r/Frugal_Ind

I saw a post in my city sub that a person went to a parlour and then got scammed for getting haircut for Rs 1500 and some dry scalp treatment without consent for another Rs 1500 totalling 3K.

So this prompted me to post this. I am getting haircut from non branded shops with AC and Hair wash including Rs 150. (Non Metro).

How much are you guys paying? Do visiting a parlour and paying so high prices worth? Trying to understand from frugal POV.

My mom is a housewife she lives with my father in my hometown bhavnagar meanwhile I'm living alone in ahmedabad. I want to gift her something that can make her life easier. If you have any suggestions plz feel free to drop it.

I was considering dishwasher for her but again for two people it's kind of too much and she won't use it as well.

Though i am firm on my decision it kinda feels unsettling for my frugal side i guess. Its difficult to explain maybe people in this would understand what i am feeling. When i discussed it with my friends they just brushed it off saying "dude you earn so much, live a little" which i agree with too. But at the same time i feel that i am entering living below means to splurging. maybe i will get used to it once it get it.

So i was brought up in a very earn to meet ends family. lived in huts, then rented house, dad owned a pan beedi shop/small hotel in a tier3 city. and was also out of work for 4-5 years and still worked on bettering our lives and savings with whatever work was available,. All we have known is frugality and saving money

Dad mom saved, bought home and paid for our studies, hostels and what not.

I became a software engineer and my brother has becoming a doctor. i got married and wife is also a doctor(fresher). I earn 50LPA now started at 4LPA. still i always saved a lot, made investments. at times bought used furniture. used electronics where ever i could.

I have decided to buy a car since we need it and we will need a driver for multiple trips for our office travel of entire family and other needs. now we are using public transport and it is getting hectic and family is unable to spend time with each other. At this point it feels like necessity. But this also means the expenses are going to increase a lot. Car, Driver, fuel & maintenance.

Also, if you guys have any advice on owning a car and being frugal at the time to not overspend do let me know.

Car price - 6L(used) .

Driver cost is around ~20k per month.

fuel would be 15K per month(120kms trip everyday) .

maintenance would be 20k for every 6 months if nothing major breaks down.

P.S wifey is going to help out she said but will have to see.

Edit: people here are assuming that i am earning 50LPA i am well off. But i am earning this since only 2 years. i mentioned that i started my carier at 4LPA. it took 8 years to reach here. i don't have 4cr as my asset balance. and i have many responsibilities.

4 years into marraige and now i have 1 year old, my wife is after me to buy a family car.

Issue is, i find it as depreciating asset, given the mumbai traffic, and one a month weekend long drive with the kid, i dont find worth is to block in 8 L + yearly recurring expenses. plus if i buy a basic car, it will become a matter of prestiege within the family that i lack money.

Not sure how to handle this, plus hiring a car for weekend easily cost me 8k + fuel + toll, which my mind would not allow me to spend here as well.

Please note, currently i am single earner, i dont have rent or any emi, staying in an decent locality as well, but monthly expenses are quite in control.

I own a bike...200 cc, but its difficult to go around that for longer distance with the kid and wife.

So please help me with this deliema ?

i do all my shopping on dmart, yesterday i checked shampoo there, it was 1400 , with 1 on 1 offer. it felt too high to me.

checked amazon and same shampoo was available for 670 , so i ordered it and patted myself on back.

guess what , price is 590 on amazon today.

😞

Need a TV under ₹25k–26k in India.

Priority is durability, longevity, and after-sales service.

My conditions:

FHD/UHD/4K, any is fine

If Android/Google TV, then no Chinese brand

If non-Android, then only Samsung or LG

Want something reliable for long-term use, not just good specs

Please share real user experience on service, repair, lag, panel issues, and long-term use

Which one would you trust most in this budget?

The thing is, I had two Panasonic TVs. Both eventually stopped working. One lasted for about four years, but its OS was terrible. Apart from YouTube, the other apps were obsolete for the Indian audience.

