Most people believe their salary will keep growing every year… but what if that’s the biggest financial illusion?

In this episode, we break down why your income isn’t as stable as it looks — and how AI, layoffs, and longer lifespans are changing the rules of financial security.

Ravi Handa shares practical insights from building, selling, and rebuilding businesses — and explains why relying only on your salary could be one of the biggest risks in today’s world.

We cover:

• Why your salary behaves more like equity than a fixed income
• How layoffs and AI are changing long-term career stability
• The real challenges of achieving FIRE in India
• Why most people get misled by financial advice
• Whether going abroad actually improves your financial future
• Why “passive income” is often misunderstood

If you’re building towards financial independence, this conversation will change how you think about money, work, and security.

If you'd like to share your story with us, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/Ha9nEbXyJWm3ow4x7 If you would like to connect with us and share your feedback, please drop an email at financewithmihir@gmail.com

In this episode, we speak with a seasoned finance leader and CFO who, despite decades of professional experience, only began actively tracking his personal finances in his mid-40s.

We explore the turning point that led to this realization and the practical steps he took to gain clarity and control over his financial life.

This conversation covers:

• Why financial knowledge doesn’t always translate to personal wealth
• The importance of tracking net worth
• How to distinguish between good and bad expenses
• The role of discipline in long-term financial success
• What investors and successful founders consistently get right

A thoughtful discussion for anyone looking to build a more structured and intentional approach to personal finance.

If you'd like to share your story with us, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/Ha9nEbXyJWm3ow4x7 If you would like to connect with us and share your feedback, please drop an email at financewithmihir@gmail.com

Most people think financial freedom is about earning more, investing better, and hitting a number.

But what if that number… doesn’t matter as much as you think?

In this episode, Vinayak Sapre (author of Dohanomics) breaks down why behavior, mindset, and clarity of “enough” matter far more than returns.

From “10 crore is more than 100 crore” to why retirement may not be your choice, this conversation challenges everything you think you know about money.

💡 What you’ll learn:

• Why behavior matters more than income or returns
• The real meaning of financial freedom (it’s not retirement)
• Why most people are forced to retire, not choose to
• How lifestyle inflation quietly destroys wealth
• Why following the crowd leads to losses
• The importance of liquidity (and why real estate can fail you)
• Simple math mistakes that cost people lakhs
• Why investing should feel boring

🎯 Key takeaway:

Financial freedom is not about how much money you have.

It’s about:

• knowing what is “enough”
• controlling your behavior
• and building a life where money supports your choices

👤 About the guest:

Vinayak Sapre is a wealth advisor and author of Dohanomics, where he blends personal finance with Indian philosophy (Kabir, Rahim) to simplify how people think about money and life.

Most people think if you don’t start investing in your 20s… you’re already late.

But what if you could start at 50 — and still achieve financial freedom in just 7 years?

In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, I sit down with Lakshmi Narayan, a wealth and retirement strategist who did exactly that.

We break down the exact principles, decisions, and mindset shifts that helped him go from almost zero savings to financial independence — even after facing an 80% market crash early in his journey.

This episode is not about shortcuts. It’s about what actually works.

🔑 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How he saved 60% of his income and accelerated wealth creation
• Why an 80% market crash didn’t stop him (and actually helped)
• The biggest mistake he made — and why you should avoid it
• Why most people fail with SIPs (and how to fix it)
• The correct order: Insurance → Emergency Fund → Investing
• Why jumping between mutual funds destroys your returns
• The concept of “pay yourself first” (especially for founders)
• How to think about retirement planning realistically
• The 3 biggest risks people ignore in retirement
• Why starting late is still better than not starting at all

⚠️ WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR

• People who feel they’ve started investing “too late”
• Anyone struggling with consistency in investing
• Salaried professionals & startup founders
• Beginners looking for a simple, practical framework
• Anyone serious about financial independence (FIRE)

💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Wealth is built through consistency, not timing
• Automation beats motivation every time
• Your savings rate matters more than stock picking
• Financial planning is a living process, not a one-time decision
• Starting late is a disadvantage — but not a death sentence

📌 FOLLOW & CONNECT

If you found this helpful, share it with someone who needs to start their investing journey.

