Don’t let rent eat your paycheck: A starter guide
₹28,700 in monthly rent.Early-career professionals across cities told Mint how they navigate this balancing act—and what the cost of simply getting started looks like.For 23-year-old Khyati Sood, relocating from Delhi to Pune for her first job as a data engineer meant making a series of careful decisions. “There were a lot of trade-offs,” she said. “Whether I should stay with strangers, give up an attached bathroom, or skip having a balcony to reduce rent.”Pune, compared to other major metros, offered some relief.
By making conscious compromises, Sood has kept her rent at around 15% of her income—well below the conventional threshold. But that experience is not universal.In Mumbai, where rental costs are among the highest in the country, 26-year-old associate product manager Rohit Grover allocates about 30% of his in-hand salary toward rent. He shares a 2BHK with two other people.
When utilities and other housing-related expenses are factored in, that number climbs to nearly 40%, he said. Yet, for Grover, the decision is deliberate.“I live about a kilometre from my workplace,” he said. “I consciously pay more to avoid long commutes.
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