Atharv’s Chronicle 30-08-2025 : “EARN MORE <-> INVESt MORE”

Recently, one of my friends told me proudly that he made 30% returns in the stock market .
I said, “Wow, that’s great!”
Then I asked him: “How much was the investment? And what was the time duration?”

He said, “50K investment, around one year.”
So his profit was ₹15,000 for that year.
Sounds good? Maybe yes, maybe no.
For me – it’s not that great.
Don’t get me wrong: 30% in a year is wonderful! But the capital? Just 50K. That’s the problem.

Now, if you think he’s new to the market and just learning, no.
I know him personally – he’s been in markets for 4–5 years, has in-depth knowledge, and makes consistent returns.
He’s also slowly increasing his capital.
But still – why so less?

Because his income is limited .
He earns ₹30K salary, has a family to take care of, pays bills, groceries, daily expenses.
After all this, only a small amount is left to invest.
recently his father diagnosed with some medical issues
Think about it: one hospital visit, some unforeseen event – poof! That ₹15,000 profit can vanish in 2–3 days. a single MRI scanning would cost 12-15K

Now imagine – if instead of ₹50K, the capital was ₹10 lakh .
30% return would be ₹3 lakh .
That’s significant!

Even if you earn less % return, with bigger capital you’ll still make more absolute money.
So the truth is simple: returns matter, but capital matters more.
This is the harsh truth. Even if you’re a great investor, with a small income and small capital, the result will always be small.

and I ask him why can’t you earn more?
He says, I don’t have a double degree – I don’t have skills
“20 years ago, earning required degrees and heavy qualifications. Today, skills + internet = opportunities.”
“The youth of India in 2025 don’t lack opportunities, they lack the right *direction*. Skills are the new degrees.”

🚫 The Wrong Way

Now some of you may ask: “Should I take a loan and invest?”
No. Absolutely not. That’s risky and dangerous.
buying Lottery ticket
Waiting for Jackpots – the one who is selling jackpot earns money – not you!

✅ The Right Way to increase our income
In this episode, I am discussing 3 modes to earn more money

The solution is: earn more, grow your income, add new sources.
1. Upskill in your current job → aim for promotion, raise, or better opportunities.
2. Start small businesses or gigs → convert your skills into money.
3. Side hustles & part-time work → use your free time wisely.

🕒 Free Time Exists – we need to find it
To do all of this – we need time – and my friend says – he doesn’t have any time
You might think, “But I don’t have time.”

Trust me, you do.
– The hours you scroll Instagram, YouTube aimlessly – that’s your free time.
– The time while commuting – free time.
– Reading newspaper or magzines, watching news for an hour
– Gossipping about somebody
Social media apps are designed to keep you hooked, rewarding you with small dopamine hits.

Instead, use that time to build skills, earn, and grow capital.
So we need to break free from social media and find the free time

 
coming back to the Topic
when we find the free time
we need to convert that free time to money

🔑 Three Practical Ways

1. Monetise Your Skills

– In-born: singing, dancing, yoga, teaching, logical thinking, communication.
– Acquirable: video editing, coding, digital marketing, finance, stock market, AI, design.

Identify what you’re naturally good at, or learn what excites you. Then monetise it.
Why am I focusing more on Teaching – because of this ideology
“Be a shovel seller in the Gold Rush”
what is the current rush – “Artificial Intelligence”
even if you do the same work but with help of AI – it will produce great results
Utilize this somehow
Teach AI to people
Develop products using AI and sell it
Build Apps and sell it etc

2. Part-time Jobs

After learning a skill, monetise it either by selling as a service, freelancing and by using that in one more part time job.
I’ll give an example from my own life.
I made $6000 in 15 months by rating AI search results in my free time—2–3 hours a day.
That was nearly 5 lakhs in 1.5 years, side income.
I bought my favorite bike only because of this.
Not bragging, but making a point: it’s possible.
if we can’t sell the skill directly – join the job part time

3. Small Businesses

– Cloud kitchen on Swiggy/Zomato.
– Selling trending products online.
– Weekend trip organizer.
– Start a small finance firm (file ITR, GST etc).
– Start a digital agency
– Start a media production house etc
These don’t need huge capital, just courage + execution.

And we almost came to the end of the episode and there is one Bonus Point

🎁 Bonus: Save Smart
Not spending money = earning money.
Use cashback, right credit cards, coupons.
Always ask yourself: “Is this a need or a want?”

From my own story:
My first salary was ₹22,699. Even before joining the company, I committed to saving ₹20K per month because I wanted to upgrade from house from 1bhk to 2 bhk and I did that within an year.
How? I used to take Tuition, do part-time gigs and online jobs.
The same financial discipline has helped me buy a house and gift it to my parents at the age of 28 – very proud feeling, again – not bragging – just making a point – it is possible!
I still track every rupee in a notebook(bit old school) and That’s my discipline, and it gives me freedom.

🔚 Conclusion
So friends, remember this:

– Returns matter. But capital matters more.
– Don’t just rely on a single job. Add income streams.
– Build skills and monetize – you don’t need a degree in 2025 to make money
– Do side hustles,
– save smart – spend only on needs and postpone the wants

Because the same 30% return that gives you ₹15K today… can give you ₹15 lakh tomorrow – if your capital is big.
and that brings financial freedom
we can lead life on our own terms and enjoy with family and enjoy all the luxuries of life
money can’t solve all the problems but it solves majority of them

So don’t chase percentage returns. Chase Skills, Chase growth, Chase capital → Chase freedom.

Thank you!

Hope this resonated with you – will see you in the next one!