'Feel stuck in middle-class trap': Redditor feels 'broke' despite salary jump from ₹40,000 to ₹1.3 lakh

A Reddit post by a 26-year-old professional detailing his financial struggles despite a massive salary hike went viral among netizens. The Indian male professional said in his post that he still feels stuck in the middle-class trap despite his monthly pay rising from ₹40,000 to ₹1.3 lakh after switching jobs.

"On paper it feels like a dream but in reality, I am barely able to enjoy it," the user wrote in his post. He said in his post that his family has significant debt due to his father's health-related expenses. The Redditor noted that he could not get private health insurance and had to rely only on corporate insurance coverage due to his father's pre-existing condition.

"Most of my earlier salary was spent on EMIs and hospital bills. Now, I have relocated for this new job, and high living costs here add more pressure," the Redditor said. Detailing his monthly expenses, the user noted that the PG rent is around ₹20,000, coupled with ₹5,000 for food, transport and miscellaneous costs.

Further, he said that his personal loan EMI stood at ₹20,000, whereas his parents' EMI was at 15,000, along with ₹10,000 money at home. With this, he said that these spends total to around ₹70,000-75,000 per month. The professional said that this does not leave any room for splurging such as no luxuries or lifestyle upgrades.

"I walk a lot to cut transport costs, live frugally, and save where I can. The only big expense is the rent, which I plan to bring down soon. But despite earning more than 3x before, I still feel stuck in the same middle-class trap, i.e., higher income, but no real freedom and don't know if this will ever end."

He said that he is planning to increase his SIP investments from ₹2,000 per month to ₹15,000 per month. Besides this, the Redditor added that he plans to buy a separate medical insurance for his parents and start part-prepayments on EMI to become debt-free sooner.

The Redditor further said that he plans to get married in around 2 years and needs to start saving for that as well. "The problem: Even with my dream monthly salary, debt and commitments make me feel suffocated. I dreamt of traveling, enjoying life, and financial freedom but the next 2–3 years look like just loan repayments."