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| “From small savings to crores — the power of smart money habits.” |
“From ₹25,000 a month to crores…’: CA shares ‘underrated money habits’ that quietly build big wealth”
Introduction
When you earn around ₹25,000 a month, it might feel like big-money accumulation and wealth in the crores is out of reach. Many believe you need a high salary, a big inheritance or an “overnight success” to build real wealth. But nothing could be further from the truth. Several Chartered Accountants (CAs) in India are emphasising that wealth isn’t about one-off windfalls or flashy purchases — it’s about underrated money habits, repeated consistently over years.
In this article, we’ll explore how disciplined habits, smart decisions and a long-term mindset can turn modest monthly income into a multi-crore asset base. We’ll dive into the key habits, how they apply if you start with ₹25,000/month (or whatever your current income is), and how to scale upwards.
Why starting modest still works
Many people wrongly assume that unless you earn ₹1 lakh+, you can’t build substantial wealth. But that’s misleading. CAs like Nitin Kaushik explain that what matters is structure, discipline and time, not just income.
For example:
- If you save and invest even ₹10,000/month consistently over 20–25 years at a reasonable rate of return (say 10-12%), it can grow into crores.
- On the flip side, earning ₹1 lakh/month but spending ₹90,000/month leaves you vulnerable. As Kaushik says: living below your means makes the difference.
- Another CA, Abhishek Walia, stresses that money aligned with purpose grows; money without clarity disappears.
So: even starting from ₹25,000/month (or any modest income), you can build wealth — if you adopt the right habits, early. The earlier you start, the more time compounding has.
Habit #1 – Resolve to live below your means
This is arguably the most underrated habit. Many people get into the “income trap” — as soon as earnings go up, lifestyle goes up. The result: little or no surplus left to invest.
Key actions:
- Track your expenses carefully. Know how much of that ₹25,000 (or whatever your income) is going to essentials vs. discretionary.
- Aim to save at least 20-30% (or more if you can) of your income. CAs recommend such savings even from modest earnings.
- Avoid high-cost borrowing (credit cards, personal loans) that drive lifestyle beyond your means. Kaushik emphasises: “Bad debt kills wealth”.
- Resist “keeping up with the Joneses”. For example, many self-made millionaires in India still drive modest cars and fly economy; they prioritise net worth over net show.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
Say your take-home is ₹25,000. If you manage your living cost so that you only spend ₹15,000–₹18,000 (60-72%), you can aim to save ₹7,000-₹10,000 (28-40%) per month. Over a year that’s ₹84,000-₹1.2 lakh. If you invest that amount, you’re already well ahead of many in the wealth-building game.
Habit #2 – Automate savings & investing
Habits are easier to keep if you remove friction. CAs stress that consistency matters far more than clever timing or chasing high returns.
Key actions:
- Set up auto-transfer from salary account to a savings/investment account the moment salary arrives.
- Treat investments like a non-negotiable “expense” (just like rent or utility) — you pay them first, then live off the remainder.
- Choose systematic investment plans (SIPs) or recurring deposit style investments rather than lump sum timing. For example, investing ₹5,000/month for 30 years at 12% could yield ~₹5.5-6 crore.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
If you’re starting small, you might commit ₹5,000/month first (20%). As income rises, you can scale up to ₹7,000-₹10,000/month (28-40%). Consistent investing early helps allow compounding to work its magic.
Habit #3 – Kill high-interest debt & manage risk
Borrowing isn’t evil — but high-interest debt and uncontrolled piling of EMIs are wealth killers. The “interest” cost and lost opportunities matter a lot.
Key actions:
- Prioritise paying off credit-card balances, personal loans, and other debt with interest rates 25-40%+. Kaushik warns credit-card EMIs can cost up to 42% annually.
- Avoid stretching EMIs so much that your monthly fixed payments cross 30-40% of income. Many CAs recommend housing and car loan EMIs stay within 25-30% of income.
- Get adequate insurance (term life, health) so that unexpected shocks don’t derail savings/investments.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
If you already have some high-interest debt, first allocate say ₹2,000-₹3,000/month extra to reduce it. Once cleared, redirect that to investing. Also, try to keep EMIs (if any) at modest levels — maybe ₹3,000-₹5,000 max (12-20% of income) so your financial flexibility remains intact.
Habit #4 – Make your money work, don’t just work for money
This means investing in assets rather than only accumulating income. Income is good, but if you only trade hours for rupees, you’re limited. True wealth emerges when your capital works for you.
