When I was earning ₹28,000 per month at my first job in Mumbai I was saving zero. I told myself it was impossible to save on that salary in that city. My rent was ₹9,000, my food was ₹6,000, my travel was ₹3,000 — the numbers did not leave room.
A colleague who earned almost exactly the same amount was saving ₹8,000 every month. Same city, same rough salary, completely different outcome. I asked her how.
She showed me her notebook. Not an app, not a spreadsheet — a small notebook where she wrote every expense every day. That habit alone, she said, made her think twice before spending because she knew she would have to write it down.
I started the notebook. Within three months I was saving ₹7,000 per month. Here is exactly how.
The Honest Starting Point — Know Where Money Is Going
Most people who cannot save have no idea where their money actually goes. They know the big categories — rent, groceries, travel — but the small daily spending is invisible.
For one week write down every single expense no matter how small. ₹20 chai, ₹150 lunch, ₹40 parking, ₹300 Amazon impulse buy — everything. At the end of the week add it up.
Most people are genuinely shocked by two categories when they do this: food outside home and small online purchases. These two categories together typically account for ₹3,000–₹6,000 per month that feels like it disappeared.
Food — The Biggest Controllable Expense
On a ₹30,000 salary in most Indian cities food is the largest discretionary expense after rent.
Office lunch is the biggest leak Buying lunch near the office every day costs ₹100–₹200 per meal. Five days a week, that is ₹2,000–₹4,000 per month on lunch alone. Carrying lunch from home costs approximately ₹30–₹50 per meal in raw ingredients. The saving is ₹1,500–₹3,000 per month from this one change.
I carried lunch for two years at my first job. My colleagues teased me for the first month. By the third month three of them were doing the same thing.
Weekend eating out Eating out twice a week costs ₹600–₹1,500 per outing depending on where you go and how many people split the bill. Reducing to once a week saves ₹1,200–₹3,000 per month.
This is not about never eating out. It is about eating out intentionally rather than by default.
Subscriptions — The Silent Drain
List every subscription you pay for right now:
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Hotstar
- Spotify or YouTube Premium
- Swiggy One or Zomato Pro
- Any apps on auto-renewal
Most people on ₹30,000 salaries are paying ₹800–₹1,500 per month in subscriptions they use inconsistently. A family Netflix plan shared between 4–5 people costs ₹150 per person per month instead of ₹499 alone. Spotify has a student plan for ₹59/month. Amazon Prime at ₹1,499/year works out to ₹125/month and includes Prime Video — making a separate Netflix subscription redundant for many people.
Cancel every subscription you have not actively used in the last 30 days. You can always resubscribe. Subscriptions count on inertia — the companies know most people forget about them.
Travel — Optimise Without Suffering
If you commute by cab or auto daily switching to public transport even partially saves significant money.
Mumbai local train monthly pass costs ₹200–₹400 depending on distance. Delhi Metro monthly pass costs ₹1,400–₹2,200. Both are significantly cheaper than daily Ola/Uber.
If public transport covers 80% of your commute and you use cabs only for the last mile or on late nights, monthly travel spending typically drops by ₹1,500–₹2,500.
The ₹10,000 Saving — Where It Comes From
| Change | Monthly Saving |
|---|---|
| Carry office lunch 4 days/week | ₹2,500 |
| Reduce eating out by 50% | ₹1,500 |
| Optimise subscriptions | ₹600 |
| Switch to public transport partially | ₹1,500 |
| Stop impulse online shopping | ₹1,500 |
| Reduce weekend random spending | ₹1,500 |
| Total | ₹9,100–₹10,600 |
None of these require significant sacrifice. They require awareness and one decision each.
The Most Important Habit — Pay Yourself First
Transfer ₹10,000 to a separate savings account on the 1st of every month before paying for anything else.
When you save what is left after spending you always spend everything. When you spend what is left after saving you always find a way to manage.
This single habit — automatic transfer on salary day — is the difference between people who save and people who intend to save.