In today's time, people's purchasing power has declined significantly due to inflation and high living costs. The situation is particularly concerning in metro cities, where exorbitant residential property costs, school fees and sky-high prices of goods and services make a huge dent in people's pockets. Recently, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur alum took to X to chalk out a detailed estimate of expenses for a 4-member family living in a metropolitan city in India. His post has sparked a discussion on social media.
According to Pritesh Kakani, the total yearly cost for a family comes down to Rs 20 lakh. In his post, he broke down the costs incurred, from the highest to the lowest expense ranging from house rent, travel, healthcare, education, electronics, grooming etc. This included Rs 35,000 monthly rent, Rs 10,000 for food expenses, Rs 5350 for petrol, Rs 8000 for medical expenses, electricity and gas for Rs 1000, etc.
''Middle-class family of 4 Expense in Metro city in India is 20 lakh per year for a comfortable life. No luxury expense added,'' he wrote while sharing a screenshot of the expense plan he made.
See the post here:
While many agreed with his view and called it a realistic estimate, some said that ₹20 lakh a year amounts to living a life of luxury.
''You are bang on. It is the minimum, I guess,'' one user said.
"I never knew dogs and cars were necessities. If you don't own a home, you should not buy a car on EMI. Personal Finance 101," another commented.
A third added, ''A lot of the expenses can be categorized as luxury here e.g. Asia Trip, Dog, CAR EMI of 2L etc.''
A fourth wrote, ''We live in a metro city i.e. Mumbai. Family of 4 on yearly money of seven lakh, including everything. I don't have a car. It depends on what you choose. I can say spending 20L per year covers a luxurious life, contradicting your tweet.''
Earlier, an X user wondered what ₹1 crore can get you in today's economy. The user named Akshat Shrivastava quipped that ₹ 1 crore is not sufficient enough to buy a decent house in Mumbai, Delhi, or Gurugram. Mr Shrivastava also said that the amount is not enough for parents to send their kids abroad for a good MBA program, nor international schools in cities like New Delhi.
