'₹1.43-lakh month': Bengaluru techie’s viral expense breakdown sparks debate on urban living costs

A young tech professional’s candid breakdown of her monthly expenses in Bengaluru has gone viral on social media, triggering a wider debate on the rising cost of urban living and the lifestyle expectations surrounding India’s technology hubs.

Pooja Narula, a 24-year-old employee at Google, shared a video detailing how her total spending in February 2026 reached ₹1.43 lakh. The video, which quickly gained traction online, offered a transparent look at both her routine costs and several one-time expenses that significantly pushed up the monthly total.

 

 

 

 

 

Breaking down the expenses

Narula explained that her regular monthly spending includes housing, domestic help, utilities and weekend socialising.

 

Her fixed costs consisted of:

₹22,400 for room rent

₹2,800 for maid and cook services

Around ₹2,000 for electricity and other household bills

Beyond these essentials, lifestyle spending also added to the monthly budget. According to Narula, weekend outings in Bengaluru typically cost about ₹2,000 per weekend, adding up to roughly ₹8,000 per month.

 

One-time costs pushed the total higher

Narula emphasised that February was not a typical month because several irregular expenses inflated the total.

She spent ₹16,000 on flight tickets to travel home and ₹2,000 on airport cab rides. In addition, she shifted to a new apartment, which required ₹3,000 for movers and packers and a ₹66,600 security deposit.

Social commitments also contributed to the spending, with ₹20,000 going toward dining plans and gifts for friends.

“On top of that, I had some miscellaneous dining plans and bought a few gifts for some people, which cost around ₹20,000 this month. So the total comes out to be ₹1.43 lakh this month,” she said in the video.

 

“Everything is indeed expensive”

Acknowledging that the number might appear high, Narula clarified that a large portion of the spending came from one-time payments rather than recurring monthly costs.

“And to be fair, this month included some one-time expenses and I’m hoping I would spend way lesser next month, but let’s see. Everything is indeed expensive,” she said.

Her video was captioned: “Calculated the total expense of February, and I’m probably never doing this activity again.”

 

Social media reactions highlight income gap

The post quickly sparked a lively debate in the comments section, with many users comparing Narula’s spending to their own earnings and savings.

One commenter wrote, “Her one month expenses = my entire year savings.”

Another said, “24, room rent 22k. I swiped to the next reel right there.”

A third added, “My salary was around your room rent at 24.”

A fourth user asked directly, “Are you earning ₹2 lakhs per month?”

The viral video has reignited conversations about the cost of living in India’s tech capital, where rents, social spending and relocation costs often combine to create steep monthly budgets for young professionals.