Middle-Class Struggles: A 24-Year-Old’s Quest for Financial Security
A Reddit post by a 24-year-old software professional living alone in Mumbai has gone viral for capturing a sentiment that resonates with millions of India’s middle-class youth — the feeling that no matter how hard you work or how much you earn, true financial security seems elusive. The user said, “Despite my savings and efforts, it feels like comfort and success always remain just out of reach.”
The anonymous user, who earns approximately ₹25 lakh per annum, wanted to celebrate his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Dubai. His father, however, expressed concerns over spending ₹4 lakh on a vacation, citing ongoing financial uncertainty, generational struggles, and a larger issue — whether middle-class families can ever really feel ‘secure’.
Despite having around ₹25 lakh in personal savings and estimating his family’s total savings at ₹1 crore, the young professional was met with hesitation from his father, who warned against over-optimism. He highlighted looming future expenses like marriage (estimated at ₹40 lakh), potential relocation, and the high cost of urban living — with Mumbai rents for a 2BHK often touching ₹50,000 per month.
The father also raised a larger existential concern: their family, across three generations, had worked hard but still felt they hadn’t achieved what society calls ‘success’. He feared that even with AI disrupting job markets, especially for lower-income groups, a stable job may no longer be a safeguard for the future.
“Life is tough when you’re building it with your own hands,” he wrote, pointing to the sobering reality that success, in the traditional sense, is far more difficult to achieve when starting from scratch.
His story has sparked widespread discussion online, with many sharing similar stories and questioning how middle-class Indians can create real wealth without inherited assets.
