Employee earns almost Rs 1 lakh per month, yet reveals they have financial trauma: 'We will literally lose our home...'

Having a high-paying job does not always guarantee escape from generational poverty. Taking to the subreddit Personal Finance India, a 26-year-old Reddit user revealed how they are unable to escape generational poverty and economic stress even after earning Rs 70,000 per month in a marketing job, and having a Bachelor’s in Economics in a tier 1 college. They had to drop out of their Master's degree to start working.

From the outside, the family might appear to belong to the middle class. However, the user said their financial position is considerably weaker than that of almost everyone around them. Their friends, colleagues and cousins generally come from families that have accumulated at least ₹40–50 lakh in savings, excluding investments and assets such as property and gold. The user pointed out that even their domestic helper has several lakh rupees in the bank along with two pieces of land.

Their parents, however, are in their mid-fifties and have virtually no assets or savings. The father has no regular income and reportedly has not maintained any savings since leaving his job in 2009. Over the years, he attempted several business ventures, but none became successful. Much of the family’s financial support comes from the grandmother’s pension of approximately ₹17,000 a month, which is largely consumed by debt repayments and EMIs. The father also has no inherited property to fall back on.


The mother has been supporting the household by tutoring primary-school children for roughly seven years. She currently earns around ₹12,000–₹15,000 a month and manages the family’s everyday expenses from that amount. Although she tries to put aside whatever little she can, her savings have still not crossed ₹25,000.

The user then revealed that their first salary was Rs 28K and that they were living in rented apartments all of their life. Though their financial situation was improved, the poster said they still feel the pinch of economic instability.

“n 2024, we finally bought a small 2BHK apartment, I got a loan in my name. The down payment was made by my mom; she basically gave up her share of her ancestral home and signed it off to her siblings.

I wfh so I save/invest about 50% of my income. I give a separate chunk to my mother to help out in the household. I handle my wants or needs with the rest. I feel happy with my day to day life, I have enough disposable income to buy or enjoy things I want. I feel hopeful thinking at least I have some liquid savings now for small emergencies. I got health insurance for my family…” they wrote.

The user cannot feel completely secure about leaving their job because losing their income could put the family’s home and even basic necessities such as food at risk. Marriage also feels financially out of reach because they cannot afford the expenses associated with a socially conventional wedding.

Pursuing a master’s degree is another ambition that has been put on hold. The cost of higher education, combined with the income that would be lost by stepping away from employment, makes the decision difficult.

There is also no possibility of depending on their parents financially in the future. Instead, the situation is reversed.

“All my life, I have known financial instability and trauma, and the funny thing is, I will never grow out of it...” they wrote.

Another Reddit user expressed deep empathy for the young professional, pointing out that the burden of creating a personal future while simultaneously serving as the family’s primary financial safety net is rarely discussed. They noted that the individual had already made significant progress in changing their family’s circumstances by purchasing a home, securing health insurance and consistently setting aside money for the future. They also highlighted that the parents now have a secure roof over their heads largely because of the user’s efforts.