₹1 crore FD, ₹60,000 income: Advisor calls it a ‘below average’ result for 25 years of saving

A Bengaluru proofreader retired with ₹60,000 per month in passive income. Admirable? Yes. Optimal? Not quite, says wealth advisor Chandralekha MR, who breaks down how one man’s disciplined but ultra-safe strategy left nearly ₹88 lakh on the table.

In a LinkedIn post that’s sparked reflection among urban savers, Chandralekha spotlighted the story of Srikavig, who went from having just ₹5,000 in 2000 to building a ₹1.01 crore fixed deposit corpus and ₹65,000 in equities by 2025.

His FDs now generate ₹60K monthly—enough to fund his modest ₹25K monthly lifestyle and ₹6,500 rent. Debt-free and risk-averse, he stuck to non-cumulative FDs for predictable income and avoided credit entirely.

But Chandralekha argues that this Tier 3 frugal success story wouldn’t hold up in metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Delhi.

Here’s the math:

1. Srikavig saved roughly ₹10K/month for 25 years → ~₹95 lakh in FDs at 7–8%
2. Had he invested the same via SIPs in equity mutual funds at 12% CAGR → ~₹1.88 crore
3. That’s an ₹88 lakh opportunity cost—nearly double his final wealth.

“Discipline worked,” Chandralekha wrote, “but the path didn’t scale. In a Tier 1 context, ₹60K/month in retirement won’t stretch far—especially with inflation eating into fixed returns.”

Her alternate blueprint for younger earners:

• 3–6 months of emergency funds in liquid assets
• Long-term wealth via equity SIPs
• Annual rebalancing to control risk
• ELSS/NPS for tax efficiency

The lesson? Frugality is not a substitute for strategy. Building wealth isn’t just about saving—it’s about where you park those savings.