u/Acrobatic-Health2681

Just wanted to share a surprising experience I had with an auto rickshaw uncle from Mumbai’s T2 airport recently. I’m not sure if this is standard practice, but I asked 2-3 other uncles who were squatted nearby and they all quoted similar fare to me maybe 50-60 rs difference.

I asked the driver how much it would cost to get to Goregaon West. He initially quoted ₹900 for the trip, which immediately felt steep. After some negotiation, he brought it down to ₹500, which I reluctantly accepted since I was tired and just wanted to get home. After he loaded my bags in the auto, he looked at me and smiled and asked "Beta, pehli baar Mumbai aa rahe ho kya? kaafi khoye hue lagte ho dekh kar". The other auto uncles listening in were laughing too. I got a bit flustered, I told him its my second time, and he told me people dont negotiate the fare and argue like I did so he told me he knew I was new here. I was just so confused like we always negotiate fares for autos right?

But that wasn’t the end of it. Once we reached the airport’s exit gate, the driver asked me to pay the airport parking fee of ₹450, which apparently auto drivers have to pay just to enter or wait at the terminal pickup area. I wasn’t expecting this at all, and it wasn’t mentioned upfront. So in total, I ended up paying ₹950 for my trip.

Just wanted to share a surprising experience I had with an auto rickshaw uncle from Mumbai’s T2 airport recently. I’m not sure if this is standard practice, but I asked 2-3 other uncles who were squatted nearby and they all quoted similar fare to me maybe 50-60 rs difference.

I asked the driver how much it would cost to get to Goregaon West. He initially quoted ₹900 for the trip, which immediately felt steep. After some negotiation, he brought it down to ₹500, which I reluctantly accepted since I was tired and just wanted to get home. After he loaded my bags in the auto, he looked at me and smiled and asked "Beta, pehli baar Mumbai aa rahe ho kya? kaafi khoye hue lagte ho dekh kar". The other auto uncles listening in were laughing too. I got a bit flustered, I told him its my second time, and he told me people dont negotiate the fare and argue like I did so he told me he knew I was new here. I was just so confused like we always negotiate fares for autos right?

But that wasn’t the end of it. Once we reached the airport’s exit gate, the driver asked me to pay the airport parking fee of ₹450, which apparently auto drivers have to pay just to enter or wait at the terminal pickup area. I wasn’t expecting this at all, and it wasn’t mentioned upfront. So in total, I ended up paying ₹950 for my trip.

Current fixed is ~57.5L and annual bonus averages around 20L, so total comp comes to ~75L p.a.

I’m currently living on rent and paying ~40k/month for a 1 BHK. Over the last few years, I’ve mostly focused on work/career and invested consistently, but I haven’t really optimized taxes seriously yet. Wanted to understand what people in similar income brackets do to legally reduce tax outgo and structure finances better.

Current portfolio allocation roughly looks like this (this totals to about 1.1 cr)

• Mutual Funds: ~24%
• PF: ~26%
• Savings Account: ~14%
• NPS: ~10%
• Gold: ~8%
• Equities: ~17%

A few things I’m exploring:

• Old vs new regime at this income
• HRA/80C/NPS optimization
• Whether buying property actually helps
• Best investments from a post-tax perspective
• How people structure wealth creation beyond salary

Not looking for anything shady and just want to understand how high and well to do salaried folks efficiently manage taxes in India.

Would appreciate advice from people in finance/consulting/tech with similar compensation bands to provide some color. Thank you!

I'm 23M, 1.75m tall and weigh about 56kg. I've noticed that a lot of my colleagues at office and friends (especially those who’ve been working a few years longer than me in desk jobs) seem to have put on noticeable weight. Many are a bit “rounded” now and even with a belly, if I can put it that way. Not necessarily obese, just visibly heavier and chubby with a round belly.

Personally, I am a bit miffed about being skinny. I want to gain around 8–10kg. I’ve always had a fast metabolism, and no matter what I eat, I seem to stay slim. Funny thing is, I brought this up to a senior friend of mine (who is definitely on the overweight side with a big booming belly) while we were out eating. I asked how he gained so much weight since college when he was in shape. He laughed, patted my cheeks and shoved a cheese burger in my mouth as I was talking and said "Eat three of those every night, drink a big fat glass of buffalo milk and then some more to fill up my belly to the max, sleep deeply like a baby for long hours right after, and stop going for runs, kid!”
He was half-joking, but also kind of serious as he made me gulp down a full glass of whole milk in front of him that night and fed me a couple of donuts he got from his office. I’m starting to think I need to approach this more intentionally, but I’d really appreciate advice from older guys who’ve been through this stage already.

Landed in Chennai early morning around 6 am and was heading to my friend’s place in OMR. Waited almost 20 minutes for a cab but got a bit impatient, so I walked out of the airport.

That’s when I saw this auto uncle, probably in his 50s, stout and big build, sitting on the footpath and looking at me for a while. After a few seconds he came over, took my bags and made me sit in his auto very naturally

From the start he kept talking continuously, but in a very nice way. Really sweet person. He was asking me where I’m from, my age, what I do, everything. Somehow it didn’t feel irritating at all, just very friendly and easy to talk to.

Midway through the ride he got a phone call, and I overheard him saying he hasn’t been sleeping properly for almost 2 weeks, managing only 3 or 4 hours of sleep daily. I felt really bad for him and asked him why he didnt sleep and he told me he needs to pay for his grandson school fee since his son had passed away so working over time to make it work. I felt so gutted, but couldnt really help him much just thought what little I could do for him at that point.

