understanding the real purpose on
money, took out the negativity associated with the money, and started investing
in some-what better ways.
But the events
of work-life during 2014 – 2017 were so intense, that I had very little time
and space for truly and intensely doing it. In 2018, due to my own inner
calling, I had to leave the partnership firm and shift to a new arrangement.
Year 2018 – 2023:
“You
never miss an aim, if what you aim at aims at you”.
~ Mikhail Naimy (The Book of Mirdad)
In 2018, due to
my own inner calling, I had to leave the partnership firm and shift to a new arrangement.
That was the time of massive changes in all aspects including finances.
April 1st,
2018:
Very few of the
readers of Manoj sir, know the importance of this date. I get an email from
Manoj sir which reads as:
Vijay, be among
the ELITE 100 to get your Portfolio managed by us!
That comes
exactly when it was needed the most, with all One-to-one coaching on building
customized financial freedom plan, tracking the journey, proactive monthly
review of Portfolio, monthly recommendations and suggestions on Portfolio,
Unlimited query handling sessions…
And the most
wonderful part is… promise to be together in this beautiful journey!
Who on this
earth can get such an opportunity! To be part of a guided journey which only
less than 1% try to take and only few among them reach!
But those were
the times of massive changes and everything was unpredictable for me. Exact
income, not known, expenses not known, some of the major investments spent,
some investments are forced upon by situations…
On 13th
April 2018, in an effort to understand my journey for myself and my guide, I
poured out my heart in one of the longest emails, and you know the response by
Manoj sir… “It was an honour to know you.
I was privileged to read every single word of it”. I am blessed to have such guide along the
journey and beyond.
It took another
7 months (5th Oct 2018), and more than 50 gentle nudges for me to
get started with the first step. And you have to know the response and
encouragement that I got for taking the first step after more than 50 gentle
nudges… “It is so nice to see you get started. Getting started is half the job
done!”
And, one of the
most significant journeys, the journey to financial freedom thus began. The
ELITE Program is getting evolved, every time with significant value additions, most
importantly, the life-partner (spouse) is made to involve in all the
communications, and a separate family group created adding more fervour and flavour
to the journey.
Though Manoj
sir says he will be with me till the journey is completed, I wonder if it is
just the journey to financial freedom or more to it… it is up to us to
understand after getting such a wonderful support, in Manoj sir’s words only… “You can write back to me, for anything and
everything that you feel I can offer you – financial or otherwise”, “I am always with you Vijay – all times, all
situations!”
- Do you think it is wise to have a financial plan in place for your life, instead of randomly doing investments with no target in mind?
- Do you think life should be much more than just earning money?
- Do you exactly know how much money you need to get financially free?
- Do you exactly know how much time you need to accumulate that kind of corpus that can fund your and your family's expenses for the rest of your life?
- Do you know how can you maximize your returns on your net worth?
- Do you know that massive wealth without the required liquidity in your portfolio can lead to a situation where your money is locked, and you cannot fund your goals?
- Do you know that we run an ELITE program (based on interview-based selection criteria) to handhold people towards Financial Freedom?
- Do you know that we publish ELEVATE - a monthly newsletter on personal finance and life skills, wherein we simplify everything for you and make it easily digestible and implementable in your life? You can try a month for free!
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