How I Plan to Invest ₹1 Lakh as a CS Student (The '3-Bucket' Strategy)
Source: Dev.to
If you suddenly found yourself with ₹1,00,000 (~$1,200) in your bank account today, what would be your first move?
As a college student, the temptation to spend is massive—a new MacBook, the latest iPhone, or a trip with friends. Even if you decide to be responsible and “invest,” the internet is flooded with risky advice: “Buy Crypto!” screams one YouTuber, while another shouts “Put it all in Options Trading!”
I recently faced this exact dilemma. As a Computer Science student passionate about building projects, I realized that standard financial advice doesn’t apply to us. We aren’t employees with a stable salary; we’re students.
After weeks of research, I developed a framework tailored for student developers: the “3‑Bucket Strategy.”
The goal isn’t just to grow the money. The goal is to survive college stress‑free while funding the projects that will build my career.
The Visual Breakdown
Instead of just listing numbers, here’s how I split my capital:
- Bucket 1 (50 %): Safety (Fixed Deposits)
- Bucket 2 (20 %): Business (My Projects / APIs)
- Bucket 3 (30 %): Growth (Index Funds)
🪣 Bucket 1 – The “Sleep Well” Fund (50 %)
- Allocation: ₹50,000
- Instrument: Fixed Deposit (FD)
- Risk: Zero
This is the most controversial part of my plan. Many say “FDs are boring!” but as a student, mental peace is my most valuable resource. If I’m worried about paying an exam fee or fixing my laptop screen, I can’t focus on coding. This fund is my shield; it guarantees that, regardless of market movements, I can survive the semester.
💻 Bucket 2 – The “Business Capital” (20 %)
- Allocation: ₹20,000
- Instrument: My Own Code
- Risk: High (but high reward)
I treat myself like a startup, believing the highest ROI comes from my own projects. The money funds:
- Hosting & Domains: For my portfolio and web apps.
- API Credits: Paying for OpenAI/Gemini APIs to build AI tools.
- Marketing: Small experiments to acquire my first 100 users.
The Math:
If I invest ₹20k in stocks and have a great year, I might earn ~₹3k profit.
If I invest ₹20k in my website and it earns ₹1k/month from ads, that’s a 60 % return—no stock beats that.
📈 Bucket 3 – The “Future Wealth” (30 %)
- Allocation: ₹30,000
- Instrument: Nifty 50 Index Fund
- Risk: Moderate
This is for the “me” ten years from now. I chose an index fund because I don’t have time to analyze individual stocks; I’m busy learning data structures and React. By buying the index, I’m betting on the top 50 companies in the country and will not touch this money for 5+ years.
Conclusion
Investing is personal. For me, it’s about balancing safety today with building a business for tomorrow.
What would YOU do with ₹1 Lakh? Let me know in the comments!
Full Visual Guide
I built a fully interactive version of this plan on my portfolio (including pie charts and project breakdowns).