The cost of living in India has risen rapidly over the past few years with housing rentals and even daily expenses emerging as key stressors. The country continues to outpace regional peers when it comes to pay hikes with variations linked to skill sets. Despite the uptick in salaries, many middle-class households have reported financial stress as expenses for essentials —especially in metros — rise faster than income. Against this backdrop, Wisdom Hatch CEO Akshat Shrivastava shared three easy-to-implement steps to counter a low salary.
“I would spend my weekends more productively. Switch from being a consumer to a creator. Don’t just read, write. Don’t just watch videos, create. Don’t just endlessly scroll, build. Use your Saturdays for learning. And Sundays for creating or building,” he urged in a lengthy LinkedIn post.
Shrivastava also urged people facing financial constraints to send their children to “normal” schools — noting that there was no longer any “major upside to elite private education”. He suggested Kendriya Vidyalayas as a suitable alternative and reiterated that there might even be some downsides to a “shiny” school.
“Build a nest egg. Some savings is better than none. You don’t have to debate with people: how much to spend or save, are you living or not living etc. Save whatever you can. Savings= gives you iteration capital. It allows you to leave bad jobs, take time off. The benefits can’t be truly captured in terms of money,” he added.
Data from Glassdoor indicates that the average annual salary in India is Rs 8.2 lakh per year — equating to approximately Rs 68,000 per month. However these numbers can vary drastically based on the nature of work, geographic location and other factors. Industry studies and reports suggest that most Indians earn anywhere between Rs 8,000 to Rs 1.43 lakh per month with a concentration around the Rs 20,000 to Rs 35,000 mark