Then we purchased a 43-inch Panasonic Google TV, but its panel failed within the warranty period. Later, it failed again, but since we informed the dealer, he replaced the panel. Now the panel has failed again for the third time.

I would like something that will last at least 7+ years.

p.s. mods please don't remove this, I post on Mega-thread but no reply.

Recently, I started investing in shares again and last month I booked around ₹24k profit after deductions.

Instead of reinvesting all of it, I used a part of it for a short solo road trip.

Trying to make travelling feel financially sustainable has honestly helped me enjoy trips more guilt-free.

Breakdown:

Udaipur to Khimsar

(Around 720 km round trip)

Fuel and tolls: ₹5.5k

(Car gave around 17-18 km/l average)

Stay for 2 nights: ₹8k

Food and chai stops: ₹1.5k

Activities/random expenses: ₹2k

Total trip cost came to roughly ₹17k.

I know investing profits are never guaranteed, so I never plan trips assuming future gains. But whenever I book decent profits, I sometimes use a small part of it for experiences instead of increasing lifestyle expenses.

Feels mentally better than randomly ordering gadgets online :)

Curious if anyone else here also has similar hobbies/travel/fun spending rules?

Saw a post in the Bangalore sub about Gas delivery guys demanding ₹150 delivery charges (50 per floor).

Here’s the thing: LPG pricing already includes doorstep delivery. You’re not supposed to pay anything extra. Tips are fine but they’re voluntary, not mandatory, and definitely shouldn’t be demanded.

I usually give ₹30. Once I only had ₹50, and the delivery guy didn’t return the balance even after I asked. I raised a complaint with Indane Gas, and he later came back, apologized, and returned the full amount.

This shouldn’t be normalized. Yes, they’re blue-collar workers earning modest wages, but that doesn’t justify turning a voluntary gesture into a fixed extra charges, especially for an essential service.

Are you paying anything extra for delivery?

So don't waste a single rupee. Everytime you pay for something, you're giving away your time (your life), which is limited. The only way to be free in today is to have zero costs (which is almost impossible because we need to buy clothes and food) or costs as low as possible.

See the other post on my profile for my perspective on full time jobs.

Being a frugal person I check everything to cut costs. And recently while accepting a gas cylinder delivery I thought of measuring its weight just to check if there's no scam going on. The delivery guy didn't have weighing hook. I'm not sure what the rules are pertaining to it so just accept the cylinder this time by sharing the DSC number.

But out of curiousity I weighed it on scale that I have in my home and sound that it was around 26kg. I search online and found that cylinder should be atleast 29kg that's 3kg difference.

Not sure what to make of it. Is there something I should do in this case?

Here's the context -Im sure a lot of people would know about MBAs here and how most people take loans all of that.A friend of mine got into a extremely prestigious institution and the fees is around 20 lakhs including hostel and mess everything. Now he's taking a partial loan of around 13 lakhs and financing the rest himself.

Now here's the thing-the campus is residential and since hostel and mess is included you'd think okay kitna hi personal expenses hoga. And my friend said bhai kam se kam 20/25k monthly ke to jaega in college parties travelling with friends etc.Now this shocked me-if one is taking a loan I thought his priority would be to save as such as possible and avoid all unnecessary expenses and put that entire money towards loan prepayment(there's 0 penalty on prepayment in education loan).But no the logic for almost everyone in similar situations "we Will live our life".

Ive almost always been against loans for a simple reason-loan takes away the freedom to leave job. Not only that it also takes away the freedom to switch careers and be choosy about jobs. Having talked to other people too it really shocked me how despite having loans over their head they still shell a lot of money on parties luxury travel. Nothing wrong but you could do that after clearing loans and pay that extra 2/3 lakh a year towards loan. But yeah anyone who gives such advice (I'm 27M) is seen as being bhikhari or cheap. I mean I still spend around 25k a month including rent and food and people with food and hostel sorted still want to spend 25k extra that too with a gigantic loan over their head.

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