We’ve stopped using our car, let driver go

By: Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey and Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay
KOLKATA: On account of fuel costs alone my budget exceeded by Rs 6,000 in the last few months as I had to use my car frequently. Now I have stopped taking my car out. The driver is now off. Not only petrol prices, the ever-rising costs of accessories and lubricants have added to my woes. I will have to take an app cab to take my wife to the doctor, even though the fare has gone up by 15%.
Retired people like me are the worst hit. Our earnings from the small savings have nose-dived because of successive cuts in interest — reduction in bank interest rate from 10% to 5.3%, company deposit rate from 11% to 6.3% and senior citizen’s savings from 10% to 7.4%. The price of every essential edible item has gone up too, since rising fuel prices affect each commodity price. The kitchen budget is literally on fire and we kept cutting corners to strike a balance. We even had to dismiss the domestic help.
We have cut down heavily on food, clothing, gifting and entertainment expenditure. In clothing, I no longer use the brands which I used to wear. We have the habit of going to theatres, but that, too, has stopped. My daughter is studying abroad and I have been forced to reduce the financial support as well.
My wife and I are dependent on medicines, but I now have to look for cheaper varieties of the same formula. I broke my glasses and could not buy the progressive lens I used to wear. Instead, I use two pairs of spectacles — one to read and another for distance viewing. Even the prices of pet medicines have gone up. I pay through my nose to meet my pet’s medical expenses. The income tax benefits for senior citizens are paltry compared to our loss of income. We now use AC sparingly.
The only positive fallout, according to my wife, is my cutting down on cigarettes and alcohol.
Ganguly, a retired citizen, lives with wife Purna, a homemaker and their pet. Their daughter studies abroad. Ganguly spoke to Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey and Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay