‘My bank balance dropped to ₹7 in 5 minutes’: Viral post exposes crushing debt cycle of urban India

Five minutes. That’s all it took for one salaried Redditor’s bank balance to nosedive from ₹43,000 to just ₹7. His breakdown—rent, EMIs, credit card payments, and overdue bills—reads like a balance sheet from modern India’s middle-class crisis. But his story isn’t rare. It’s a snapshot of a generation caught in an EMI-first, paycheck-dependent lifestyle that’s fast collapsing under the weight of debt.

In his post, the Reddit user details how his salary was consumed almost instantly. Room rent of ₹19,000, a credit card minimum payment of ₹15,000 (out of a total ₹60,000 bill), and two EMIs worth ₹10,000 left him with a deficit—and that’s before covering internet and mobile bills totaling ₹3,700. His remaining balance? ₹7.

The story struck a chord online, but financial experts say it’s far from an anomaly. Across India’s urban middle class, a dangerous trend is accelerating: rising consumption, falling savings, and a credit system that enables—and quietly traps—millions in cyclical debt.

According to RBI data, personal loans have jumped 75% in just three years. Nearly one-third of salaried individuals now spend over 33% of their income on EMIs—before even accounting for essentials like rent, food, or savings. For many, that number rises to 45%.

Saurabh Mukherjea of Marcellus Investment Managers warns that 5–10% of middle-class households are already in a full-blown debt trap. “This isn’t just borrowing for investment—this is borrowing to survive,” he said.

Analysts point to easy digital credit, stagnant wages, and status-driven spending as the core fuel. Sujay U of Perfios cautions that the “new EMI-driven lifestyle means flashy gadgets and instant gratification, but it’s debt-driven and threatens long-term financial health.”

Economist RP Gupta calls it a “ticking time bomb,” one that could slow down consumption-led growth and deepen inequality. Monish Gosar, a data scientist, put it bluntly: “Banks didn’t trap us—they offered the rope. We tied the knots.”

Household debt now stands at 41.9% of GDP. More than half of that isn’t tied to homes or cars, but to credit cards, personal loans, and “buy now, pay later” schemes—mostly for consumption, not wealth creation.

With per capita debt now averaging ₹4.8 lakh and national household savings at a 47-year low, stories like the Redditor’s aren’t personal financial flukes. They’re warning signs.