Why Am I Still Paying Off My Student Loans While Trying to Save for a House?

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Why Am I Still Paying Off My Student Loans While Trying to Save for a House?

Why Am I Still Paying Off My Student Loans While Trying to Save for a House?

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Sept 4

Male - age 26

Sept 4

Male - age 28

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Untitled, Ganesh Pyne, 2008

₹26,000. That's the monthly slap in the face I receive as a reminder of my five-year-old engineering degree. Even after working as a software developer in Bangalore for the past four years, I still owe ₹8 lakhs on my student loans.

When I graduated, the EMI was manageable on my starting salary of ₹42,000. But as I climbed the corporate ladder, rent and living expenses in this tech hub kept pace. Now, with a salary of ₹79,000, I thought I'd be well on my way to financial independence. Instead, I'm stuck in a vicious cycle of loan repayments and dwindling savings.

In my parents' generation, an engineering degree was a ticket to a secure government job with a pension. But for my batch, the promise was different - high-paying private sector roles that would let us live the good life. What they didn't factor in were the rising costs of urban living and the burden of education loans.

Every time I see friends from smaller towns buy their first homes, I can't help but feel jealous. Their parents, shopkeepers and farmers, could afford to support them through college. I, on the other hand, have to choose between EMI payments and building a down payment.

I've considered refinancing the loans to lower the interest rate, but the added complexity is daunting. And with talks of potential forgiveness programs, I'm hesitant to lose that safety net. So I keep making those monthly payments, watching housing prices in Bangalore climb higher and higher.

Sometimes, I wonder if I'd have been better off skipping college and joining the family's small textile business in Hubli. At least then, I'd have been able to save for my own future instead of paying for the past. This cycle of debt feels never-ending, and the dream of owning a home grows more distant with each passing year.

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Maddy

Maddy

24 Dec

24 Dec

DEAREST ANXIOUS IN BANGALORE,

Holy living hell, do I feel this letter in my bones. You're caught in that special circle of hell where "making it" somehow feels exactly like drowning. ₹79,000 a month sounds like you're living the tech dream on paper, but reality has a way of turning our golden tickets into lead weights, doesn't it?

Let's talk about that engineering degree elephant in the room. You did exactly what every uncle, aunty, and their pet parrot said would guarantee success - you became an engineer! You got the degree! You landed the job in Bangalore! You're living the Indian middle-class dream! Except the dream forgot to mention that success comes with a monthly reminder of ₹26,000 that feels like it's eating your soul for breakfast.

And oh my god, can we talk about your friends from smaller towns? I know that stomach-churning feeling of watching people who seem to have it easier sprint past you in life's marathon. Their parents could support them, while you're here doing mental gymnastics between EMIs and down payments. It's like being punished for having the audacity to believe in education as a path to a better life.

But here's what I want you to understand, my sweet worried friend: You're not actually behind. You're not failing. You're caught in a system that's gaslighting an entire generation into believing that if they can't afford both an education AND a house by 30, they've somehow fucked up. You haven't fucked up. The system is fucked up.

That fantasy about the family textile business in Hubli? I see you. When things get tough, we all have that alternative life we imagine - the one where we made the "simpler" choice. But let me tell you something: That version of you in Hubli is probably sitting in the textile shop right now, dreaming about the version of them that became a software engineer in Bangalore. The grass isn't greener; it's just covered in different kinds of shit.

Here's what I really think is happening: You're not just struggling with loan payments. You're wrestling with the gap between what you were promised and what you got. Your parents' generation had a different playbook - government jobs, pensions, affordable housing. Your generation got handed a new game with the old rules still echoing in your ears. No wonder you feel lost.

But listen to me closely: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS. You're part of a global generation dealing with this exact clusterfuck. The difference is that in India, you're also carrying the weight of family expectations, cultural pressure, and that crushing sense that if you're not matching your parents' timeline for life achievements, you're somehow falling behind.

Want to know what's really brave? Continuing to build your future while paying for your past. That's what you're doing. Every month, when you make that EMI payment, you're not just paying off a loan - you're investing in the person you're becoming. Yes, it feels like it's taking forever. Yes, it sucks that housing prices in Bangalore seem to be in a race to the moon. But you're still moving forward.

Here's your homework:

1. Stop comparing your financial journey to people who started from different places. Their race isn't your race.

2. Look into loan refinancing options - yes, it's complex, but so is paying higher interest rates for the next several years.

