Puisa Kotha Hunibo? Is your lifestyle in sync with your income?

I was all set to write about crypto this week. But a late-night conversation with friends changed things.
We were joking about who has to treat the others next, when we should take a trip together, and how to budget it. We laughed about how our incomes seem to disappear faster than we can count them. Then the conversation turned into a brainstorming session about this balance we all try to keep between income and lifestyle. And that’s how this piece became a reflective one instead.
It made me wonder: Is our lifestyle in sync with what we earn? Do you see it too?
On the surface, it seems fine, we earn, we spend, we manage. But one unexpected expense and suddenly, the balance feels shaky. Life keeps throwing little pressures and temptations and before we notice, our lifestyle starts running ahead of our income. There’s this quiet, nagging urge to keep up appearances:to friends, family, or online, sometimes stretching ourselves more than we should, even if it means sacrificing what we really need for tomorrow. Instant gratification takes the lead, long-term gains get pushed aside. And we barely realize it until we feel the pinch.
When salary comes, we start ticking off those lifestyle choices: clothes, trips, dinners, without thinking much about the long term game.
It’s not bad spending habits but maybe it’s lack of a plan?
 We mistake income growth for wealth growth. A bigger salary feels like a bigger life, but without savings and investments, it’s just a bigger cycle of spending.
 We compare too much. Lifestyle isn’t just about what we want anymore. It’s about keeping up with peers, Instagram reels, and silent competition.
 We don’t see the future cost. That impulse buy today means fewer choices tomorrow, skipped savings for something you wanted, or scrambling when unexpected expenses show up.
These are questions I’ve been asking myself too. The goal isn’t to give up lifestyle. It’s to make sure it doesn’t outrun our income.
We need spaces to ask, share, and figure things out, just like friends do. No lectures. No judgment. Just real conversations around money. That’s why, Moneybar on Playstore/Appstore matters. Sign up and request to join!
Don’t be the last one to figure this out. Let’s find that balance together.

The original published column can be found at: Is your lifestyle in sync with your income