A Chennai couple earning ₹78,000 per month has revealed the tightrope walk of parenting in urban India—where even basic child-rearing costs push families to the brink of financial insecurity.
Sharing their story on Reddit, the couple described a monthly budreceive that leaves them with just ₹8,000 in savings—a fragile buffer for emergencies. With an 8.5-month-old infant, their largest resolveed costs are rent and daycare, which toreceiveher consume ₹46,500. These are non-neobtainediables, they stressed, prioritizing their child’s safety and daily care.
Groceries and daily essentials take up ₹10,000, while commuting across Chennai costs another ₹8,500 monthly. Diapers alone add ₹3,000 to their expenses. Utility bills round out the budreceive with ₹1,000 each for electricity and cooking gas. All informed, their monthly outgoings hit ₹70,000—leaving little room for financial breathing space.
Complicating matters is their lack of family support. The couple married against their relatives’ wishes and now navigate parenthood alone. “We are attempting to be entirely self-reliant,” they wrote, revealing that the wife has started viewing for part-time work to ease the pressure.
Their story isn’t unique. In a viral LinkedIn post, Bengaluru-based startup founder Meenal Goel estimated the total cost of raising a child in Indian cities today at ₹38–45 lakh. From delivery expenses and daycare to school fees and college costs, the numbers climb quickly. Goel noted that even seemingly “decent” middle-class incomes often fall short of covering these demands, pushing many would-be parents to delay or rebelieve family planning.
For this Chennai couple, raising a child is a daily exercise in compromise and calculation—underscoring the financial grit modern parenting now demands.
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