# Case Study: 29-Year-Old Tech Worker — 15-Year FIRE Plan

## Starting point
29-year-old software engineer at MNC, Bengaluru. Take-home ₹2L/month. ₹12L scattered:
- ₹6L in two overlapping ELSS funds
- ₹2L idle in savings account
- ₹4L tax-saver FD
- Employer-only health insurance (lapses on job change)
- No term insurance, no NPS, no international exposure
- Goal: FI by 44

## Problems
1. 100% INR + INR salary = concentration risk
2. No personal health cover
3. No term insurance (premium only gets costlier)
4. Missing ₹15,600+/year NPS tax savings
5. ELSS chosen for tax, not portfolio fit

## Plan
**Protection (month 1):** ₹1 Cr term, 30-year (₹9.2K p.a.); ₹15L floater + ₹50L top-up (₹14.5K p.a.).
**Tax shelter (month 1):** NPS Tier I ₹50K self (80CCD(1B)); enable employer NPS for 80CCD(2).
**Wealth engine (month 2 onwards):** ₹85K/month SIP:
- ₹40K Flexi-cap (core)
- ₹15K Mid-cap (growth tilt)
- ₹15K International (US-focused)
- ₹10K Short-duration debt (stability + dry powder)
- ₹5K Gold ETF (inflation hedge)

**ELSS cleanup:** one retained, one switched after lock-in.

## 15-year projection (11% equity / 7% debt, 8% SIP step-up)
- Age 35: ~₹1.4 Cr
- Age 40: ~₹3.0 Cr
- Age 44: **~₹5.2 Cr**

At 4% SWR → ~₹17.3L/year in today's purchasing power.

## Review cadence
Quarterly 15-min check-in · annual deep-dive · April step-ups.

> "FIRE stopped feeling like a Reddit fantasy when I had it written down with actual numbers."

*Names and details changed. Projections are not guarantees.*