Earn ₹70 lakh per annum in India and still feel broke? This finfluencer says you’re just bad with money

Earning ₹50 lakh a year and still calling yourself “middle class”? That’s not reality—it’s delusion, says finfluencer Akshat Shrivastava, who torched urban professionals for wasting wealth on “stupid things” and then crying broke.

Shrivastava, founder of personal finance platform Wisdom Hatch, posted a blistering takedown of what he sees as self-inflicted financial misery among India’s urban elite. “You don’t need every latest iPhone… or IB education for kids,” he wrote. “Cut back—you will see the magic.”

His post exploded amid a growing online debate: Is ₹70 lakh per annum still “middle class” in Indian metros?

Traditionally, the answer is no. According to government and research bodies, middle-class income ranges between ₹6 lakh and ₹18 lakh annually. Even stretched to ₹30 lakh, ₹70 lakh would still rank as upper-middle class or affluent.

But city life tells a different story.

Investment banker Sarthak Ahuja recently detailed how a ₹70 lakh salary shrinks fast in cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru. Taxes cut it to ₹50 lakh take-home. Monthly bills—₹1.7 lakh for home EMIs, ₹65,000 for a car, ₹50,000 for school fees, plus domestic help—leave about ₹1 lakh for everything else, including food, healthcare, and savings.

The result: high earners feeling broke.

Shrivastava isn’t sympathetic. “It is just that you are going around wasting your money on a lot of stupid things,” he said. He urged restraint and smarter investing, not higher incomes.

But defenders of the “metro middle class” point to urban inflation, housing costs, and social media–driven consumption pressures that distort financial reality. The math may say rich—but the stress feels middle class.

This clash of perception versus definition is fueling a new financial identity crisis in India’s cities, where income levels once thought aspirational now barely buy peace of mind.