Key actions:
- Allocate a portion of savings into equity mutual funds, index funds, and other growth vehicles. CAs emphasise long-term investing and compounding over trying to pick “secret stocks”.
- Build passive income streams—rent, digital content, side-business, royalties, etc. Kaushik’s 5-step plan includes side hustles generating ₹30,000/month for additional investing.
- Reinvest returns rather than always consuming them. Growth compounds if you stay the course.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
From your savings (say ₹7,000/month), you might put ₹4,000 in a growth fund and set aside ₹3,000 for a side-hustle fund or alternate asset. As your side income grows, raise the investment portion. Over years, your investments should start having their own momentum.
Habit #5 – Resist lifestyle inflation
One of the fastest wealth killers is “as income grows, spending grows faster”. When you get a raise, often you upgrade phone, car, travel, dining out — and the extra income disappears.
Key actions:
- When your salary goes up (say from ₹25k to ₹35k), allocate the full raise (or most of it) to investments/savings rather than proportional increase in spending.
- Keep major lifestyle purchases in check — e.g., buy a modest car instead of luxury; wait a while before upgrading house. Kaushik advises buying 2–3 year old cars and avoid instant depreciation.
- Maintain a “growth mindset” for assets rather than consumption. If you attend friends’ weddings, keep the cost in check; if you go on trips, have a travel-fund rather than debt spend.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
Suppose you get a raise to ₹30,000/month. Instead of spending the extra ₹5,000, you channel ₹4,000 into investments and use only ₹1,000 for lifestyle upgrade. This way you scale without scaling costs.
Habit #6 – Align money with goals & purpose
Money without a direction tends to vanish. CAs emphasise that having clear goals (short-term, mid-term, long-term) helps you channel resources meaningfully.
Key actions:
- Define your financial goals: e.g. 3-5 years: emergency fund of 6 months; 10 years: home down payment; 20 years: retirement corpus.
- Link each investment/saving to a goal. This gives purpose and avoids random spending.
- Periodically review and adjust your goals as life changes (job switch, marriage, kids).
- Keep a “why” for your money. Example: “I want financial freedom by age 50” or “I want to give my children quality education without borrowing”.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
With monthly savings of ₹7,000-₹10,000, you might allocate: ₹3,000 to emergency fund, ₹2,000 to long-term investments, ₹2,000 to a mid-term goal (e.g., skill-upgradation or side‐business). Over time, when income rises, you revisit allocations.
Habit #7 – Think long term and embrace compounding
The magic of compounding is well-known but under-utilised. The earlier you start, the more time your money has to grow. Many wealth-builders are simply patient and consistent.
Key actions:
- Invest early. The difference of even 5 years can be enormous. For example, an SIP of ₹5,000/month at 12% over 30 years yields far more than starting at year 6.
- Reinvest returns. Let interest, dividends, and growth stay invested.
- Avoid chasing quick wins or get-rich-quick schemes. Kaushik: “Habits build wealth, not flashy tools.”
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
Say at age 25 you start investing ₹7,000/month. At 12% for 30 years, your corpus may run into crores (depending on increasing contributions over time). If you wait till age 35 or 40, you’ll need much higher monthly sums to achieve the same corpus.
Habit #8 – Invest in yourself & multiple income streams
Wealth isn’t only about saving and investing — increasing your income potential amplifies what you can do. CAs often talk about “earning power” as an asset too.
Key actions:
- Upskill: Certifications, new technologies, side-business, freelancing.
- Have one or more “side hustles” or passive-income sources. If you can generate an extra ₹5,000-₹10,000/month, you can invest that rather than consume.
- Keep your main job performance strong, but don’t rely solely on it. Diversification of income = less risk.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
While you’re working with ₹25k/month, identify one skill you can monetise — e.g., tutoring, content creation, consulting, digitising a hobby. If that side income yields even ₹2,000-₹3,000/month, and you invest it, the effect compounds over time.
Habit #9 – Stay away from financial noise & shortcuts
In today’s world of “fin-influencers”, flashy schemes, get-rich-quick crypto pitches, there’s a lot of noise. CAs warn: don’t let hype derail the fundamentals.
Key actions:
- If you can’t explain the investment to a 15-year-old, don’t invest.
- Focus on lowcost index funds, diversified portfolios rather than trying to pick “one mega winner”.
- Avoid hoarding large debt, or taking high risk with money you can’t afford to lose.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
With limited monthly savings, you cannot afford big gambles. It is wiser to allocate ₹4,000-₹5,000/month into well-understood funds rather than chasing exotic assets. Stick to what you understand and scale later.
