Discipline and Patient Investing - A True Story of a 73 year old woman

A few days ago, I was catching up with a friend when he casually mentioned something that truly blew my mind—his 73-year-old mother had built a stock portfolio of over ₹1.26 crores! Though I had met her a few times while dropping or picking up my friend many years ago-when we were working in the same company, my conversation was restricted to few formal greetings. Naturally, I was curious, so I asked him how she pulled that off and he asked me to ask her. What she shared was genuinely inspiring.

When I met her, she welcomed me with confidence and aura that comes from a lifetime of experiences. During our chat, I discovered that her investment journey kicked off nearly 32 years ago. She isn’t a financial guru (in today's social media sense 😊), nor did she have a formal financial education (completed her PUC then). What she did have was discipline, patience and faith in the power of consistent, small efforts.

Source: Unknown

 She told me that her adventure began in the early 90s, right around the time the Harshad Mehta scam rocked India’s financial world. While many people gave up on the stock market, she became truly intrigued by it. Over next few months she dove into reading and learning about it through whatever news / articles that came up-editorials, titbits etc - never missing a single piece. And one fine morning, she suddenly decided to open a Stock Trading account. After kajoling her husband to take her to a broker (remember they had physical offices - and stock buying/selling was done manually). The broker was a member in both Madras Stock Exchange (now defunct) and BSE.

Her strategy was refreshingly simple—she invested small amounts, anywhere from ₹500 to ₹5,000, whenever she could spare some cash from her household budget. Sure, there were months when she couldn’t invest anything extra, but that was totally fine. She never pressured herself to invest; she only set aside what she felt comfortable with. Initially, her husband provided her with funds for household expenses, and later on for last few years, her sons continues the same. She viewed any leftover savings not as idle cash to splurge over but as a golden opportunity to build wealth over time.

Unlike today’s buying and selling, she had to call up her broker to buy the stocks and few days later, she had to fill up forms manually. This requires extra dedication and commitment, but she stayed focused on the process, ensuring her money consistently worked for her.

Throughout all the market ups and downs, she held her ground, never panicking during crashes or getting overly excited during financial booms. In-fact she never sold a single stock till 2013. She used to buy what we now call blue chips. This was mainly because that was the only news that newspapers carried mostly. Her long-term investment outlook allowed the magic of compounding to work in her favor.

Source: Accuthai.com

 All those small investments blossomed into something substantial over the years. Now, at 73, she has a portfolio exceeding ₹1.26 crore from an investment which is totaling about ₹23.4L. What’s really remarkable is that she never saw herself as an “investor” in the traditional sense. To her, it was simply about making her money work, being patient, and sticking to the process.

She did make money and she also lost money over so many years. The star in the portfolio was Grasim Industries. The bonus, the rights, the stock splits, the purchase of L&T, the consolidation of the various companies under the Grasim umbrella. She lost money in companies like Jet Airways, Cox and Kings etc.

She told me – “As long as the population grows, consumption would grow. It may move between sectors, industries or companies - but you can see overall growth as we feed the growing population”. The flavor and essence of todays market - India’s Consumption Story was put in simple words and in practice – many, many years ago.

With her younger son

Her story offers a valuable lesson for everyone. Investing isn’t about having a hefty starting sum; it’s about consistency, discipline, and the ability to stay the course. If a homemaker without a finance background can build such a strong financial foundation over time, what’s stopping the rest of us?

Here are some key takeaways from her journey:

✅ Start investing early, no matter how small.

✅ Be consistent, but flexible—invest when you can, skip when you need to (though I would not recommend skipping).

✅ Keep your investments for the long haul; let compounding work its magic.

✅ Tune out the market noise and focus on the bigger picture.

We often hear about big investments and quick cash, but true wealth takes time to build, bit by bit. Let’s draw inspiration from her incredible journey and start making our money work for us, one small step at a time.

What do you think about this? Have you encountered similar stories of financial discipline leading to wealth over time? Let’s talk!