Click to play videoNew Delhi: The economic slowdown has forced people to cut down on their expenses. Some have postponed holiday plans, others have shelved plans to buy a house and while some have even postponed their marriage.
Amit Das, a 29-year-old manager with a hospitality institute, has put on hold the most important event of his life - his wedding. He lost close to Rs 8 lakh in the stock market six months ago.
Moreover, his fiancée Pratibha who is presently employed in Mumbai has been struggling to find a new job in Delhi.
''I had invested some money in mutual funds and with market crash I have lost 70 per cent of the money that I had invested. So I have lost lot of money in last six month... around Rs 7-8 lakh," reveals Das
Even those who are earning more than Rs 1 lakh per month have been forced to cut down on spending.
The monthly income of PR professional Gunjan bagga nd her husband is Rs 1,65,000 and they have no children.
Gunjan used to spend close to Rs 10,000 per month on her shopping even eight months ago> But now, she says, she is spending in moderation. She and her husband have even decided to put their annual vacation on hold to save some money.
"EMIs are going up, cost of living is going up but income is stagnant. When we get appraised it will be a breather. But again how much appraisal we will get and how good it would be is very subjective. So we want to save for a rainy day tomorrow as the picture is not very rosy today," says Gunjan.
Meanwhile, the slowdown has hurt the lower-income group even harder.
Ram Nivas has been a driver for over a decade now. He has not been directly impacted by the economic downturn, but he has put his plans of buying a bike on hold.
He's also told his family to cut down on their day-to-day expenses and has also put on hold his son's school admission.
"I have told my family to cut down on expenditure. Anything can happen tomorrow. I don't know anything about job. Anything can happen. So it's better to spend less. If earlier I used to spend Rs 100, now I try to spend Rs 50. I want to save money. It will help me," says the 32-year-old driver who earns Rs 8,500 per month and is the only earning member in a family of five
The economic downturn has meant different things to different people. While for some Indians it has meant job losses, for some pay cuts and for some a loss in savings, for a bulk of India it's really been the fear of the future that has driven many to cut back their expenses, in an uncertain market.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.