RG
Col. Rakesh Goyal (Retd.)
Certified Financial Planner · Gurgaon
Dear Reader,
A 26-year-old walked into my office recently, earning well, sharp, full of energy, and said: “Sir, I want ₹1 crore in two years. Give me the fastest path.” Before I could respond, he pulled out his phone and showed me three Telegram channels, a YouTube trader with 2 million followers, and a “guaranteed 40% return” scheme.
He is not an outlier. He is the generation. And this edition is my honest letter to every young Indian who grew up on Reels, built their financial instincts on influencer clips, and now wonders why the market is not cooperating. The truth is more empowering than the hype. But it requires trading speed for strategy.
Gen Z and Money in India: The Real Story Behind the Ambition, the FOMO, and the FIRE
Who is this generation, what are they really doing with their money, and what does genuine financial ambition look like? The data will surprise you.
Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the first generation to have never known a world without the internet. They have YouTube as their school, Instagram as their financial newspaper, and Reddit communities as their investment research rooms. This is not a character failure. It is the logical output of the information environment they were handed.
The question is not whether their energy and ambition are valuable. It is whether that energy is being pointed at the right targets.
The Investing Reality: More Disciplined Than You Think
Contrary to the “spend everything” narrative, data from PRICE, Business Today and Share.Market shows a generation more financially disciplined than many credit them for:
| What the Data Actually Shows |
PRICE Survey 2025 (4,300 Respondents) |
| Save 20 to 40% of monthly income |
41% of respondents |
| Prefer equity mutual funds (SIPs) |
84% of Gen Z investors |
| Started investing in university or early adulthood |
30% vs only 15% of millennials |
| Prefer gold as digital safe haven |
40 to 41% |
| Prefer crypto |
Only 6% |
Under the age of 40 now constitutes 69% of NSE’s investor base as of June 2025. Gen Z is not reckless. They are disciplined with SIPs and simultaneously susceptible to influencer-driven speculation. The two behaviours coexist.
The Numbers Behind the Get-Rich-Quick Hype
The social media version of wealth creation only shows the winners. It never shows the thousands who lost everything before them.
| The Hype Says |
The Data Says |
| Trading is how you get rich fast |
SEBI: 93% of F&O retail traders lose money |
| Crypto will 10x your money |
80% of Indian retail crypto investors lost capital in 2022 to 23 |
| This influencer made ₹2L in one week |
Survivorship bias: you never see the 99 who lost ₹2L that week |
| No-cost EMI is smart spending |
40% EMI-to-salary ratio = zero risk capital for your 20s |
SEBI’s study found that in F&O trading, the top 1% of profitable traders account for over 70% of all profits. The bottom 99% collectively lost ₹51,689 crore in a single year. This is not a minority outcome. This is the rule.
5 Financial Traps Gen Z Falls Into and How to Step Out
▶The No-Cost EMI Epidemic. Breaking a ₹80,000 phone into ₹7,000 monthly chunks feels harmless. When 40% of your take-home salary is committed to EMIs, you have eliminated your risk capital. Your 20s are the time to take career risks, investment risks, business risks. EMIs prevent you from doing so. Rule of thumb: never EMI a non-essential you cannot afford to buy twice in cash.
▶The Car Loan Trap. A mid-range SUV costs ₹12 to 15 lakh. Monthly outflow on EMI, fuel, insurance and maintenance easily crosses ₹30,000. That same ₹30,000 invested monthly in a Nifty 50 index fund would be nearly ₹5.51 crore by age 50. The mistake is not the car. It is choosing a depreciating asset over India’s fastest-growing equity market just to look successful at 26.
▶Following Telegram Tips and Finfluencer Calls. When someone gives you a free hot stock tip, ask: why would they share alpha freely? Usually they bought earlier and need you to push the price up. If you did not do the research, you are not an investor. You are the exit liquidity. SEBI’s new finfluencer regulations exist for this exact reason.
▶Over-Leveraging Before Understanding Risk. F&O products let you control ₹5 lakh of exposure with ₹50,000 of margin. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses. In the hands of an untrained retail investor, it is financial self-harm with a trading interface. The 2024 SEBI report is unambiguous: ₹51,689 crore lost by retail F&O traders in one year.
▶Buying Real Estate Too Early. In cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, residential rental yields hover at 2 to 3%, while home loan rates sit at 8.5 to 9%. You are paying the bank three times more in interest than a landlord would charge in rent for the same flat. For a 28-year-old, a 30-year mortgage also eliminates geographic mobility, your biggest career asset.
The Boring Truth That Actually Works
Here is what no influencer will tell you because it does not make for a good Reel. The most reliable path to genuine wealth is so unexciting it almost feels like a trick.
| Start Age |
Monthly SIP |
Duration |
Corpus at 12% p.a. |
| Age 25 |
₹10,000 |
35 years |
₹5.51 Crore |
| Age 30 |
₹10,000 |
30 years |
₹3.08 Crore |
| Age 35 |
₹10,000 |
25 years |
₹1.70 Crore |
Starting 10 years earlier at the same ₹10,000 SIP creates over ₹3.81 crore in additional wealth purely from time. Every year spent chasing quick returns instead of starting disciplined investing is a year of compounding you can never recover.
