Earning a comfortable salary doesn’t automatically lead to financial success — and one real-life example makes that clear. A client of CA Abhishek Walia earned Rs 80,000 a month for five years. His lifestyle was modest — rent, groceries, EMIs, and an occasional weekend outing. Nothing extravagant. Yet, his net worth barely moved. Despite a stable income, money always seemed to slip away. The problem wasn’t what he earned — it was how he handled it. Advertisement

The silent wealth drain

Each time his salary increased, so did his spending. A Rs 5,000 hike became a new subscription, while a Rs 10,000 raise turned into a new phone or dining upgrade. Slowly, expenses grew to match his income, leaving no room for meaningful savings. This subtle but dangerous pattern, known as lifestyle creep,

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