Managing debt can be overwhelming, especially when there is no financial safety net to fall back on. A recent Reddit post from a 31-year-old woman has struck a chord with thousands online after she opened up about her struggle to balance two loans, household expenses, rent, and caring for her mother on a monthly salary of ₹70,000.
The woman, who lives in a Tier-2 Indian city with her mother, said she is unmarried, has no savings, owns no property, and is the sole earning member of the family. Her emotional post, titled "Need help, don't know what to do anymore," highlighted the financial stress that has left her unable to sleep properly.
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‘Every Month Is About Somehow Getting Through’
According to the Reddit post, the woman earns ₹70,000 a month but spends nearly half of it servicing debt. She revealed that she has two active loans:
A ₹13 lakh loan taken in December 2024 with an EMI of ₹23,000 and a tenure of 84 months at 12% interest.
A ₹2.5 lakh loan taken in April 2025 with an EMI of ₹10,000 and a tenure of 30 months at 9% interest.
Together, the two EMIs add up to ₹33,000 every month, leaving her with around ₹37,000 for all other expenses. That remaining amount covers rent, groceries, utility bills, her mother's medicines and other household costs.
"Some months I genuinely don't know how we'll manage the last week," she wrote.
The woman clarified that the loans were not taken for luxury purchases. Instead, she said they were the result of circumstances and decisions she now regrets.
The ₹5 Lakh Loan Plan She Is Considering
Looking for a way to ease the pressure, the woman shared a financial strategy suggested by someone she knows. The proposal involves taking a fresh loan of ₹5 lakh at an interest rate of 6.5%.
She explained that the money would be used in three ways:
₹2 lakh to close the smaller ₹2.5 lakh loan early.
₹2 lakh to be invested in a fixed deposit earning around 8% interest.
₹1 lakh to cover urgent household expenses.
The logic behind the plan is that the new loan carries a lower interest rate than the existing 9% loan, while the fixed deposit could potentially generate a higher return than the interest being paid.
She also hopes that closing the smaller loan would eventually free up the ₹10,000 EMI and improve her monthly cash flow. However, she was unsure whether the strategy actually made financial sense and turned to Reddit for guidance.
