A video shared on social media by a financial consultant highlights the changing borrowing habits of India’s Gen Z, pointing to a shift from asset-building to debt-funded lifestyle spending.
In the clip,
Sandeep Kulkarni, the financial consultant, claims that, in India personal loans are no longer dominated by medical emergencies, home repairs or asset purchases. Instead, travel has emerged as the leading reason for borrowing. Citing data, he says that 27 per cent of personal loans taken in the first half of 2025 were used for travel.
“People are taking flight tickets on loan so that they can travel and attend concerts elsewhere,” Kulkarni says, adding that such spending is often driven by the desire to project social status online. According to him, these experiences function as what he calls “micro-status symbols,” replacing traditional milestones such as home ownership.
He also suggests that high-value purchases are increasingly normalised through instalment-based credit. “Seventy per cent of the iPhones being sold in India are being sold on EMIs.”
What Are The Reasons For The Borrowings?
He stresses that the borrowing boom is not limited to discretionary spending. Kulkarni adds that 36 per cent of Gen Z borrowers are reportedly using credit to cover essential expenses, including rent, groceries and utility bills. He describes this pattern as “absolutely disturbing,” saying that it reflects deeper structural problems rather than mere lifestyle inflation.
According to him, two major shifts in consumer behaviour are driving this trend. The first is the declining appeal of real estate as a realistic financial goal for young Indians. “Previous generations used to save for years to be able to buy a house,” he says, adding that today, soaring prices have made ownership feel unattainable. As a result, he claims, many Gen Z consumers are choosing to redirect borrowing towards experiences and visible lifestyle markers instead.
The second factor, he adds, ate zero-cost EMIs and buy-now-pay-later schemes, which, he claims, are reducing the psychological barrier to borrowing. Kulkarni says that loans under Rs 50,000 can often be approved “in less than 60 seconds, with no collateral.”
He contrasts this behaviour with trends among Chinese Gen Z consumers. He highlights the popularity of “gold beans,” a practice where young Chinese investors buy small quantities of gold each month. “It doesn’t signal social status, but intellectual status,” he says.
How Are The Chinese Youth Different?
While Indian Gen Z may believe “I must borrow today because I will earn tomorrow,” Kulkarni says Chinese youth are thinking differently. “I must save today because I may not have a job tomorrow.”
He claims that much of the aspirational content seen on social media is debt-funded. “Whatever status symbols you see on Instagram,” he says, “half of it is funded by borrowing.”
Here’s the post:
Previous generations saved for houses; current Gen Z views real estate as unattainable, leading to spending on 'micro-status symbols' like travel, concerts, sneakers, etc. pic.twitter.com/3QrLe6j3JO
— Sandeep Kulkarni (@moneyworks4u_fa) December 23, 2025
Did Internet Take This Positively
The post received many reactions. One said that while Kulkarni’s observations “are correct,” the conclusions were off, noting that Gen Z is “smart, honest, focused” and often spends on travel or iPhones because “it’s worth the price.”
Another criticised the real estate sector, describing companies as “a mafia working in collusion with crook politicians” and warning that heavy EMIs may push many into “economic slavery.”
Some users compared the trend to global patterns, with one saying, “This Gen Z behaviour is a copycat that of the USA consumer,” pointing out that what happened in the US decades ago is now appearing in India.
One also questioned the data behind the claims, asking, “Where is he deriving that Gen Z are not able to afford rent or groceries? Any data to back it?”
