Rs 1.55 lakh monthly income, but only Rs 5000 saved: CA explains the visibility vs spending gap that causes low savings anxiety

A post from a Bengaluru-based Chartered Accountant has highlighted how people often misunderstand their monthly finances, especially when income is high but savings look very small. In a LinkedIn post, CA Meenal Goel responded to a case shared on Reddit involving a 29-year-old man earning ₹1.55 lakh per month but ending most months with only ₹5,000 to ₹9,000 left in his account.

In her post, Meenal Goel pointed out that the emotional stress of low-end savings does not always reflect financial weakness. She wrote, “In India, you’re not broke, you’re just misreading your money.”

Meenal also highlighted that in many cases, money that appears “spent” is actually going into wealth-building channels like investments or loans. According to her, this changes the way the entire situation should be looked at.


She further wrote, “₹1.55L income and only ₹5-9K remains feels stressful. But the math tells a different story.”

Where the money is actually going

The CA broke down how a large portion of monthly income is not direct spending. In the example discussed, around ₹20,000 goes into SIPs and nearly ₹70,000 is tied to loan repayments. She suggested that this portion should not be seen as simple expense because it is either building assets or returning value in the long term.

As she explained, “₹20K SIP + ₹70K loan ≈ ₹90K is not expense. It’s investment and asset building.”

She added that the real monthly spending, when adjusted, comes closer to around ₹60,000, which gives a clearer picture of actual lifestyle expenses.

Reddit case that triggered the discussion

The post originally came from a Reddit user, a 29-year-old earning ₹1.55 lakh monthly in a family of three. He shared that despite a stable income, he is left with very little at the end of the month.

His breakdown included SIP investments, rent or house-related costs, groceries, travel, internet, medical expenses, baby-related costs, and a significant loan repayment. He also mentioned that last year his income was close to ₹19.6 lakh while expenses crossed ₹18.6 lakh, showing a tight gap between earnings and spending.

He also pointed out that some costs, like medical expenses, were higher due to specific family situations such as health treatment and post-pregnancy recovery, which added pressure on monthly budgeting.

What the CA is trying to highlight

Meenal Goel’s main argument is that the issue is not necessarily “low savings” but lack of clarity in how money is categorized. According to her, fixed investments, loans, and lifestyle expenses often get mixed together, making people feel like they are not saving enough even when money is being used in structured ways.

She noted that once individuals separate investments from actual spending, their financial picture becomes easier to understand and less stressful.