Is Gen Z bad at saving money? Rs 5,000 loan request makes 26-year-old question how youngsters use lavish lifestyles to hide empty savings

Gen Z is often seen as a generation that is comfortable spending on travel, gadgets, eating out and other lifestyle choices, but a recent online post has raised questions about what happens to savings behind that lifestyle. For one 26-year-old, the issue became real after a small request from a neighbour made him realise that people who appear financially similar can actually be in very different situations.

The man shared his experience on Reddit after an incident at his Bengaluru PG made him rethink the way he looks at money, spending and the finances of other young people around him.

A Rs 5,000 loan request changed his perspective

The 26-year-old said he lives in a Bengaluru PG where the rent is Rs 18,000 a month. A woman who lives next door is around his age, or possibly a little older, and also pays the same rent. From what he could see of her everyday lifestyle, he had assumed that they were financially similar.


“I have noticed her shoe rack having an adidas shoe and some slippers don’t look too expensive. In my mind I considered her to be equal to me financially by looking at her lifestyle subconsciously,” he wrote.

That assumption changed around the seventh of the month when he overheard her speaking to two or three friends and asking for a Rs 5,000 loan. The rooms in the PG, he explained, are not very soundproof, so he could hear the conversation.

“She was explaining she just paid rent and her emi got auto deducted so she needs it,” he wrote.

His immediate reaction was one of disbelief. “I was literally shocked just a 5k loan.”

The incident stayed with him because at around the same time he was looking at his own stock portfolio, which he said had reached Rs 40 lakh. “My 40 lakhs vs her 5k loan. My reality actually shifted. You usually consider people living next to you to be equals.”

He had seen something similar in Pune

The Bengaluru incident reminded him of another experience from when he was staying in a premium PG in Pune. He said a man who was probably 28 or 29 had told a friend that he had just bought something worth Rs 9,000 for his parents.

The man's savings, according to what he heard, had then become zero.

But the woman next door affected him more because the incident happened while he was thinking about his own investments and savings. He said he had not realised how different the financial position of people around him could be despite similar-looking lifestyles.

The 26-year-old also made it clear that he does not save by avoiding every expensive purchase. He owns several costly gadgets and other items.

“It’s not like I saved every penny,I have a mac a gaming pc and ipad a flagship phone shoes that are 16k. But I don’t have these micro transactions buying clothes every week kind of stuff.”

The spending habits that can quietly add up

The discussion also connected the experience to a YouTube video by financial content creator Ankur Warikoo. The poster said the video encouraged viewers to look at their transactions over the previous 30 days.

He started thinking about spending on clothes, restaurant bills, trips and phone EMIs and compared that with his own financial journey. “I am pretty sure out of the 40lakhs 20 definitely came from my higher salary and stuff but a lot also came from my discipline with money.”

He also said he had spent money on experiences, including a college reunion trip costing Rs 20,000-30,000, but did not believe he could maintain that kind of spending every week. “I feel like if I had a crazy lifestyle too I might have not even reached 15 lakhs.”

Is consumerism making saving harder for young people?

Several commenters agreed with the larger concern about spending habits among young Indians.

One wrote, “Financial condition of young generation is bad. Even when they land a decent job the way consumerism is taking over self-control is fucking them up. I have many colleagues who are living pay check to pay check just because they need to go to vacation every weekend, have the latest gadget and every 2nd night they have to party. And even when they save a little, life comes back at you!! Frugal is a lost art nowdays.”

Another commenter said, “People buy random things on EMI. People need to keep a control on that.”

The discussion also brought up the idea that young people increasingly want to enjoy their money now rather than save it for later.

“Genz doesn't tend to save, they just live in the moment which is okay tbh you don't know what would happen tomorrow, but the fact that the debt cycle wouldn't stop due to this habit is kinda concerning honestly,” one commenter wrote.

However, others disagreed with making it specifically a Gen Z problem. One commenter said, “Financial habits arent GenZ, but human nature itself.” Another pointed out that even people in their 30s and 40s can have poor financial literacy.

The poster says questioning purchases matters

The original poster said he does not consider himself completely frugal. Instead, he tries to record his spending and question whether something is actually worth buying. “I feel more than tracking it's justifying your purchases. Do you really need it ?”

That idea became one of the main takeaways from the discussion. Another commenter said tracking expenses can make people realise how quickly a few categories can dominate their monthly spending.

At the same time, some commenters warned against judging the woman simply because she needed to borrow Rs 5,000. People can have very different salaries, family responsibilities, debt and financial priorities while living in the same neighbourhood and paying the same rent.