₹70,000 salary, ₹33,000 in EMIs, no savings: 31-year-old woman seeks financial advice

Managing debt can be difficult, especially when there is no financial cushion to fall back on. A 31-year-old woman from a Tier-2 Indian city has sparked discussion online after sharing her struggle to stay afloat while supporting her mother, repaying loans and covering household expenses on a monthly salary of ₹70,000.

In a social media post, the woman revealed that she is unmarried, has no savings, owns no property, and is the sole earning member of her family. The financial pressure, she said, has become so intense that it is affecting her sleep.

Nearly half her salary goes towards loan repayments

According to the post, the woman is currently repaying two loans.

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The first is a ₹13 lakh loan taken in December 2024, with an EMI of ₹23,000 for 84 months at an interest rate of 12%.

 

 

 

The second is a ₹2.5 lakh loan taken in April 2025, with an EMI of ₹10,000 for 30 months at 9% interest.

Together, the EMIs total ₹33,000 every month, leaving her with around ₹37,000 to manage rent, groceries, utility bills, her mother's medicines and other household expenses.

"Some months I genuinely don't know how we'll manage the last week," she wrote.

The woman clarified that the loans were not taken for luxury purchases. Instead, she said they were the result of circumstances and decisions she now regrets.

The ₹5 lakh loan plan she is considering

In an attempt to reduce the financial burden, the woman shared a strategy suggested by someone she knows. The proposal involves taking a fresh loan of ₹5 lakh at an interest rate of 6.5%.

She said the amount would be used as follows:

• ₹2 lakh to close the smaller ₹2.5 lakh loan early
• ₹2 lakh to be invested in a fixed deposit earning around 8% interest
• ₹1 lakh to cover urgent household expenses

According to her, the idea is that the new loan carries a lower interest rate than the existing 9% loan, while the fixed deposit could potentially generate a higher return than the interest being paid.

She also hopes that closing the smaller loan would eventually free up the ₹10,000 EMI and improve her monthly cash flow. Unsure whether the plan was financially sound, she turned to Reddit for advice.

Reddit users urge caution

The post quickly went viral and struck a chord with many users because it reflects the reality faced by numerous middle-class households.

Several commenters noted that borrowing money to invest in a fixed deposit rarely works out once taxes, loan processing charges, and other costs are taken into account.

"Taking a loan to close another loan rarely solves the real problem. Unless your monthly cash flow improves significantly, you're just moving the debt from one place to another," wrote one user.

Another commenter suggested tackling the smaller loan aggressively instead of restructuring debt. "Your first priority should be closing the ₹2.5 lakh loan as fast as possible. Once that EMI is gone, you'll have more breathing room every month," the user wrote.

A fourth user pointed out that the bigger issue may not be the loan structure itself but the absence of savings. "Taking a new loan may solve a short-term problem, but without an emergency fund, you'll find yourself in the same situation again if any unexpected expense comes up," the commenter said.

Many users agreed that reducing liabilities, finding ways to increase income and maintaining a strict budget would likely be safer than taking on fresh debt