22-year-old Canada man says his Indian parents are saving wrong: They put Rs 50K of the Rs 70K he sends into chit funds; then ask more for bills and emergencies

A 22-year-old Indian man based in Canada says he sends Rs 70,000 every month to support his parents and younger sister back in India, but claims his parents funnel Rs 50,000 of that straight into chit funds each month and then come back to him asking for more money to cover everyday bills.

According to him, the maths simply does not work, and he says he has been unable to get his parents to see it that way.

What happens to the Rs 70,000


He says the split is straightforward and that is precisely the problem. His mother puts Rs 25,000 into one kameti every month and his father puts Rs 25,000 into another. That is Rs 50,000 locked away before a single bill is paid.

What remains is Rs 20,000 for a household of three, covering groceries, electricity, water, and his younger sister's school and admission fees. According to him, that amount has never been enough, and the shortfall lands back on him almost every month in the form of a top-up request.

This month, he says, that top-up was Rs 25,000, pushing his total outgoing for the month to Rs 95,000 and disrupting his own finances in Canada entirely.

His argument and theirs

He says he has tried to explain the basic problem to his parents more than once. A chit fund locks money away for the duration of the cycle. If something goes wrong at home, that money is not available. Paying bills first and saving what is left over in something accessible makes more practical sense.

His parents, according to him, do not see it that way. They consider the kameti a form of forced savings and have refused to stop the contributions.

He also shared that the last time a chit fund paid out to his mother, she received Rs 5 lakh. He says he asked her to keep it in savings for emergencies. According to him, his father invested it in the stock market instead. His father is 56 years old.

The Rs 25 lakh that keeps coming up

According to him, he has sent a total of Rs 16 lakh 68 thousand home so far. His mother, he says, regularly raises the figure of Rs 25 lakh on video calls, referring to what the family spent getting him to Canada and helping him get settled there.

He says this number surfaces specifically when he raises concerns about the financial load he is carrying. When he recently pushed back and said the arrangement was becoming too much, his mother told him, "Tu hi hai, hor kon hai hmara kameti ke liye," meaning: you are the only one we have for this.

When he said no, he says the response was a demand to immediately return all the money the family had invested in him.

The sister question

When someone online asked why his married sister was not contributing to the family expenses, he says his mother's answer was simple: daughters do not send money home after marriage in Indian families. According to him, that expectation falls entirely on him.

He says he lives in Canada with his sibling, which is the only reason his own rent is manageable. Moving out would cost him at least CAD 1,200 a month in rent alone, on top of everything he is already sending home.


What he is actually asking for

He says he has no intention of stopping support to his family. What he wants, according to him, is a straightforward change in priorities: pay the bills, fees, and daily expenses first, then save whatever is left in something that can actually be accessed when needed.

He says he has never told his parents how much he earns and has refused to share that number every time they have asked. A comment on his post put into words what he says he has quietly understood for a while: tell your parents your salary is one lakh and their expenses will be one lakh. Tell them it is three lakh and the emergencies will cost three lakh.

At 22, he says he has already put off any thought of marriage or longer term personal plans because of the pressure he is under. According to him, he is running a full household in another country while trying to build something for himself at the same time.

He says once the cumulative amount he has sent home crosses Rs 25 lakh, he plans to reassess the entire arrangement.

His post drew significant response online, with many people sharing similar experiences. One commenter put it plainly: "You say your salary is one lakh, your parents will have expenses for one lakh. You say your salary is three lakh, somehow the most urgent need for three lakh appears."

He says he has never told his parents exactly how much he earns, and has refused to share that number every time they have asked.

Another suggestion that came up repeatedly was to calculate the total amount already sent and show his parents how much of the original Rs 25 lakh has already been covered, then set a clear stopping point. He acknowledged this, noting that at Rs 16.68 lakh already sent, he is well past the halfway mark.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on a viral social media post and online reactions. The Economic Times cannot independently verify the authenticity of the content and does not claim or endorse it.)