What Genuine Financial Ambition Looks Like for Gen Z
The FIRE movement resonates deeply with Gen Z. 67% of young Indians now think about early retirement, some wanting to retire by 33. The energy is right. Here is how to back it with structure:
01. Build the Three-Bucket System. Safety (6-month emergency fund in liquid instruments) → Growth (SIP in diversified equity fund, automated) → Lifestyle (guilt-free spending). Set up automation first. Optimise later.
02. Invest 25 to 30% of Income Every Month Without Exception. ₹3,000 per month at 23 is worth more than ₹15,000 per month at 33. Time in the market beats timing the market.
03. Avoid Lifestyle Inflation as Your Income Rises. As income grows, resist upgrading lifestyle immediately. Direct raises first into increased SIPs. Step up 10% per year in line with salary growth. Your future self will thank you with crores, not lakhs.
04. Be Boring. Get Rich. The SIP that runs every month without fail is worth more than the trade that almost worked. Boring is a feature, not a bug.
7 Questions Every Young Investor Should Answer Honestly
This is not a test. It is a mirror. Read each one slowly.
| # |
Question |
| 1 |
Can I explain, in simple terms, exactly how the investment I am in actually makes money? |
| 2 |
If this investment went to zero tomorrow, would my life be financially devastated or would I be okay? |
| 3 |
Am I investing based on my own research or because someone on the internet told me to? |
| 4 |
Do I have an emergency fund of 6 months of expenses in a liquid instrument before I invest in anything risky? |
| 5 |
Have I calculated what I actually need to retire comfortably or am I just chasing a big number without a plan? |
| 6 |
Is my total consumer EMI commitment below 5 to 10% of my monthly take-home? If not, am I aware that I am selling my freedom to pivot? |
| 7 |
Am I building wealth or am I building the illusion of wealth while postponing the real work? |
If any of these questions sting, they are meant to. Not to discourage you, but to redirect you. The ambition that wants ₹1 crore in two years is the same ambition that can build ₹10 crore in twenty, if pointed in the right direction.
Thought for the Week
“The market is the most efficient machine ever designed for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. Gen Z has every advantage: time, technology, early income, and a long horizon. The only thing standing between them and real wealth is the belief that real wealth should arrive quickly.”
— Col. Rakesh Goyal (Retd.), Certified Financial Planner
Curated by Col. Rakesh Goyal | Sources: SEBI, NSE India, BCG x Snapchat Study, PRICE Survey 2025, Deloitte India, Share.Market
💳 Your Credit Card Reward Points Are Costing You More Than They Are Giving You
▶Credit card reward programmes are one of the most sophisticated spending triggers ever designed. Banks spend billions engineering them to make you spend more. The average Indian credit card user spends 12 to 18% more when paying by card compared to cash. The rewards earned back are typically worth 0.5 to 1% of spending. The math does not work in your favour.
▶Chasing milestone bonuses and welcome offers leads to reward-seeking behaviour: spending not because you need something but because you want the points. Reward points have an expiry date, redemption restrictions and often depreciating value. Many people accumulate thousands of points they never redeem.
▶The most dangerous habit: paying only the minimum due to preserve cash for more spending. At 36 to 42% annual interest, one month of carrying a balance wipes out an entire year of reward earnings instantly.
▶Rule of thumb: If you pay your full balance every month and redeem rewards on things you would buy anyway, cards can work in your favour. If you carry a balance even once, the interest destroys every rupee of reward you ever earned.
📈 SIP Step-Up: The One Change That Can Transform Your Retirement Corpus
Most investors start a SIP and never revisit it. They invest ₹5,000 per month at 25 and are still investing ₹5,000 at 35, even though their income has tripled. A SIP step-up simply means increasing your SIP by 10 to 15% every year in line with income growth.
| SIP Type |
Corpus at 12% p.a. over 25 Years |
| ₹10,000 SIP with no step-up |
₹1.70 Crore |
| ₹10,000 SIP with 10% annual step-up |
₹3.94 Crore |
You do not need higher risk. You need higher commitment to consistency.
📋 Your CIBIL Score: The Invisible Number That Controls Your Financial Life
▶Most Gen Z professionals do not know their credit score until they apply for a loan and get rejected. Your CIBIL score is a number between 300 and 900. Anything above 750 is considered excellent.
▶A score above 750 gets you the lowest interest rates on home loans, car loans and personal loans. On a ₹50 lakh home loan over 20 years, the difference between a 8.5% rate (good score) and a 9.5% rate (poor score) is over ₹7 lakh in additional interest paid.
▶What builds your score: paying credit card bills in full and on time every month, keeping credit utilisation below 30%, maintaining a mix of secured and unsecured credit.
▶What destroys your score: missing a single EMI, defaulting on a loan, applying for too many credit cards at once. Building it takes years. Damaging it takes one missed payment.
Free Consultation
Your 20s Are Your Greatest Financial Asset. Use Them Wisely.
If you are a young earner who wants to build real wealth, or a parent who wants to share the right financial foundation with your children, this conversation is for you. No product pitch. No sales pressure. Just honest, practical guidance.
Book My Free 20-Min Call →
Limited slots available each week. Early booking recommended.
📊 Try Our Free Financial Calculators →
Retirement planner · No login required · Completely free
