With a budget of 173 thousand rupees per month, equal to approximately 1,900 euros, a couple can live comfortably in Bangalore, India, paying all expenses without having to give up holidays and comfort. As? Shubhi Khandelwal and her husband, both senior engineers, shared their very personal “economic model” on social media, which allows them to live without worries, especially in comparison to the reality of recent graduates in the local IT sector, where entry salaries are between 22 thousand and 27 thousand rupees net (around 240-300 euros) per month.
Shubhi’s budget
In the data shared by Shubhi on her Instagram account (@shubhi.repo), a very careful management of the two spouses emerges. Their highest fixed expense is related to the house: the rent and maintenance costs of the property take up 60 thousand rupees a month (around 660 euros). Another 13,000-14,000 rupees (around 145-155 euros) are spent on food, a partially high budget due to a specific diet with a high protein content.
The passion for travel
The real record item, however, is that of travel. The couple invests around 9 lakh a year (around 10 thousand euros) to unplug and move, which translates into an average of 75 thousand rupees (around 825 euros) a month. In the post, the woman explained that their travel expenses are based on expenses incurred in the last two years, which the couple keeps track of. The figure is therefore based on how much actually spent in that period of time. In daily management the two use a very informal approach: they calculate the total expenses down to the thousandth, but they do not control who owes money to whom. Like simple tenants “for life”, they divide the expenses without too many worries.
Salaries of new hires
The scenario shared by Shubhi a few weeks ago has been taken up by several Indian media in recent days, which have made a comparison with the daily life of young local professionals. According to IndiaToday data, many new hires in the IT services sector start from salaries of between 3.4 and 3.6 lakh per year (around 3,750-4 thousand euros). To give an example, the giant Tcs offers 3.4 lakh rupees as an annual gross for entry profiles, while Infosys’ tenders for system engineer trainees are around 3.6 lakh. After taxes and various deductions, just 22 thousand-27 thousand rupees per month remain in the paycheck.
Comparison with young people
A very different reality from that described by the two senior engineers. The couple’s rent alone is more than double the salary of a new hire, while the monthly travel budget is almost triple the paycheck of an early-career programmer. Obviously, the personal figures of Shubhi and her husband remain unverified financial statements, but which provide a scenario consistent with the situation of the real estate market in Bangalore. In fact, sector reports speak of an average rent of 40,900 rupees (around 450 euros) for a two-room apartment, even if real prices change greatly depending on the neighbourhood. But beyond the precise numbers, these are realities (and wallets) light years away from each other, who live in the same city and perhaps even work in the same office.