Why India’s middle class is rich on EMI and broke on reality🧠
🧾 Scene 1: The ₹1 Lakh Phone in a ₹12K Salary Wallet
Meet Rahul.
- Salary: ₹35,000/month
- EMI: ₹4,299/month
- Phone: iPhone 15 Pro
- Savings: Basically nothing except WhatsApp backups
This is not satire. This is the new Indian middle class.
Welcome to the “EMI Flex Life”, where people:
- Can’t afford petrol but will buy the iPhone Titanium Blue
- Can’t afford rent increase but have Netflix, Prime, Disney+, and Apple One (even if they share it with 7 cousins)
🧮 What’s Actually Going On?
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🏦 Lifestyle Inflation | When your expenses rise as fast (or faster) than your income |
| 💳 Credit Dopamine | That thrill when EMI goes through, and you feel “rich” because you paid something |
| 📈 Social Signalling | Buying to look cool, not for need — like wearing Jordans on DTC bus |
🤯 India’s Consumption Addiction by the Numbers
- 📱 iPhone 15 Pro Max EMI = ₹6,299/month for 18 months
Total cost = ₹1.13 lakh (with interest)
That’s more than 3 months of salary for millions.
- 👗 Urban Indian millennials spend 39% of their salary on lifestyle
(As per a survey by BankBazaar 2024) - 🧾 56% of Gen Z Indians live paycheck to paycheck
– Yet 33% have premium phones (Redseer report) - 🚗 Car loan EMIs hit record highs in Tier 2 cities in 2025.
Because somehow, everyone needs an SUV to go 3km to office.
📉 So Why Do People Still Buy What They Can’t Afford?
Let’s decode the Desi Financial Psychology:
1. 🧠 FOMO Is The New Financial Advisor
“If I don’t buy it now, I’ll feel left out.”
Instagram and YouTube Shorts have replaced Excel and retirement planning. If you don’t have the latest gadget or
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