3. Give yourself permission to be angry about this situation. It's okay to acknowledge that the system is broken without believing that you are.

Most importantly: Stop seeing your current situation as a failure state. You're not stuck; you're in transition. This phase of your life - the paying-off-debt phase - isn't a detour from your real life. It IS your real life, and it's teaching you things about resilience, persistence, and adaptation that your friends with their ready-made down payments will never learn.

You're going to be okay. Not because everything will magically work out, but because you're already showing the kind of grit and self-awareness it takes to navigate this messy, complicated world. Keep going. Keep building. Keep believing in the future you're working toward, even when it feels impossible.

Maddy

DEAREST ANXIOUS IN BANGALORE,

Holy living hell, do I feel this letter in my bones. You're caught in that special circle of hell where "making it" somehow feels exactly like drowning. ₹79,000 a month sounds like you're living the tech dream on paper, but reality has a way of turning our golden tickets into lead weights, doesn't it?

Let's talk about that engineering degree elephant in the room. You did exactly what every uncle, aunty, and their pet parrot said would guarantee success - you became an engineer! You got the degree! You landed the job in Bangalore! You're living the Indian middle-class dream! Except the dream forgot to mention that success comes with a monthly reminder of ₹26,000 that feels like it's eating your soul for breakfast.

And oh my god, can we talk about your friends from smaller towns? I know that stomach-churning feeling of watching people who seem to have it easier sprint past you in life's marathon. Their parents could support them, while you're here doing mental gymnastics between EMIs and down payments. It's like being punished for having the audacity to believe in education as a path to a better life.

But here's what I want you to understand, my sweet worried friend: You're not actually behind. You're not failing. You're caught in a system that's gaslighting an entire generation into believing that if they can't afford both an education AND a house by 30, they've somehow fucked up. You haven't fucked up. The system is fucked up.

That fantasy about the family textile business in Hubli? I see you. When things get tough, we all have that alternative life we imagine - the one where we made the "simpler" choice. But let me tell you something: That version of you in Hubli is probably sitting in the textile shop right now, dreaming about the version of them that became a software engineer in Bangalore. The grass isn't greener; it's just covered in different kinds of shit.

Here's what I really think is happening: You're not just struggling with loan payments. You're wrestling with the gap between what you were promised and what you got. Your parents' generation had a different playbook - government jobs, pensions, affordable housing. Your generation got handed a new game with the old rules still echoing in your ears. No wonder you feel lost.

But listen to me closely: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS. You're part of a global generation dealing with this exact clusterfuck. The difference is that in India, you're also carrying the weight of family expectations, cultural pressure, and that crushing sense that if you're not matching your parents' timeline for life achievements, you're somehow falling behind.

Want to know what's really brave? Continuing to build your future while paying for your past. That's what you're doing. Every month, when you make that EMI payment, you're not just paying off a loan - you're investing in the person you're becoming. Yes, it feels like it's taking forever. Yes, it sucks that housing prices in Bangalore seem to be in a race to the moon. But you're still moving forward.

Here's your homework:

1. Stop comparing your financial journey to people who started from different places. Their race isn't your race.

2. Look into loan refinancing options - yes, it's complex, but so is paying higher interest rates for the next several years.

3. Give yourself permission to be angry about this situation. It's okay to acknowledge that the system is broken without believing that you are.

Most importantly: Stop seeing your current situation as a failure state. You're not stuck; you're in transition. This phase of your life - the paying-off-debt phase - isn't a detour from your real life. It IS your real life, and it's teaching you things about resilience, persistence, and adaptation that your friends with their ready-made down payments will never learn.

You're going to be okay. Not because everything will magically work out, but because you're already showing the kind of grit and self-awareness it takes to navigate this messy, complicated world. Keep going. Keep building. Keep believing in the future you're working toward, even when it feels impossible.

Maddy

Share your story - because, in the end, there will always be story or two to tell. About being broken. Rising. Falling. Growing. Disappearing. Waiting. Surviving. Changing. And other human fears.

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Share your story - because, in the end, there will always be story or two to tell. About being broken. Rising. Falling. Growing. Disappearing. Waiting. Surviving. Changing. And other human fears.

Submit a Story

Information

Financial Calculators

Terms & Conditions