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‘Food alone costs ₹18,000’: Gurgaon resident earning ₹40,000 asks how others survive
Earning ₹40k a month, a Gurgaon newcomer sparked an online debate by asking how low-income workers cope with the city's high costs.
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Moving to Gurgaon after college has proved to be a major financial reality check for one corporate fresher. Taking to social media, the employee shared their struggle to stay afloat on a monthly salary of ₹ 40,000 due to steep rental prices and high food costs. Pointing out that a basic office cafe meal costs ₹250, the resident realised that food alone could eat up nearly half their income. This calculation sparked a deeper curiosity about how lower-wage earners cope, prompting a wider online debate on the hidden survival strategies used in India's expensive tech cities.
“How do people with low salaries survive in Gurgaon?” an individual asked, adding, “I just moved to Gurgaon after college and my salary is only ₹40,000 per month. I feel Gurgaon is very expensive, especially the rent.”
Also Read: BMW owner earning ₹40 LPA feels ‘very poor’ in Gurgaon: ‘I can’t sleep at night’
The person continued, “In my office, there is only one cafe and an average lunch costs around ₹250. I was doing some calculations and realised that if I spend around ₹600 per day on food, that is ₹18,000 per month just on eating.”
The individual wondered, “This made me wonder how people with lower salaries such as security guards, food vendors, sweepers, and other workers manage to survive here. I am already living a very basic lifestyle and trying to keep my expenses low. What am I missing? How do people make it work in a city like Gurgaon?”
What did social media say?
An individual posted, “Cafes are always costlier. You're not paying for the food alone, but for the convenience you're getting too. 40k is a good starting salary. Your biggest recurring and unavoidable expense would be rent. How do the security guards, food vendors, sweepers, and other workers manage to survive? They have to live in shared rooms in the city's cheapest, often most cramped, localities, or they live too far out towards the outskirts and have to spend a lot of time commuting via shared autos and walking long distances. You can humbly strike up a conversation with one of them. Prefer to talk to a middle-aged guy because he has seen much more of the city/life in general and has a lot to talk about. Wishing you the best.”
Another commented, “Bro, people survive on way lower salaries than 40k, you should re-evaluate expenses. Start with a shared PG that provides lunch packing, which will save your expenses on food and rent. Try staying near the office to avoid commuting expenses.” A third expressed, “I have survived on 34k for 2 years, I had a car (6-7k fuel), I paid 16k flat rent (8k my share ), 10k on food, remaining electricity, shopping, and no savings.”
A fourth individual wrote, "Isn't there any option for tiffin service? Don't pay more than 10k on rent. Clean ho, bed ho, bathroom saaf ho. Kitchen ho. Isse zyada kuch chahiye nai when 80% of the time is spent outside at work. Travel is still extremely expensive here. The metro doesn't reach everywhere, but I have seen shared rickshaws that take you to the metro stations. It's tough but not impossible. Food - maybe try a tiffin service?”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