By the time we were nearing my stop, I felt like I should help in some small way. He mentioned he was short of around 5000 rs for the fees and other liabilities for the month. I only had 3000 cash with me since my phone was dead, so no UPI. I gave him that and told him to take some rest, you can manage balance in few days easily now.

His reaction was something else. His face just lit up. He patted my cheeks and said he felt like he was seeing his son. That moment felt very emotional. He also put some namam that he was carrying on my forehead and cheeks and blessed me saying I will do well in life by being so kind.

Before leaving, he took my phone number and even took a photo with me saying he will share to his family. He said he’ll return the money next month once some funds come through. We both left feeling very happy. Such a simple moment, but it really stayed with me.

Hope the auto uncle is doing well now. Maybe someday I’ll see him again at the airport too you never know..

Landed in Chennai early morning around 6 am and was heading to my friend’s place in OMR. Waited almost 20 minutes for a cab but got a bit impatient, so I walked out of the airport.

That’s when I saw this auto uncle, probably in his 50s, stout and big build, sitting on the footpath and looking at me for a while. After a few seconds he came over, took my bags and made me sit in his auto very naturally

From the start he kept talking continuously, but in a very nice way. Really sweet person. He was asking me where I’m from, my age, what I do, everything. Somehow it didn’t feel irritating at all, just very friendly and easy to talk to.

Midway through the ride he got a phone call, and I overheard him saying he hasn’t been sleeping properly for almost 2 weeks, managing only 3 or 4 hours of sleep daily. I felt really bad for him and asked him why he didnt sleep and he told me he needs to pay for his grandson school fee since his son had passed away so working over time to make it work. I felt so gutted, but couldnt really help him much just thought what little I could do for him at that point.

By the time we were nearing my stop, I felt like I should help in some small way. He mentioned he was short of around 5000 rs for the fees and other liabilities for the month. I only had 3000 cash with me since my phone was dead, so no UPI. I gave him that and told him to take some rest, you can manage balance in few days easily now.

His reaction was something else. His face just lit up. He patted my cheeks and said he felt like he was seeing his son. That moment felt very emotional. He also put some namam that he was carrying on my forehead and cheeks and blessed me saying I will do well in life by being so kind.

Before leaving, he took my phone number and even took a photo with me saying he will share to his family. He said he’ll return the money next month once some funds come through. We both left feeling very happy. Such a simple moment, but it really stayed with me.

Hope the auto uncle is doing well now. Maybe someday I’ll see him again at the airport too you never know..

Hey everyone, I’m new to hypnosis and had a question.

I’ve been going to a hypnotherapist mainly to help with sleep as I’ve been struggling a lot lately and only getting around 3 to 4 hours a night (sometimes less), so I’m pretty desperate to improve that.

I’ve had a few initial sessions already, and he told me I’m very quite shy and reserved in my interactions with him, which apparently makes it harder for me to be hypnotized in the usual way.

For my next session, they mentioned that I might be too tense/uptight, and that having a glass of wine or 3 beers would do the trick and get me ready to be knocked out nicely.

Is this a normal or safe recommendation? Has anyone here tried hypnosis after drinking, and did it affect your experience? I desperately need to fall asleep so would do anything he tells me at this point I feel.

Would really appreciate any thoughts or experiences.

I am looking for a grounded perspective on a major financial decision and wanted to lay out my situation in detail. My current net worth is about ₹1.5 crore with ₹45 lakh in mutual funds, ₹30 lakh in direct equities, ₹25 lakh in PF, ₹10 lakh in NPS, ₹10 lakh in gold, and ₹30 lakh in savings. My monthly in hand income is about ₹2.6 lakh after taxes and all deductions. I am considering buying a 3 BHK apartment in Baashyam Eternity in OMR, Chennai with a size of around 2326 sq ft for approximately ₹3.4 crore, with expected possession in 2029. The tentative plan is to rent it out once it is ready and possibly move in after around ten years when I return to Chennai to settle down. This would likely involve taking on a significant home loan, and given the size of the purchase relative to my current net worth, I am trying to think through whether this is a prudent step at this stage and how it fits into my broader financial trajectory.

What made the interaction notable was how the sales manager, a senior person likely in his late 50s, very smoothly steered the conversation over time from general project details into my personal financial situation. The discussion started with standard questions around budget and preferences, but gradually shifted into my income, savings, investments, and long term plans. He also made it more personal by mentioning that he has a son around my age and said that people in our generation tend to be too conservative and hesitant to take big financial calls. Before I fully realized it, I had ended up sharing a fairly detailed breakdown of my finances and work profile. Based on this, he confidently assessed that I would have no issue servicing a large loan and even suggested that, given my salary and career trajectory, I could close the loan in a relatively short span if I stayed disciplined. The way he framed it made the purchase feel not just manageable but almost like a logical next step. He is strongly encouraging me to close within this week, offering additional incentives such as an extra ground floor car park and other perks tied to immediate booking, while also hinting at potential price increases in the next phase. Well, he isn't wrong it is a very attractive price at 11399 per sq ft and would probably go over 12000 next month given its been the same price till now since their launch 6 months ago. At the same time, I am weighing concerns around the purchase being more than twice my net worth, the concentration risk of allocating heavily toward real estate, the long construction timeline until 2029, and the relatively moderate rental yields in Chennai. I am trying to assess whether this is a well timed move aligned with my financial situation or whether it would be more sensible to continue investing and revisit such a purchase later.