For many young professionals in India, social‑media clips showing “lifestyle numbers” are as fascinating as terrifying. When a 25‑year‑old Gurgaon resident shared that he spent ₹90,000 in a single month, without any extra expenses online, audiences sat up and took notice.

Photo: Instagram/thezeroquotient
Meet Shivank Goel: The Gurgaon 25‑year‑old sharing his numbers
Shivank Goel, a 25-year-old product manager living in Gurgaon posted the reel on Instagram under the caption, “I tried to track my expenses…now I regret having awareness. Here’s how much I spent in this month as a product manager living alone in Gurgaon,” and the line that followed—“adulting in these big cities is just one long bill”.
According to his video, the rent for his 2BHK is ₹18,000, which he calls “a steal for this city,” adding that he also pays ₹2,000 for house help and ₹1,000 for electricity. He notes that subscriptions, Wi‑Fi, and his phone bill total about ₹3,000 per month, rounding out what he describes as his fixed “adulting” overheads.
Where does he spend ₹90,000
Shivank’s most interesting part of his expense breakdown was that his commute and food costs were effectively ₹0 because he “survives on office meals and cabs,” as he puts it in the video. He says, “There’s a reason I romanticise my 9‑5,” subtly hinting that work‑linked perks help him keep basic day‑to‑day costs down, even though his monthly total still feels steep.
He then lists ₹5,000 spent on groceries and protein powder, followed by ₹20,000 that he invests in SIPs, explaining that he does this “because I can’t be trusted with idle money in my account,” according to the reel. The numbers get “questionable” next, as he reveals a ₹30,000 trip that “was great” but left him shocked when he saw his bank statement.
Closing the list, he mentions a ₹10,000 “miscellaneous” category, which he describes as covering laundry, shopping, and “random 2 a.m. Amazon orders”. Adding it all up, he says his “total wallet damage” came to ₹90,000, followed by the now‑famous line: “adulting in these big cities is just one long bill”.
Why did the video go viral on Instagram
The video, shared on Instagram under his handle @thezeroquotient, quickly triggered a wave of comments that turned the post from a lifestyle reel into a mini‑debate on urban cost of living. One user wrote, “This is exactly my life in Bangalore, minus the trip but same damage every month,” while another added, “The ‘miscellaneous’ category is where all my money disappears too, this felt personal”.
Others pointed out that ₹18,000 rent for a 2BHK in Gurgaon is “insane” and “a steal,” while one person concluded, “90k without partying is wild, cities really drain you slowly,”