A monthly budget can look manageable when expenses are paid one at a time. Rent gets transferred, food is ordered, fuel is filled and subscriptions get renewed. It is only when all of those payments are put together that the full picture becomes clear.A 26-year-old corporate employee in Bengaluru recently shared that full picture for September through an Instagram video. Her spending covered her home, meals, commuting, subscriptions, shopping and other personal needs.The post also brought a range of reactions, with some users asking about her income and investments, while others compared her expenses with their own.
₹25,000 goes towards rent and maintenance
Shivanjali lives in a three-BHK apartment with her college friends. Her monthly share of the rent and maintenance is ₹25,000.Her daily food routine includes breakfast and lunch at the office. At home, she shares the cost of a cook with her flatmates, paying around ₹2,000.Groceries account for another ₹3,000.Eating out and food delivery, however, added a much larger amount to her food budget.“And of course, all the random dining-outs, Swiggy and Zomato orders added up to ₹12K,” she said.She also contributes ₹1,000 towards the house help shared with her flatmates.
Petrol, autos and cabs add to the monthly bill
For commuting, Shivanjali mainly uses her bike.She spent around ₹3,000 on petrol during September. Autos and cabs cost her another ₹4,000.Gym and subscriptions cost ₹6,000Her list also included several recurring lifestyle and digital expenses.Her gym membership, AI subscriptions, iCloud, OTT platforms and other subscriptions together came to ₹6,000.Shopping, personal care and miscellaneous spending accounted for another ₹7,000.“Finally, shopping, personal care, and all those random miscellaneous expenses came to around ₹7K,” she said.
‘Seeing the final number was slightly scary’
Once the expenses were added together, the September figure came to ₹63,000.“So after adding everything up, I spent a total of ₹63K in September. And honestly, seeing the final number was slightly scary, but at least now I know where my money went,” Shivanjali said.The video prompted users to discuss the spending, with several comments focusing on savings, income and different approaches to managing money.
Users have different views on the spending
One user encouraged her to focus on investments as well, writing, “Expenses are good. Hope you invest well too.”Another wanted to know about her earnings and asked, “Aapki income kitni hai didi, approx bata do.”One commenter said they would prefer a very different lifestyle, writing, “This is a way of living I would never prefer. Even if I earn less, I would prefer a better place with a better environment and a pressure-free mind. I just bought a piece of land and am doing organic farming, raising cattle and spending minimum time on screens. You can also party, but not in clubs, with your family together. I never competed in the rat race, not because I am afraid, but because I love living like this.”Another user compared the spending with their own monthly budget in Bengaluru.“Damn bro, I’m literally spending ₹5K in the whole month of September, including room rent, food and other expenses in Bangalore.”Thumb image: Instagram
