We all have our little upgrades.

For me, it was swapping the rushed, home-brewed coffee for a quick Starbucks on the way to work. A caramel swirl in a tall cup, my name scribbled in bold, and sometimes even a croissant to go.

Like most, even I posted it on Instagram – it felt like a small luxury, a harmless ritual.

Until one day, I looked at the bill more closely. That ₹250 coffee wasn’t really ₹250. It was ₹250 plus GST.

That’s when I realised: I wasn’t just sipping coffee. I was sipping an invisible extra tax every time and it was tucked into almost everything I bought.

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Why the invisible sip matters

A ₹20 chai, a ₹50 toothpaste, a ₹300 dinner bill, each carry an invisible add-on. On paper, 5% or 18% doesn’t sound like much. In practice, it’s thousands of rupees a month that quietly vanish from your savings.

A recent analysis of the 2022–23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey shows how GST pinches the middle class. In urban India, the bottom 50% of consumers bear about 29% of the total GST burden, almost the same as the 30% carried by the middle 30%.

This is what I call the financial blind spot. We’re not needy enough for subsidies, nor wealthy enough to shrug at taxes. We live in the space where every rupee matters, yet some of it slips away without us noticing.

It’s easy to ignore because life is full of little trends and indulgences. The latte pic, the new gadget, the snack at the checkout counter. They feel rewarding. But every one of them comes at an extra cost, GST, that accumulates quietly.

So what does that extra mean for people like me?

GST 2.0: Relief or just repackaging?

Just when I thought I had mapped my blind spot, the government introduced GST 2.0 this September. The new system simplified slabs to 5% and 18%, with luxury goods taxed at 40%.

  • Essentials like sugar, chocolates, and medicines dropped to 5%.
  • Big-ticket items like ACs, TVs, fridges, fell to 18%.
  • Life and health insurance premiums are now GST-free.

For families like mine, these reforms are a pleasant welcome. Groceries feel a touch lighter, an insurance bill finally comes GST-free. But the blind spot doesn’t disappear. These savings are not passed right away, and essentials like school fees, rent, or fuel remain untouched.

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So yes, GST 2.0 helps. But that invisible extra sip? It’s still there.

Blind spots to checkpoints

The coffee isn’t the problem.

The problem is the few rupees shaved off each time, across hundreds of transactions. To catch it, I’ve started pausing and asking myself a few simple but powerful questions before I spend.

  1. Am I tracking the invisible expenses?
    A ₹250 coffee a day equals ₹7,500 a month, with GST adding another ₹1,350 on top. That can be my SIP money.
  2. Am I buying value, or chasing trends?
    An instagram post sounds fun. But does it align with my money priorities?
  3. Am I shifting my money mindset?
    Wealth isn’t just about investing in stocks or gold. It’s about protecting what you earn from these silent leaks.
  4. Am I using GST 2.0 savings wisely?
    If insurance premiums got cheaper, am I actually saving the difference or spending it elsewhere?

The last slip

These days, I take a minute before I splurge. Because every swipe, every little “treat yourself” moment isn’t about the price – it’s about that invisible extra sip you don’t even notice.

So before I end, here’s a thought. If you’re someone who loves chasing trends, or like me, crumples the bill before even glancing at the taxes, stop. Don’t chase the picture. Chase the balance. The balance between wanting more and being okay with enough.

I’ve written about this before in “I was never an investor. But here’s how I built generational wealth anyway” that wealth doesn’t come from one big jackpot moment. It’s built in the boring, everyday choices you make when nobody’s watching.

Sneha Virmani is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience. She is an alumna of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University (Economics & Psychology). Sneha specialises in storytelling-led content strategies and consumer education campaigns. Her work brings context and clarity, with a no-jargon approach designed to engage everyday readers.