Follow for more conversations on wealth, investing, and financial independence.

If you'd like to share your story with us, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/Ha9nEbXyJWm3ow4x7 If you would like to connect with us and share your feedback, please drop an email at financewithmihir@gmail.com

Most people chase salary. He chased net worth — and it changed everything.

In this episode, Harsh shares how he:

• Invests 80% of his income
• Built ₹1 Crore+ in just 3 years
• Used simple strategies (no trading, no hype)
• Prepared for a future where AI replaces jobs

If you’re in your 20s or 30s and serious about building wealth — this might change how you think about money.

👉 Key takeaways:

• Why salary won’t make you rich
• How to think about investing (even as a beginner)
• The mindset shift that actually builds wealth

Subscribe for more real conversations on money, investing, and FIRE.

If you'd like to share your story with us, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/Ha9nEbXyJWm3ow4x7 If you would like to connect with us and share your feedback, please drop an email at financewithmihir@gmail.com

In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, we sit down with Navdeep Dalia, who went from earning just ₹22,000/month to achieving financial independence in his 30s — not through shortcuts, but through discipline, consistency, and long-term thinking.

Navdeep shares a brutally honest breakdown of his journey — including early mistakes, real estate bets, career growth, and the mindset shifts that actually made the difference.

This is not a “get rich quick” story. It’s a real blueprint for building wealth over time.

🚀 What You’ll Learn

• How Navdeep saved 50% of his ₹22K salary early in his career
• Why his “mistake” of buying real estate early actually built discipline
• The real cost of EMIs and debt that most people ignore
• Why income growth matters more than just investing
• How he transitioned from job → business → financial freedom
• The exact mindset shift that helped him stay consistent for 16+ years
• Why most people fail: starting AND exiting investments at the wrong time
• The one word that defines his entire journey: Commitment

If you found this useful, subscribe for weekly conversations with people who’ve actually built financial freedom — no fluff, just real stories.

In this episode, I sit down with Jay Sharma, who spent over 20 years building tech products at companies like Amazon before walking away from corporate life in 2025.

Instead of chasing a bigger paycheck, Jay decided to design a life around financial independence, freedom, and purpose.

We talk about:

• Why chasing a FIRE number can be a mistake • How to design the life you want before calculating money • His real portfolio allocation (Index Funds, Real Estate, Bitcoin) • Why he doesn’t believe in gold or bonds anymore • The investing mistakes he made early in his career • How option selling generates income • Why Bitcoin solves the problems of traditional money • How AI might reshape the future of jobs and companies • What people should build before quitting their jobs

Jay also shares how he and his wife aligned their goals before leaving corporate life and what they’re building now.

If you're interested in FIRE, investing, financial independence, or building a life outside the corporate grind, this conversation is packed with insights.

In this episode of The Long Game, Mihir Shah speaks with Sunil Shah, whose path to financial independence was shaped not just by money, but by a deep shift in how he understood life, fear, and freedom.

Sunil shares how his journey began early, growing up in a middle-class family and realizing as a child that money created access and opportunity. From data entry and software work to a role in the US, he built confidence around earning — but his biggest turning point was not financial. After returning to Pune, a long period of silence and introspection changed the way he thought about money, work, and life itself.

He explains why he chose not to keep chasing more income, how he structured a simple life around fixed deposits and rental income, and why he believes true financial independence is about removing fear rather than hitting a perfect number.

Toward the end, Sunil also shares a very different message for today’s younger generation: instead of obsessing over FIRE formulas, invest in yourself and learn AI deeply.

If you'd like to share your story with us, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/Ha9nEbXyJWm3ow4x7

If you would like to connect with us and share your feedback, please drop an email at financewithmihir@gmail.com