So, quite naturally when I was given a choice to pick my topic for my LLM dissertation, and because it had to be somewhat related to Business Law, I chose “Taxing the Untethered : Exploring the intersection of digital nomadism, remote work and global taxation – an Indian perspective”.

My reasoning was that no one likes to pay tax, and that I would get to interview or interact with digital nomads, remote workers and other freelancers.

When I submitted my first draft of the thesis synopsis however, I was in for a shock.

The comments I received from my research guide were odd.

Notable mentions were:

1. Books must be printed books. (Granted, I put Amazon links instead of citations there, but still, they were at some point of time, actual printed books.)

2. Videos are unacceptable. (Which, seems absurd as we are in 2024, post-Jio era where people prefer to watch reels, shorts and bite sized content as opposed to reading books.)

3. Blogs are not relevant – Tell that to my 4 years of freelancing as a content writer/blog writer for finance/marketing companies.

4. You cannot compare so many countries. – As if  5 countries was too much to compare. If any digital nomad were to move to a different country, I’m willing to bet that they would review almost every article that said  66 Digital Nomad Visa Countries in 2024.

5. “These do not seem to be chapter titles. Frame accordingly.” – I wish there would be more feedback on what an “appropriate” chapter title were to look like.

Moreover, the unsettling thing is that my LLM thesis/dissertation isn’t even going to get published anywhere. There’s no repository or journal or website where anyone who wanted to check out what I’ve researched will ever get to read it. It feels like a lot of wasted effort.

Further unsettling demands are that the body should be at least 150 pages for the thesis and 75 pages for the project. And they also want a plagiarism check, which means it has to be original, and well-cited. The citation style being used here is the ILI citation style by the Indian Law Institute, who seem to have no presets that I could import into a tool like Zotero, and rather waste time manually creating the citations or hopefully by using something like House of Citation. And they want it by December 7th, which is another unrealistic deadline, but I will have to do whatever I can now to make it happen.

Anyway, rant over.

Now that I’ve lost most of you, I’d like to make a big ask. Could you put me in touch with remote workers/freelancers/digital nomads who would be willing to get interviewed by me about their lifestyle?

An example would be something like the below video:

I don’t need to go into the “How much are you making per month?” question, so your income will remain a secret. I’m more interested in why you chose this lifestyle, what are the pros and cons and how you manage your taxes – with the help of an accountant, or on your own, how you structure your business, have you incorporated in another country for tax benefits, isn’t GST a pain if you deal with Indian businesses? (spoiler alert, yes it is). And general mindset questions, which would help a complete boomer (read: external project evaluators for my LLM thesis defense viva exam) understand the merit in choosing this topic.

The post My LLM thesis – Remote workers and digital nomads appeared first on Sean Pinto.

A letter to myself, one year later

Date: 29 August 2025, Mumbai, India:

Sean is a successful freelancer. Over the years, he has honed his skills in content writing, copywriting, and law, allowing him to offer a diverse range of services to his clients.

His ability to deliver high-quality work, coupled with his strong work ethic, has earned him a reputation as a reliable and talented freelancer.
In the world of freelancing, versatility is key, and Sean has embraced this with both hands. He has dedicated nearly 5 years to honing his skills in content writing, copywriting, and law—three areas that require unique expertise but complement each other perfectly.

This combination has allowed him to offer a broad range of services to his clients, making him a go-to professional for businesses and individuals seeking creative writing solutions, sharp legal insight, or compelling marketing content. His portfolio reflects his dedication to meeting client expectations, and his reputation as a reliable freelancer has only grown with time.

While Sean’s professional life has been on an upward trajectory, he has also achieved remarkable success in his personal life, particularly in his health and fitness journey. Over the past months, Sean has lost 15 kilos in one year through consistent exercise and a mindful diet. This transformation is a reflection of his discipline and determination, qualities that are evident in every aspect of his life. His fitness journey is an inspiration to anyone looking to make positive changes in their life.

He is going to be 33 years old in a few days. One-third of a century – lived with purpose, growth, and success.

For Sean, this birthday is not just another year older; it’s a celebration of his achievements, both big and small. It’s a time to look back on the hard work that has led to his success and to look forward to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. With his unwavering commitment to growth, both personally and professionally, there’s no doubt that Sean’s 33rd year will be one filled with even more accomplishments.

Note: This is a letter to myself, from myself a year earlier.

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When I started this blog in 2020, I thought that I would help my peers and anyone else who would care to listen or read with their personal finance. Little did I know that I would need help with my finances, despite being an MBA in Finance, and a lawyer. (Should’ve studied CA instead, for real.)

However, what I’ve learned through experience is that it is much easier to preach about following rules of thumb and guidelines than actually following them.

