Bharat Prajapati

Bharat PrajapatiSep 17, 2026

₹52,000 A MONTH. AND ₹12,000 OF THAT IS JUST AN IPHONE EMI. A 25-year-old Mumbai entrepreneur recently shared what it actually costs her to live independently in the city. Jahnvi Shah, founder of marketing agency Buzzified, lives in a shared 3 BHK with two other people. Her share of the rent? ₹16,500. Then comes her iPhone EMI. ₹12,000 every month. She spends another ₹8,000–₹10,000 on groceries, Blinkit and Zomato. ₹5,000–₹6,000 on commuting around Mumbai. Around ₹3,500 on electricity, Wi-Fi and domestic help. And roughly ₹1,500 on things like iCloud, Google Drive and subscription apps. She also pays around ₹2,700 a month to rent furniture. Add it all up. Her regular monthly spending comes to roughly ₹52,000. And that doesn't include shopping, eating out, travel, savings, SIPs or unexpected expenses. That's the part that caught my attention. The rent isn't even the biggest expense. The iPhone EMI comes surprisingly close. And she says she's okay with the cost because, for her, it's the price of living independently in Mumbai. So here's the real question: Is ₹52,000 a month a lot for independent living in Mumbai, or does this look pretty normal today? The story is based on Jahnvi Shah's Instagram post, as reported by NDTV.

Bharat PrajapatiSep 16, 2026

₹93,290 A MONTH. And he lives in a shared 2 BHK. A 28-year-old tech professional in Gurugram recently shared his monthly expense breakdown on Instagram. His share of the rent? ₹19,000. Then there’s ₹14,790 on groceries, including protein and supplements. ₹20,000 for his car EMI. ₹7,000 for fuel. ₹5,000 eating out with friends. Another ₹5,000 on food ordered online. ₹2,000 on coffee. ₹2,500 on badminton. ₹6,000–₹7,000 on shopping. ₹2,000 on subscriptions and Wi-Fi. ₹4,000 on electricity. And another ₹4,000 for a cook, maid and car cleaner. He also spends around ₹1,000 a month on rented appliances like a washing machine and refrigerator. His gym costs him nothing because he uses the gyms at his society and office. Add it all up. ₹93,290 every month. And even he admits the number now feels a bit too high. His investments aren't included either. That's the interesting part. There isn't one huge expense here. It's a lot of small decisions that quietly add up. ₹2,000 here. ₹5,000 there. ₹20,000 somewhere else. And suddenly you're spending almost ₹1 lakh every month. So what do you think? Is ₹93,290 a month excessive for a young professional in Gurugram, or is this simply what a comfortable lifestyle costs today? The story is based on Arjun Singh's Instagram post, as reported by NDTV.

Bharat PrajapatiSep 18, 2026

₹25,000 A MONTH. NOW ₹1.2 LAKH. AND IT STILL FEELS TIGHT. A 28-year-old professional recently shared a financial problem that sounds strange at first. In 2021, he was earning around ₹25,000 a month. Today, he earns ₹1.2 lakh. That's almost a 5X increase. But according to his Reddit post, the financial pressure hasn't disappeared. Rent. Family support. SIPs. Everyday expenses. After all of that, he says only around ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 is usually left by the end of the month. And an unexpected expense can wipe that out quickly. That's the part that caught my attention. We often assume that the next salary jump will finally make life comfortable. ₹40K will feel better than ₹25K. ₹70K will feel better than ₹40K. ₹1.2L should surely feel comfortable. But spending can grow with income too. The apartment gets better. The phone gets better. Eating out becomes normal. Convenience becomes a necessity. And expenses that once felt optional slowly become part of the monthly budget. A Bengaluru CA who reacted to the story described this as lifestyle inflation. Maybe that's the uncomfortable part of earning more: Your salary can grow 5X without your financial breathing room growing 5X. So I'm curious: When your salary increases, what comes first for you? A better lifestyle or a bigger savings cushion? Based on a Reddit user's account, subsequently reported by Economic Times.