Spending twice your income? You're definitely aam admi

Despite earning a decent salary, does it pinch everytime you have to buy something? Does your wife complain about you not earning enough? Is your bank balance always on a low? Don’t worry, it’s not you. It’s our economy! And what’s worse ? It’s not going to improve.

A survey by the ASSOCHAM shows that in the last six years, spending by a common man has more than doubled his salary. While salaries, on an average, have increased 30 percent, spending has increased 65 percent. This is why, however much you try, your bank balance is simply not growing.

Hike in prices of appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and air-conditioners has made it difficult for home-makers to manage the household budget.

The survey, that was conducted on 500 employees from 18 broad sectors, in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun, further highlighted that the per capita income of an average Indian estimated about Rs 54,000 per annum in FY 2010-11 went up by about Rs 7,000 in 2011-12, amounting to Rs 61,000 per annum.

About half of the respondents were in the age bracket of 25-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (25 percent), 40-49 years (15 percent), 50-59 years (10 per cent)

Here are some more highlights from the survey:

From beauty products, to calling your friend who stays abroad with her husband- everything will cost more due to higher service tax rate. 72 percent of the women in the survey feel eating out and holidaying with family will also be more expensive. And what about the prices of fancy jeweleries? With import duty on gold, they are set to rise too.

The ASSOCHAM survey reveals High Income Group remained totally immune with rising cost of economy as their income levels hardly got severed with rising cost of inputs.

The Middle Income Group is likely to suffer most. Uncomfortable with the hike in service tax, they are changing their overall spending habits. From going out to eat once in two months instead of once in a month, buying unbranded clothes, settling for a cheaper house, and forgetting about the dream car- this is what most are doing and will continue to do.

And for students planning to go abroad? The survey says over 65 percent students who are planning to write the GMAT or GRE will have to shell out more from April as fees on coaching classes are set to rise with the increase in service tax rate.

(You can read the letter from a student who hated the budget here .)