Personal finance seems simple, once you understand the basics, and it probably even is.

But you also have to follow the basics.

Personal Finance 101: Spend less than you earn…

I’ve failed at the first step of personal finance, that is to spend less than you earn. I’ve even gotten myself into a debt trap. Trying to pay off loan EMIs by liquidating long-term investments in shares, deposits and mutual funds.

I’ve taken loans to ease the burden on other people who weren’t eligible for loans through the banking system due to poor credit, low income and other risk factors. And the funny part was that I’ve interacted with these people only through social media like Instagram and WhatsApp.

The significance of emotions in financial decisions:

The lending was mostly an emotional decision because I couldn’t bear to see the other person under debt from local moneylenders who were charging them 60% per year as interest, which is more than any credit card. It was a noble thing of me to do, but it was not fiscally prudent. Not one bit.

The people who owe me money, however, seem to have taken it lightly and have defaulted on payments in a year citing reasons like their employers not paying them on time, other liabilities and stuck payments from those who were supposed to pay them and various other reasons. It’s been about 2 years since I first lent them a small sum of money, which later increased in amount and frequency.

Freelancing and solopreneurship:

Mind you, I could do this only because I had the backing of my parents whose savings I have been living off. I’ve had a few freelance gigs here and there which are helpful, but my last substantial income was in the end of 2020, when I was working for Amazon as a full time employee, and then once in August 2021, which is one month when I thought that I would make it as a freelancer. But I haven’t pursued it with all my might, and that’s something which I need to work on.

It’s been 3 years and 8 months since I started freelancing full time, and I still don’t want to give it up for a full time in-office role, even though in moments of weakness and peer pressure/parental pressure have appeared for job interviews for full time roles, cleared them and later decided not to join. Maybe I haven’t really found the right employer yet, or maybe I still feel like I need to give this freelancing/solopreneurship thing a good shot. I also draft legal agreements and contracts from time to time, which is a nice fun thing to do as well.

Concluding remarks:

What I want to say to everyone is to always have some financial backup before you try something as unpredictable as freelancing or entrepreneurship for an extended period of time. And think a hundred times before you take loans for anyone else who has a history of defaulting or a tendency to default. If a bank isn’t lending to them, there probably is a good business reason for that.

The post What Personal Finance? appeared first on Sean Pinto.

These are my recommendations for what laptop you should buy based on your budget.

It is preferable to buy computers after you’ve seen them in person or know someone who is using them. Online reviews can be fake. Even then, it makes sense to go through all the 2-star and 3-star reviews if you have no other options.

Also, it is always better to budget at least Rs. 4,000 INR extra for a 1TB external hard disk to backup your data or Rs. 5,500 INR for a 2TB external hard disk.

It is ideal if your budget is more than Rs. 40,000 INR, as it is where the price-to-performance ratio is the highest. If you have less money to spend, you will have to make a few compromises.

These are my recommendations based on your budget.

Under Rs. 10,000

An Android phone with 6GB or more RAM and 128GB storage, such as the POCO M6 Pro 5G 128GB, a USB-Type C to OTG cable and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Under Rs. 20,000

Entry- level laptop or a Mid-range phone such as the Motorola G85, a USB-Type C to OTG cable and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Under Rs. 30,000

Laptop which has a 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM and a Full HD 1080p screen. You could even consider a Chromebook, depending on your use case and needs.

Under Rs. 40,000

Laptop which has a 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM in it, and a 1080p screen.

Under Rs. 60,000

Laptop which has a 512GB SSD, backlit keyboard, RTX2050 and a 1080p screen with 144Hz refresh rate like the ASUS TUF Gaming F15.

Under Rs. 80,000

Laptop which has a 1TB SSD, 16GB of RAM, RTX4050 and a 1080p screen with a 144Hz refresh rate like the Acer Nitro V.

Under Rs. 1,00,000

At this price point, you should seriously consider building a desktop if you have the space to keep it at your home/office/hostel/PG. The value for money is the main reason, along with customization and longer warranty period on parts. You also enter MacBook Air M2 territory, but that comes with a limited 256GB storage, which becomes a big problem after a few months of use.

Note: These prices are as of August 2024.

The post What kind of laptop should I get in 2024? appeared first on Sean Pinto.

Why should I invest in mutual funds?

Because inflation reduces the value of your money over time.
Because you may not have the time to monitor your investments on a regular basis
Because you have time to achieve your financial goals, enough to let my money grow.

Why shouldn’t I invest in mutual funds?

You may not have any long-term financial goals.
You may want to spend all your money as soon as you get it and don’t care about the future.
You are happy with the returns you get from fixed deposits.