Habit #10 – Plan for the long haul: emergency fund, insurance, retirement
Real wealth isn’t just accumulation; it’s also protection and giving your money the time to flourish. CAs stress the importance of the “foundation” — emergency fund and risk cover — before going all-in on growth.
Key actions:
- Emergency fund of at least 3-6 months’ expenses (preferably 6-12) in a liquid form.
- Health insurance for you and dependents; term life insurance especially if you have liabilities.
- Don’t ignore retirement planning; invest via long-term vehicles and review every few years.
Practical for ₹25,000/month:
Suppose your monthly expense (after savings) is ₹15,000. Aim for an emergency fund of ₹90,000 (6 months). While building that, you may allocate ₹3,000/month to that fund for 30 months, while also investing ₹4,000/month elsewhere. Once your emergency fund is in place, redirect that allocation to investments or increasing contribution.
Putting it all together: A sample roadmap from ₹25,000/month to crores
Let’s create a hypothetical but realistic roadmap showing how someone earning ₹25,000/month could build serious wealth. The numbers are illustrative, not guaranteed.
Year 1-5:
- Income: ₹25,000/month (₹3 lakh/year).
- Monthly savings: ₹10,000 (40%).
- Break-up: ₹4,000/month to emergency fund, ₹4,000 to long-term investment, ₹2,000 to side-hustle/income‐growth fund.
- After 3 years, emergency fund is ~₹1.44 lakh (enough ~6 months if you live modestly).
- Side-hustle begins to yield ₹2,000/month by end of year 3. That added to savings → investments.
Year 6-15:
- Income gradually rises (say to ₹40,000/month).
- Savings rate stays at ~30-40% → maybe ₹12,000-₹15,000/month.
- Investment portion increases: by year-10 you might be investing ₹15,000/month.
- Side-hustle grows; extra side income ₹5,000/month → invested.
- Over 10 years, assuming ~12% return, your corpus may reach ~₹25-30 lakh (depending on contribution increases).
- By year-15 (age ~40), if you increased monthly investments to ₹20,000 and returns hold, corpus could reach ~₹1-2 crore.
Year 16–25+:
- Income may rise further to ₹70,000-₹1 lakh/month.
- Savings/investments increase to ₹30,000-₹40,000/month.
- Side-business adds additional investment.
- By 25 years, your corpus (assuming consistent ~10-12% growth, increasing contributions) could well cross several crores (₹2-5+ crore) and eventually scale further.
- At retirement age, this gives you the flexibility to stop working or choose your own path.
Of course, life events (marriage, children, health issues) will intervene. But if you have built the fundamentals (savings discipline, investments, income growth, protection), you’re in control rather than being controlled by debt or expense-spirals.
Why most people don’t hit crores — and how you avoid the traps
It’s not that earning ₹25k/month makes the crores impossible — it’s the habits that separate those who reach crores from those who don’t. Here are common pitfalls (and how to avoid):
- Pitfall: Spending every rise in income. Solution: Increase savings when income rises instead of spending more.
- Pitfall: High-interest debt and multiple EMIs. Solution: Clear bad debt, keep EMIs manageable.
- Pitfall: Chasing “secret stocks”, hype, get rich quick. Solution: Focus on consistency, index funds, time in market.
- Pitfall: No emergency fund or insurance — one event derails savings. Solution: Build the foundation first.
- Pitfall: Thinking you need a huge salary to begin. Solution: Start with what you have — modest income is fine if you apply discipline.
- Pitfall: Under-investing or staying too conservative for comfort. Solution: Overcome fear, invest early, let compounding do its job.
Mindset shifts to support the habits
Habits are rooted in mindset. To make the above work, some key mindset changes:
- From “earn more so I can spend more” → “earn more so I can invest more and build freedom.”
- From “I’ll start investing when I earn a lot” → “I’ll start now, regardless of size, because time is my greatest ally.”
- From “I must keep up appearances” → “I’m building real wealth, not just showing it.” CAs emphasise that true wealth shows in freedom, not in flashy cars.
- From “investing is for rich people” → “investing is for anyone with surplus and a time horizon.”
- From “I’ll just rely on salary” → “I’ll create multiple income streams and asset-bases.”
- From “I’ll worry about risk later” → “I build safety (emergency fund, insurance) first, then grow.”
FAQs — Common Questions
Q: I only earn ₹25,000/month — is it realistic to aim for crores?
Yes. While you may not get there overnight, discipline + time + investing = very possible. The key is to start early, invest consistently, avoid bad debt and let compounding do the heavy lifting.
