Re: Cost of Living
If you are comfortable living in Rs 25,000 per month then that is comfortable for you ... if you are only comfortable living in Rs 250,000 then that is what is comfortable for you ...
I consider those people who are living "comfortable" - as a genuine state of mind - within lower means then they are blessed people - They have a lot of barakah.
The terms "living" and "comfortable" are not absolute terms and hence carry a meaning that is specific to the eye of the beholder.
It is the age old debate regarding "need" vs "luxury" ... what is the value of "need" ??? It cannot be quantified ... An elephant has a larger stomach than we have yet it does not need to earn any money to feed it ...
A person who practices staying without learns and develops to live within tighter and tigher means ... those who practice to indulge and live without restraint find it harder and harder to live in lower incomes ...
The "cost of living" in my opinion is that it is "free" - however if we want to compare earnings then the mode average is one measure to do this and the mean average is another measure. (This is based on relative incomes)
Rs 15,000 to 20, 000 would be the mode average from what I have seen
Rs 25,000 to 30,000 would be the mean average
However if we say that "comfortable living" is defined as anything 20% above average then I would have to say ...
Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 may be a comfortable living ... which is just under a luxurious living ... perhaps ...
Anyway there is another measure ... that is the measure of "available reserves" ...
Consider Family A -
Household income is Rs 40,000 per month, they spend 35,000 and save Rs 5,000 per month ... that is a saving of 1/8th of their salary ...
On the other hand
Family B
Household income = Rs 120, 000 per month but their monthly expense is Rs 110,000 ... giving them a saving of Rs 10,000 per month which is 1/12th of their income ... Even though Family A save less, their proportion saved is higher than Family B and hence one can say they are better at living within their means than Family B. One could conclude that Family A is more comfortable than Family B ...
Hence the Comfort Factor could be a simple ratio between Saving and Income ...
Comfort Factor = (Saved Income/Income) ... which as you can see has no bearing on overall earnings, but takes into account ones own expenses relative their own circumstances.