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Middle Class Will Remain Middle Class[upwardly Mobile]

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by sln, Dec 2, 2024.

  1. sln

    sln Finest Post Winner

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    Middle Class Will Remain Middle Class[upwardly mobile]

    Last year, my balance sheet revealed that I hadn't saved as much as I could have. With free boarding, lodging, and all the perks I enjoy while staying with my daughter, I should have managed substantial savings. This realization prompted me, at the age of 87, to adopt a new practice: maintaining written accounts.

    We follow a principle in my house: I pay for my personal expenses, including medical bills, and reimburse my daughter if she has covered them on my behalf. Conversely, if I spend on household expenses, I make it a point to collect the amount from her. This system has worked wonderfully for many years.

    Why, then, was I unable to save as much as I should? With no travel and no dining out, I discovered the culprits upon analysis: medical expenses, soaring medical insurance premiums, house maintenance costs at Chennai and impulsive purchases—particularly fancy dress materials. On sentimental grounds, I don't include certain expenses, such as those for our exclusive family temple (where we conduct daily rituals), food for the villagers once a year during varushabishegam or gifts for family functions (which tend to be a bit ostentatious).

    Having drawn up a budget, things are going well so far. I’ve even been discreetly observing my daughter's expenses, and they seem appropriate for their status. Compared to me, my daughter’s family belongs to a completely different league.

    This reflection led me to analyse the expenditure patterns of middle-class households. Costs are skyrocketing, and here are a few observations:

    1. Education: Tuition fees for prestigious schools, which aim to produce well-groomed but often snobbish children, have skyrocketed. Annual fees ranging from ₹2 to ₹4 lakhs are outrageous—essentially the price of name-dropping.
    2. Multiple TV Connections: Many households have 2–3 TV connections because no one wants to watch in a group anymore.
    3. Housing Maintenance Costs: Maintenance fees for housing complexes have soared. Residents pay for facilities like clubhouses, swimming pools, tennis courts, and spas, whether they use them or not.
    4. Rentals and Housing Loans: Rents are at an all-time high. For homebuyers, the total loan repayment over 20 years ends up being double the principal amount.
    5. Medical Expenses: Costs for senior citizens are climbing, and medical insurance premiums have doubled this year.
    6. Appliance Maintenance: Annual maintenance costs for water purifiers, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers have risen by over 50% in the last two years. Voltage fluctuation causes malfunctioning and hence the AMC.
    7. Eating Out: Dining out has become prohibitively expensive. A lunch for four at an upscale restaurant costs ₹3,000–4,000. Watching a movie in a multiplex for four can easily set you back ₹3,000. Little Italy ,Karavalli and the like have replaced Saravana Bhavan,Sukhnivas etc.
    8. Travel: Flights have become more expensive over the past year, and nobody seems willing to endure train journeys anymore. For the upper-middle class, at least one international holiday per year has become a necessity.
    9. Credit Card Dependency: Many families have fallen into the trap of credit card aristocracy, drowning in EMIs and usurious interest rates due to rollover payments.
    Double-income households have enabled this lifestyle, but they faced a harsh reality during COVID with the threat of job losses. Consumerism, they say, built America—but even Elon Musk has warned of a potential bankruptcy in the U.S.

    In India, credit card defaults have increased to 1.8%, amounting to ₹2.7 lakh crores as of June 2024. Net credit losses for credit cards have surged to 5–6%. In our time, we were taught to live within our means and save diligently. India once boasted the highest savings rate, but those days are long gone. With savings not matching inflation and credit card aristocracy, the middle class, it seems, will remain middle class.
     
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