Which is the best mutual fund to invest in?

There is no best mutual fund. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. You have to make a calculated choice through your own research.

What types of mutual funds are there?

On the basis of the fees charged, there are direct mutual funds and regular mutual funds.
On the basis of what they invest in, there are equity mutual funds and debt mutual funds. There are various other combinations of equity and debt such as hybrid funds or balanced funds, but you should stay away from them. You also have index funds, which copy the performance of the market.

What is a direct mutual fund?

It is when you buy units of a mutual fund directly from the asset management company without the presence of an intermediary or commission charging broker.

What is a regular mutual fund?

It is when a mutual fund is sold to you by an intermediary or broker, agent or someone who is paid a commission to do so. They form the majority portion of the total assets of mutual funds sold in India.

What is an asset management company?

A company hired by a mutual fund to manage the money that it collects from investors like you and me. They handle the day-to-day operations of investing, when to buy, when to sell and what to invest in.

How do I pick a mutual fund?

Do not look only at past returns. They can be misleading, especially in today’s times as everything seems to have good returns as the markets are at all-time highs.
Identify your goals first and the time horizon in which you have to invest.
If you have the patience to invest your money for more than 5 years, go for pure equity mutual funds.
If you want to invest for less than 5 years – pick either debt funds or bank fixed deposits.
Find the cheapest fund for your needs. Look at the total expense ratio of a fund and compare it with similar funds before investing
Buy only direct mutual fund plans.

Pro-tip:

Hire a fee-only financial adviser who does not get compensated on a commission basis from the investments you make, i.e does not sell you regular plans. This ensures that your adviser will not recommend plans with high commission that are only beneficial to them, losing you money in the long run. This may cost you around ₹10,000-25,000 one-time depending on where you live, but it will set you up for a lifetime of learning and growing your investments.

What should I avoid?

Avoid hybrid funds, balanced funds, and sectoral/thematic funds as they are very expensive in terms of fees and have returns that can vary wildly from time to time. These are not suitable for most investors and they should stay away from them.

How should I buy a direct mutual fund?

Directly from the asset management company website, by creating a login and password and validating your KYC status.
and not through your DEMAT account.

Are there situations where I could benefit from buying a regular mutual fund?

No. The difference in returns between a direct mutual fund and a regular mutual fund is so significant over the long term, that it makes more sense to pay for the advice upfront in the form of a fee-only financial advisor rather than spend lakhs or even crores because you were too lazy to learn about your money.

What about taxes?

You should always have your own Chartered Accountant or tax advisor to guide you regarding these aspects, but with patience, you can handle this on your own too.
The new income tax website does a good job of educating you about taxes.

Conclusion

In today’s age of the internet, you have no excuse to stay uninformed about your money. Learn about investing, learn about mutual funds, and save the money you would otherwise lose to inflation.

The post Mutual Funds For You appeared first on Sean Pinto.

Money things to do when you turn 18 in India.

Getting your money in order, getting the basics right and setting yourself up for success.

Get an Aadhar card and PAN card

This is a requirement if you want to transact online or make a Demat account. Visit UIDAI to get or update your Aadhar card and incometaxindiaefiling to get a PAN card after you have an Aadhar card. Getting an Aadhar card and a PAN card is free for resident Indians.

Open your own bank account with Netbanking

Open a bank account in your own name and enable Netbanking or online banking to be able to use it online. I personally use SBI, because there is no minimum balance requirement, but I have heard good things about foreign banks like Citibank as well. However, be rest assured that the fees on a non-SBI bank account will be much higher to compensate for perhaps better service. I generally don’t find the need to visit my SBI branch as almost everything can be done online except for cash deposits, which I do not need.

Open a PPF account

Open a PPF account at a bank branch that is convenient for you. A PPF or Public Provident Fund account is meant to save money for retirement. Deposits and withdrawals are tax-free as of now. One thing to note is that money in a PPF account is locked for a period of 15 years from the date you make the account, so only put in spare money into this account. Just remember to deposit at least INR 500 every financial year into the account to keep it active.

Save at least 50% of your pocket money every month, preferably in a separate account

This is so that you can have enough money for future expenses, especially when you aren’t earning much income, such as during retirement years. If you can increase this to 80% or more, it will ensure that you can retire early, maybe even at the age of 40 or earlier depending on how well your investments perform. You should ideally have at least two bank accounts – one for spending and one for savings and investments.

Track your expenses

You can use a Google Sheet or an Excel spreadsheet any other convenient tool to track your expenses every month. It will help give you an idea of where your money is going so that you can choose to direct it where it really matters.