Q: How much should I save and invest each month?
A good target is at least 20-40% of your income. If you earn ₹25k/month, saving ₹5,000-₹10,000/month is a strong start. As your income rises, raise the investment portion.
Q: Should I pay off my debt or start investing?
Paying off high-interest debt (e.g., credit cards) should come first, because debt interest erodes your ability to build wealth. Once high-cost debt is under control, you can allocate more to investments.
Q: What kind of investments should I choose?
Choose diversified, low-cost mutual funds (especially equity funds or index funds), recurring investments (SIP), and long-term view. Avoid chasing get-rich-quick or opaque schemes.
Q: What role does side income or side hustle play?
It amplifies your savings and investment ability. A side income of even ₹2,000-₹5,000/month can double your investment contribution and accelerate wealth build-up.
Q: How soon can I expect “crores”?
It depends on how much you invest, how long you stay invested, and your returns. For example, investing ₹10,000/month at ~12% for 25 years can yield ~₹1.6 crore. If you gradually increase contributions, you could reach several crores.
Q: What if income stagnates or I face setbacks?
That’s why habits matter. Even if income doesn’t grow, maintaining savings discipline, avoiding debt, and investing regularly will compound over time. If you face setbacks, your emergency fund, insurance and side incomes provide a cushion.
Case Study Snapshot
Here is an illustrative case (fictionalised but realistic) to show how the habits play out:
“Ravi” – 28 years old, salary ₹25,000/month.
- Month 1–6: tracks expenses, brings spending down to ₹18,000/month, savings ₹7,000/month.
- Month 7 onward: sets up auto-transfer ₹7,000 to an equity mutual fund SIP.
- Month 12: starts a weekend tutoring side-gig; additional income ₹2,000/month, invested entirely.
- Year 2–5: includes insurance term cover, health cover; increases SIP to ₹9,000/month (including side income).
- Year 6: salary rises to ₹35,000/month; Ravi keeps spending ~₹20,000, invests ~₹12,000/month.
- Side-income grows to ₹5,000/month by year 8; total monthly investment ~₹17,000.
- By year 15 (age ~43) with continued ~10-12% return, Ravi’s investment corpus crosses ₹2 crore.
- By year 20, invests ~₹25,000/month, corpus crosses ~₹5 crore+. He now chooses to reduce working hours or invest in business.
This shows that starting modest isn’t a barrier — the habits and mindset are what make the difference.
Summary — The Underrated Habits That Build Big Wealth
- Live below your means – don’t let lifestyle creep outrun income.
- Automate savings and investments – consistency over perfection.
- Kill bad debt & manage risk – high interest and unprotected risk destroy wealth faster than low income.
- Make your money work for you – invest, build assets and income streams.
- Resist lifestyle inflation – allocate raises to investments.
- Align money with goals and purpose – clarity gives discipline.
- Think long-term and use compounding – time is your friend.
- Invest in yourself & multiple income streams – more income = more investment potential.
- Avoid hype and shortcuts – focus on fundamentals.
- Build the foundation – emergency fund, insurance, retirement planning.
Call to Action
If you’re earning around ₹25,000 a month (or any modest income), here’s what you can do right now:
- Set a target: “I will save/invest ₹7,000/month starting next month.”
- Automate the transfer day of salary to your investment account.
- Review your current expenses and identify at least ₹1,000-₹2,000/month you can redirect to investment rather than spend.
- Choose a good low-cost equity mutual fund or index fund and start a SIP.
- Choose one side-income skill/hobby you can monetise and aim to generate extra ₹2,000-₹3,000/month in the next 6-12 months.
- Get term and health insurance cover. Build an emergency fund of at least 3-6 months living expenses.
- Every year review: raise your investment amount even if your income increases slightly. Resist increasing your spending proportionally.
By doing these, you will be building the underrated habits that many self-made crorepatis have quietly followed. It won’t feel flashy. It won’t feel heroic. But over time, it will accumulate into real freedom and substantial wealth.
Final Thought
Building wealth from modest means is not about magic. It’s about habits, time, and discipline. CAs in India are emphasising this shift away from “earn more → spend more” and towards “earn, save, invest, protect, repeat”.
If you treat each month’s savings as your wealth-building routine, if you don’t skip your SIP even when you don’t feel like it, if you avoid career-trap debt, and if you let your money compound quietly in the background — then yes, ₹25,000/month can lead to crores in 10-20-30 years.
Start today. Let the habits do the heavy lifting. Let compounding reward you. The road from ₹25,000 a month to crores begins with one small consistent step.
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