I grew up in a middle-class Indian family, with my father working as a physics professor in a reputed government university and my mother a housewife. They both ensured I lived a happy and comfortable life even if they had to make certain sacrifices of their wants. I was never introduced to ‘pocket money’, so I always developed a good relationship with money. Whenever and how much ever money I needed (provided my demand was reasonable), my parents asked me to take it from my father’s wallet. This system built immense trust among us and taught me that money is not something to be afraid of. Instead, it is a medium to determine the value of our wants and needs.

Education was always given very high importance in my home. My father has a PhD from one of the world’s most prestigious universities, and my mother was almost a Chartered Accountant before she married and decided to focus on raising the family. I was provided with everything I needed to gain knowledge. By the time I finished my schooling, I was sure I wanted to do something related to computers. Computers were still a luxury in India when I was in school. The internet didn’t have even a quarter of the number of websites and apps as it does today. I did my undergraduate degree in Computer Applications, hoping to become Bill Gates and Steve Jobs someday. I am nowhere even close, but it doesn’t hurt to dream.

I went to a beautiful town called Pune in India to pursue my post-graduate degree in computer applications. This was my first time meeting people from different countries and backgrounds. I specialised in Systems Administration and topped my class. My self-confidence got a boost when I became one of the first few students in my class to get an internship at a U.S.-based multinational corporation building powerful ERP software for the property management industry. There, I met some brilliant people and successfully built two failed startups with a few of them. I am not doubting our determination or their brilliance. We just needed more discipline, the ability to see a holistic view and good mentorship.

I wasn’t happy sitting in one corner and writing software code day after day. Instead, I loved talking to people about software code and finding solutions to their problems using computers. I enjoyed putting plans on pages and finding and fixing gaps in how things work. After some digging, I found a formal way of doing this as a profession.

I migrated to Melbourne, Australia, as a student in 2016, pursuing a second post-graduate degree—this time in business information systems. This was my first time stepping out of India and experiencing a completely different culture.

Melbourne has been very kind to me. While studying at the university, I met the love of my life. We got married in 2019 and decided to call Australia home. The best part about our journey was that we faced everything together—all our successes and defeats, tears and laughter, doubts and fears, and sickness and celebrations. I am happy and at peace.

After finishing my degree, I was offered to teach at the university. Teaching is in my veins, as my father, a professor, and grandmother, a retired school principal, are teachers. It was a fantastic experience to be on the other side of the table. I am still learning something new from my students everyday.

Life is unpredictable, and in my limited experience, I realised there are four pillars to managing it—wealth, happiness, knowledge, and health. Everything revolves around these. I am on a forever quest to explore these pillars and thought my notes and knowledge might help someone on the same journey. Hence, ‘Ankit’s almanack’ was born.