Buy health insurance

This is one of the most important things to do when you are young, as you may not have any pre-existing illnesses and the premiums will also be lower. There are tax benefits that you can claim, but this investment is necessary so that medical emergencies don’t wipe out your savings.

Buy a laptop or desktop with an SSD in it

Buy a laptop or assemble your own desktop depending on your availability of space and the need for portability and your budget. Expect to spend at least INR 40,000 on this for a new laptop with an SSD or solid-state drive, which is 5-10 times faster than one without it. You can use this laptop or desktop to freelance and earn money, so do not think of it as a waste. It is a tool like anything else which can be used for good.

Assembling a desktop is cheaper than a laptop in the long run. It is a fun exercise and can teach you a lot about how computers work. It gives you an added amount of customizability because you can decide what parts you want to use, which you cannot while buying a laptop.

Learn how to file your taxes on your own

This is important so that you have a record of how much you earn over the years. It is helpful when you apply for visas to go abroad and when applying for loans. You can file a zero return, i.e. where you don’t owe any tax or have any refund, but it helps in the long run.

Learn how to freelance and earn money online

Every 18 year old should learn how to freelance and make their own money. There are various skills that you can learn to offer in exchange for money, for example, content writing, copywriting, blogging, sales funnels, marketing automation digital marketing services such as social media, Facebook ads, google ads, Instagram marketing, virtual assistance, and other skills that help businesses drive sales. Approach clients with a portfolio of your own projects and work that you have done and get paid in foreign currency as opposed to working for peanuts for some exploitative companies. This article by Vedant Naskar lists down 7 tried and tested ways to earn money online.

Get started with content writing

To get started with content writing, you need to make your own portfolio, where you write sample articles of around 500 words on 4-5 different topics so that you can demonstrate your writing ability to potential clients. You can use the free plans of WordPress to make your portfolio website in the beginning. Once you earn some money, you can invest in your own domain name and hosting.

Next, you should approach clients who post jobs on Content Writing and freelance related Facebook groups. Contact them via DM or Email, as they specify in the post, and pitch your services to them, describing how you can help their business achieve better results. Follow up after 3-5 days in case you don’t get an immediate response.

Good people to follow on the topic of Content Writing Freelancing are:

• Shreya Pattar
  • Follow her on LinkedIn for advice on how to deal with clients and how to charge.
• Khalil Ullah Khan
  • Follow his YouTube channel for advice on how to write a cover letter and how to pitch to clients.
• Saheli Chatterjee
  • Follow her YouTube channel for advice on how to get started in the field of content writing.

Each of them also has their own paid courses and ebooks to learn advanced strategies, but their free material is more than sufficient to get started. Also, they have good examples of portfolio websites.

Invest as low as 500 a month in a low-fee, direct mutual fund

From the point of view of investing, the more you can save and invest, the better it is for you in the long run. You can start with as low as 500 rupees a month in a low-cost mutual fund, which over long periods of time generally give reasonable returns. These are not guaranteed, but they are one of the few ways to make sure that inflation doesn’t eat away at your money as you grow older.

To learn more about mutual funds, visit this article by Harish Gupta. It provides an introduction to how mutual funds work and why you should invest in them.

Take up an online course

Apart from what you learn in college, it is very important to improve your soft skills such as communication and networking and even hard skills such as coding. Here is a list of courses that I have taken to help you decide on one that may be right for you.

The post Money things to do when you turn 18 in India appeared first on Sean Pinto.

Sean Pinto is a bestselling author, writer, copywriter and marketer. He has written about diverse subjects ranging from business, technology, finance, marketing and law. He is known for his thought-provoking books, well-researched think pieces and hard-hitting copy.

His articles have been published in various journals and online media. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times, Business Insider, the Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Forbes and other publications. His views have been published in reputed national and international newspapers and online media.

He is an advocate for improving the living conditions of the poor and vulnerable sections of society and works pro-bono with NGOs in the field of poverty alleviation, education and healthcare.He believes in the power of micro-loans to rejuvenate small businesses and is a top contributor at kiva.org

He is also known for his hard hitting social media campaigns that have nudged the authorities to take action in the field of healthcare, caste atrocities and social welfare schemes. A lawyer by training, he believes in the Constitution and fundamental rights for all and has spearheaded activism in relation to judicial reforms in the country.

When interviewed by our team, he attributed his success to the fact that he makes it a point to read at least one book a week, and keeps his tribe updated on his reading progress on Goodreads, which keeps him motivated. It also helps that he loves what he does.

He runs a YouTube channel where he teaches people how to get started earning a living with freelancing, talks about money and finance, mental health and documents his life experiences along the way. The objective behind his channel is to create a nation of independent, self-reliant citizens who do not settle for less than their true worth.

He lives along with his family in Mumbai, India.

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