What started as an Instagram post on how she manages her money is now something of a case study for salaried Indians. According to creator Ria, if you put some aside and don’t touch it, you can make a lot happen. She put 40K away a month for a year and a half, put 7.2 lakhs in the vault, left a 160K job behind and moved on.
Why this story matters to investors
In a sense, Ria’s method makes a budget into seed capital. You don’t have to be hit by a windfall to get where you want to be. She made for a steady stream of cash, put up a buffer and only bailed when her income was reliably better than her pay. If you’re risk-averse, that’s what you should be looking at.
She puts a premium on process. In one of her posts she put it like this: ’40K/month. 18 months. 7.2 lakhs redirected into my freedom. That’s all it took.’ People are latching onto it because it gives you a hard number and a rule for when to walk away.
The playbook: cut costs, protect essentials
While she was still on the payroll, Ria made a note of what she was no longer putting money toward. But she didn’t let go of the things that count – good food, her health, time with her partner, or a good night’s rest. It was a matter of being frugal but not to the point of breaking down.
These are the areas she reined in, for the record:
– Shopping: 10K/month
– Coffee runs: 3K/month
– Subscriptions: 5K/month
– Eating out: 20K/month
– Weekend trips: 2K/month
‘I wasn’t miserable. I wasn’t extreme. I just decided my exit was worth more than temporary comfort,’ is how she put it. All told, she was 40K lighter each month.
When she exited and why
There was no ambiguity about the timing. ’40K/month x 18 months = 7.2 lakhs Not a trust fund. Not inheritance. Just ruthless prioritisation. Month 18: Beat 160K salary. Quit. Month 29:4 income streams,’ she wrote. A path with milestones, not a blind jump.
Some wondered if 7.2L was all she had when she left. She was quick to set the record straight: the corpus was there to catch you, not to be your whole world. She left once her numbers were consistently higher than her old salary and kept the buffer for the leaner times.
From buffer to business: income diversification
After the saving phase, it was about piling on revenue. By Month 29 she had four going and was toying with a fifth. For those looking at their options, it’s a mix of services, media and hard assets.
According to her, the channels are:
– Brand deals
– Coaching and consultation
– Affiliate commissions
– Physical product- investor in plywood manufacturing
And she’s also getting into Airbnbs to round it out.
Risk, runway, and the takeaway
You could see this as a way to de-risk a change of direction rather than just living on pennies. 40K a month gave her 18 months to work with and 7.2 lakhs in the bank; when the income from other sources topped 160K, it was time to go. It’s a sequence that protects you without capping what you can make.
If you’re an investor in your own career, these are the things to remember:
– A little surplus can be your starting capital
– Don’t let a calendar date tell you when to quit; let your income do it
– Your health and who you’re with are assets in the long run
Viral response and verification note
The post has been well received, with some asking how she pulls it off. One person called it ‘some real advice’ and inquired on her side work; she pointed them to the list. Another just said it would be an ongoing source of inspiration.
We’ve put this together from what’s on Ria’s Instagram. The words are hers and we haven’t checked them over. Do your own due diligence before you try to follow in her footsteps.
