No Secret Sauce

Every week, I sit down with people from various parts of Sikkim—government employees, teachers, taxi operators waiting at the stand, shopkeepers at Lal Bazar, or maybe a pensioner at MG Marg enjoying the winter sun. Almost everyone asks me the same question: “Sir, which mutual fund will make me rich?”.

My answer usually surprises them because the real challenge is not picking the “right” fund—it is building the right money habits and sticking to them.

A few months ago I met a senior government official. He had a brand-new SUV parked outside, a beautiful four-storied house, and he travelled every few months. By every visible measure, he had “made it”—but halfway through our conversation, he said something quietly: “If my salary stopped today, I could manage my expenses for only about six months.” He was earning well, but he was not financially free.

How much has changed in the last twenty years! Salaries have gone up, more families own homes, cars and loans are available at the click of a button. So why does money still feel tight for so many of us? Because when income goes up, spending usually goes up even faster. A salary hike quietly turns into: - A bigger home loan - A new car EMI - An expensive holiday - A little more online shopping, every single month

As income doubles, expenses almost double along with it. Savings barely move. This has a name—lifestyle inflation—and it quietly pushes financial freedom further and further away, without you ever noticing it happen.

Open any social media app and someone is always boasting about the money they made overnight in stocks, crypto, trading, options, or the latest IPO. But real life tells a very different story. Most families who built genuine wealth did not do it overnight. They simply followed a few basic habits, consistently, for years: 1. They saved regularly. 2. They invested every single month. 3. They stayed invested for years, sometimes decades. 4. They ignored the daily market noise. 5. They avoided debt they didn’t need.

There are no shortcuts. Consistency beats excitement, every time.

Think of our own trees: you cannot plant a sapling today and expect fruit next month. It needs care, patience and above all, time. Money works exactly the same way. A monthly SIP is like planting that sapling. Each instalment on its own may feel small and unremarkable. But give it 20 or 25 years, and that small, quiet habit can grow into a genuinely sizeable financial asset.

Even though Amit puts in three times more money every month, Rahul is likely to end up with more wealth. Why? Because Rahul gave compounding an extra 15 years to quietly do its work. Time matters more than picking the “perfect” stock or fund. Starting early, even with a small amount, beats starting late with a large one.

This one small habit—a modest step-up every year—can create a dramatic difference over twenty or thirty years:

That’s really it—no secret sauce!