🌟 Introduction (Hook):
Most people think investing is only for the rich.
But one morning, a tea stall uncle changed my entire mindset. With just ₹100 and daily consistency, he built a future most salaried people dream of.
☕ My Unexpected Lesson at a Tea Stall:
Near my old office in Patna, there was a tea stall run by an elderly man — we all called him “Raghu Chacha.”
Every day, he served chai and told stories. One rainy evening, while sipping tea under his blue tarpaulin, I asked him:
“Chacha, you’ve been here for 20 years. Don’t you ever worry about the future?”
He smiled and replied,
“Beta, I invest my profit every day. ₹100 is more powerful than you think if you respect time.”
💡 What Raghu Chacha Did (And You Can Too):
✅ 1. Started a SIP with ₹100/day
He saved ₹100 daily and invested it in a mutual fund SIP.
- Monthly SIP = ₹3,000
- In 10 years at ~12% return: ₹7.3 Lakhs
- In 20 years? Nearly ₹25 Lakhs
He said,
“It’s not about how much, but how early you start.”
✅ 2. Invested in Gold Bonds for Long-Term
Instead of buying gold jewelry (which loses value), he bought Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) once every few months.
He said, “Gold is emotional for Indians, but if you buy smartly, it’s also financial security.”
Now, every Diwali, his SGBs give interest and increase in value.
✅ 3. Kept Money in Recurring Deposits (RDs)
When business was slow, he didn’t panic — because he had multiple RDs running in the bank, each maturing in a different month.
He told me:
“My RD is my emergency chai.”
✅ 4. Bought Shares of Familiar Brands
Chacha proudly said he owned a few shares of:
- Tata Motors
- Hindustan Unilever
- SBI
He only invested in brands he understood — the ones whose products he used or saw customers use daily.
“Beta, I sell biscuits and tea. I know what people love. That’s my research.”
📊 What I Learned from Him:
- You don’t need to be rich to invest.
- You need patience, not perfection.
- Start with ₹100. Start with what you know. Just start.
🙌 Final Thought:
That day, I walked away with more than chai. I walked away with a financial life lesson:
The best investment advice may not come from a finance expert — but from someone who lived it, day by day.
So whether you’re a college student or an office worker — if Raghu Chacha can do it, so can you.
