Shrinking pay hikes, rising costs: CA suggests against fully depending on your salary. Here's what he suggests instead

Picture this: it’s 2025, your boss hands you a shiny 9% raise, and you celebrate… until reality hits. Rent, groceries, EMIs, school fees, and hospital bills have already swallowed it whole. The paycheck that once felt comfortable now feels like it’s sprinting just to stand still. Salary hikes aren’t keeping up, inflation is running faster, and lifestyle costs are soaring. So the real question isn’t how much you earn — it’s how smartly you grow.

1. Cost of living is eating your paycheck alive
Living in a metro today is an expensive game of survival. Just rent, food, travel, and phone bills can drain you each month:

• Mumbai: Rs 30K– Rs 60K
  
  
• Bengaluru: Rs 20K–Rs 40K
  
  
  
• Delhi, Pune, Chennai: Rs 15K–Rs 40K
  
  

And that’s without adding EMIs, children’s education, or medical expenses. The city doesn’t just take your income — it burns it.

2. The reality of salary hikes in 2025
The CA quoted a survey of the average salary hike in a year, which is around 9.4 %. He added that job switchers may still get the highest jump at 15–17%. Sounds decent, right? Not so fast.


3. The big catch: performance-linked pay
He pointed out that many companies are now tying increments directly to performance. That means, no guaranteed hikes. If you miss your targets, you could be stuck with a 2-4% raise. He added that variable pay is gaining more weight than ever. He claims that inflation doesn’t wait for your KPIs, and a weak appraisal can push your real income backwards.

Are you fully dependent on your salary in 2025?

The numbers are out — hikes are shrinking, inflation is rising, and lifestyle costs? Through the roof.
Let’s decode what this means for YOU 👇🧵#stockmarketscrash #finance #nifty #investingtips pic.twitter.com/GNJ4RnMjD0

— CA Nitin Kaushik (@Finance_Bareek) August 25, 2025

4. Inflation is the invisible thief
CA claims that this isn’t just about higher grocery bills inflation is compounding at a rate far beyond salaries:
- Healthcare costs are rising 3x faster than income
- Education fees are climbing by ~12% annually
- Housing EMIs remain high as they’re tied to repo rates
So, a 9% hike against a 12% lifestyle inflation? You’re already running at a loss.

5. Why fixed deposits are silent wealth killers
FDs feel safe, but in 2025, they’re quietly draining your purchasing power:
- Average FD return (post-tax): ~5.5%
- Education inflation: ~12%
- Medical inflation: 10–14%
- Lifestyle inflation: 7–8%

In short, your “safe” savings aren’t growing — they’re eroding. FDs are only useful for short-term parking, not for building long-term wealth.

6. What you should actually do?
If you’re chasing money, join companies that consistently beat market benchmarks in headcount growth, annual hikes, and performance bonuses. But career moves alone won’t cut it anymore. The smartest earners in 2025 are:

- Investing in SIPs and stocks
- Diversifying into inflation-beating assets
- Building passive income streams
- Tracking net worth instead of CTC

If your income grows but your lifestyle grows faster, you’re just running on a treadmill — sweating harder but going nowhere. In 2025, salary alone isn’t enough. You need to invest, hedge, and grow strategically, or risk watching inflation eat away at your future.