A couple’s detailed breakdown of their monthly household has gone viral on Instagram, triggering a wider conversation around the rising cost of living in the city.
The video was shared by Anurag Srivastava, a Remote Senior Data Engineer, who posted a clip explaining how much he and his wife spend every month while living in Bengaluru. The couple clarified in the caption that the estimate did not include or investments.
The caption of the video read, “Our Rough Monthly Expenses as a Married Couple Living in Bengaluru , in this i have not included EMIs and Investments.”
The clip has now amassed over 760,000 views on Instagram, with social media users debating whether the monthly spending was realistic, affordable or incomplete.
Check out the video here:
Rent And Groceries Take Biggest Share
In the video, the couple revealed that their monthly rent stands at ₹20,000 for a 2BHK apartment in Bengaluru.
“Here’s our monthly expenses as a married couple living in Bangalore,” the couple said at the beginning of the video.
“So, 20,000 is our rent and we live in 2BHK and this is our biggest expense of the month,” they added.
However, rent was not the only major cost. The couple also spends another ₹20,000 on groceries every month, largely because they prefer what they described as healthier food options.
“Then comes our groceries, that is 20,000 again because we eat majorly healthy foods and those are expensive, high protein foods etc,” the couple said in the video.
The spending breakdown also included utility and household expenses. According to the couple, their average water bill comes to nearly ₹700 every month.
“So, next is water bill which is 700 on average and it depends on your consumption,” they said.
They also spend ₹2,500 on house help.
“Then comes our Rs. 2,500 that is on house help in which we take help from our brother,” they added.
Travel, Dining And OTT Bills
The couple said both of them work remotely, which significantly reduces daily commuting costs. However, they still spend on fuel and cab rides during the month.
“So, we both work remotely so we don’t have to travel that much but for petrol, when I have a bike, I have to pay Rs. 2,000 for petrol and Rs. 2,000 for cab,” they explained.
Apart from essentials, the couple also allocates money for outings and entertainment.
“Then, when we are going outside, it is around Rs. 5,000,” they said.
The video further revealed that the couple spends nearly ₹2,000 on OTT subscriptions every month.
“And the last is OTT which is Rs. 2,000 because we have multiple apps with us so it goes around Rs. 2,000,” they added.
Based on the figures shared in the video, the couple’s estimated monthly expenditure comes to around ₹54,200, excluding investments and EMIs.
Internet Reacts
The video quickly drew reactions from Instagram users, many of whom compared the expenses with their own monthly budgets in Bengaluru.
One user wrote, “That’s actually decent last time I saw a couple spending 10 lakh a month.”
Another commented, “So affordable guys that too in Bangalore.. Nice one.”
Some users were curious about how much a household should ideally spend in relation to income.
“this expense should be what percentage of your combined salary..??” one comment read.
Others praised the couple for presenting what they believed was a realistic budget.
“For the first time some Bangalore guys are actually genuine,” another user wrote.
However, several people also pointed out that many regular expenses appeared to be missing from the calculation.
“What about clothes, hospital, mobile recharge, kabhi kabhi ghar ke liye kuch appliance or bike service, travel to home, money to parents etc,” another user commented.