IIT-IIM Alumnus Shares Ideal Income for Comfortable Life in India
IIT-IIM Alumnus Shares Ideal Income for Comfortable Life in India
Aviral Bhatnagar, an alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad, has stirred a heated debate on X (formerly Twitter) with his post on the ideal income for a comfortable life in India. His claims quickly went viral, with users sharing their opinions on the matter.
In his post, Bhatnagar stated that a monthly income of Rs 1.5 lakh is sufficient to live well anywhere in India. For those aspiring to enjoy luxuries such as foreign vacations, he suggested an income of Rs 2 lakh per month.
See the post here:
1.5L/month is more than enough to live well anywhere in India
— Aviral Bhatnagar (@aviralbhat) November 23, 2024
If you want more than being in the top 1% and add luxuries like foreign vacations, take it to 2L/month
You can cover this with 5% each year on a ~4.8Cr corpus, the remaining returns compound
More is good, not need
He explained that these expenses could be covered by a corpus of around Rs 4.8 crore, assuming an annual withdrawal rate of 5%. Any additional returns, he argued, would compound over time, increasing financial security.
For those who didn't follow, these are expenses and not income
— Aviral Bhatnagar (@aviralbhat) November 24, 2024
The question of pre-tax/post-tax is irrelevant
On the ambition to earn more, please feel free to aspire – though if money is your only ambition you're almost always not going to get it
Bhatnagar wrote, “1.5L/month is more than enough to live well anywhere in India. If you want more than being in the top 1% and add luxuries like foreign vacations, take it to 2L/month. You can cover this with 5% each year on a ~4.8Cr corpus, the remaining returns compound.”
Clarifying his stance, he emphasized that his calculations were based on monthly expenses, not income. He also dismissed the relevance of distinguishing between pre-tax and post-tax income in the context of financial goals.
Sharing his views on ambition he added, “Feel free to aspire for more, but if money is your only ambition, you’ll almost always fail to achieve it.”
The post has sparked diverse reactions online, with some agreeing with Bhatnagar’s perspective while others questioned the practicality of his calculations.
