'How a car in India keeps you broke': Middle class mistaking liabilities for assets, warns advisor
He lists the pain points: rising school fees, aggressive 10-minute delivery apps, and Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes turning salaries into sand. And with investment growth stalling, the pressure is more visible than ever.
- Aug 22, 2025,
- Updated Aug 22, 2025 8:06 AM IST
With mutual funds sliding, job insecurity rising, and inflation pinching wallets, Moneydhan.com founder Sujith SS is urging India’s salaried class to face a new financial reality—one where EMIs, not investments, are eating away at long-term security.
“Last 11 months, Mutual Funds have given negative returns. AI fear has caused job layoff fears in IT. Other companies are using it as a scare tactic to avoid salary hikes,” Sujith wrote in a post gaining traction on LinkedIn. “Life became tough just in past 3–4 months.”
He lists the pain points: rising school fees, aggressive 10-minute delivery apps, and Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes turning salaries into sand. And with investment growth stalling, the pressure is more visible than ever.
From 2020 to 2024, investors saw easy double-digit gains. That era, Sujith argues, masked poor financial choices. Now, those choices are coming home to roost.
To illustrate, he introduces two contrasting characters—Raj and Riya. Raj spends ₹2 lakh on a downpayment for a ₹15 lakh car, then locks into a ₹21,000 EMI for seven years. Riya buys a used car for ₹2 lakh and invests that same ₹21,000 monthly in a SIP earning 12% annually.
Fast-forward seven years: Raj owns a depreciated ₹6 lakh car. Riya holds ₹25 lakh in investments and still drives her old vehicle.
“People often mistake liabilities for assets,” Sujith wrote. “The showroom makes you feel like a king. The EMI makes you its slave.”
His message: status symbols don’t build wealth—discipline does. “The real rich don’t buy toys first. They let money compound until toys feel cheap.”
As economic pressures tighten, Sujith’s financial cautioning is striking a chord with a middle class caught between past optimism and present strain.
With mutual funds sliding, job insecurity rising, and inflation pinching wallets, Moneydhan.com founder Sujith SS is urging India’s salaried class to face a new financial reality—one where EMIs, not investments, are eating away at long-term security.
“Last 11 months, Mutual Funds have given negative returns. AI fear has caused job layoff fears in IT. Other companies are using it as a scare tactic to avoid salary hikes,” Sujith wrote in a post gaining traction on LinkedIn. “Life became tough just in past 3–4 months.”
He lists the pain points: rising school fees, aggressive 10-minute delivery apps, and Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes turning salaries into sand. And with investment growth stalling, the pressure is more visible than ever.
From 2020 to 2024, investors saw easy double-digit gains. That era, Sujith argues, masked poor financial choices. Now, those choices are coming home to roost.
To illustrate, he introduces two contrasting characters—Raj and Riya. Raj spends ₹2 lakh on a downpayment for a ₹15 lakh car, then locks into a ₹21,000 EMI for seven years. Riya buys a used car for ₹2 lakh and invests that same ₹21,000 monthly in a SIP earning 12% annually.
Fast-forward seven years: Raj owns a depreciated ₹6 lakh car. Riya holds ₹25 lakh in investments and still drives her old vehicle.
“People often mistake liabilities for assets,” Sujith wrote. “The showroom makes you feel like a king. The EMI makes you its slave.”
His message: status symbols don’t build wealth—discipline does. “The real rich don’t buy toys first. They let money compound until toys feel cheap.”
As economic pressures tighten, Sujith’s financial cautioning is striking a chord with a middle class caught between past optimism and present strain.