The hidden cost of young urban living

After handsome paychecks and upscale living, why are some urban youths starving themselves and skipping on paying rent We talk to millennials and life coaches to unravel the ‘urban poverty’ phenomenon

The last two days saw the term “urban poverty” heavily trending on social media following an article that went viral on the subject. According to that piece, the urban poor mostly constitute of 20-something young professionals, grappling with their newfound freedom in a big city, while trying hard to keep up appearances and cutting corners on things as basic as two square meals a day. “Poverty” seems an interesting term to define a condition of living beyond one’s means. According to the National Sample Survey Organisation data available for 2011-12, those who earn more than Rs 30,000 a month, fall in the top one percent of the Indian population, as far as earnings go. For people belonging to the top one per cent of the nation’s population, it’s interesting that these young professionals are actually left scourging for spare change towards the end of the month, after the better half of it was spent on perhaps a cuppa in Starbucks or a pair of shoes that were too hard to resist.

“Many of my friends earn more than I do, and there are only so many times you can say no to them before its starts sounding like an excuse.” says Aditi Gupta, a 26 year old assistant cinematographer who makes about Rs 1,000 a day, but only when she’s on shoots. “I don’t have any family here, so friends are even more important and mine are the type who like going out.”

Neha Kapoor, marketing manager and a lifestyle blogger agrees that splurging on things that aren’t required poses a challenge for these youngsters. “In a way, success is defined today by which phone you’re using, whether you have a car or not or which area of the city you are living in. Personally speaking, I have not let that affect me. I have been pretty unapologetic about where I live and how I live my life. I would rather spend on experiences than materialistic things,” she says.

Aditi has no qualms admitting that she does struggle with finances ever so often. “I’m quite often broke before payday, I don’t keep a track of money I spend and then there’s nothing left. I once ended up spending 6,000 in a week, which is quite a big amount for me,” she says.

Financial management is a vital aspect of life, but youngsters, especially in India have a limited understanding of it, say life coaches. Life coach Veechi Shah says that work hard and party hard is a mantra people live by now. “The concept of saving doesn’t exist anymore and they seem comfortable living like this,” she says. “This trend of monthly survival, I think, is inherited from the west. India has transited from savings and investment to live-in-the-moment lifestyle,” says life coach Priya Kumar.

Often these youngsters are hesitant to borrow money from parents, lest the latter think less of their children. “I think my parents will think I’m completely irresponsible if I ask them for money. Unless I have absolutely zero money, I won’t talk to my parents about money matters,” says Aditi. Neha says that she has asked her parents for money, but only when she’s been between jobs. “Otherwise I even completely funded my own MBA education,” she says.

Priya Kumar points out that the inability to confide in one’s parents is a trouble most youngsters face. “Since they can’t go hungry forever, they borrow and then they’re so far into debt, even parents can’t help them. They must not be invasive though,” she says. Shah explains that the reason why most youngsters are unable to bring their parents up to speed with their issues is the chasm between the lifestyle in their hometowns versus that in the city. “Parents would never agree to their lifestyle choices and spending habits. However, ideally parents should not get involved in this as their child has stepped out to earn and live on their own. They can advise, but that’s all,” she says.

But this trial for young professionals is something they are doomed to go through. “When my juniors are with me, I understand that they probably don’t make as much as I do and which is something I would expect my seniors to keep in mind as well, when they’re with me,” explains Neha, talking about bringing in awareness when it comes to colleagues.

The term ‘urban poverty’ however does not go down well with these youngsters. Aditi says, “I think using that term is disrespectful to the people who are actually poor. Comparing people who splurge too much with people who are actually struggling so hard for some money just seems insulting to their plight,” sums up Gupta.