A bigger suburban home can offer better amenities at a lower price per square foot. However, cheaper housing does not always mean cheaper living.
Longer journeys can add fuel bills, toll charges, cab fares and vehicle maintenance. Time spent in traffic can also reduce the value of those housing savings.
Namrata Singh QPFP®️, Founder – Arthasadhana Investments, gives the example of a household saving ₹25,000 after moving farther from the city. Additional commuting and convenience expenses could consume ₹15,000- ₹20,000 of that amount.
The remaining savings appear smaller, especially when family members lose several hours each week. Rent or housing instalments alone cannot show whether the move makes financial sense.
For hybrid workers, fewer office days do not automatically mean affordable travel. A longer journey each time can still create substantial costs.
Singh picks a use case of a single professional earning ₹1.15 lakh monthly and moving to an outskirts township. The distance to work increases from 6 km to 28 km each way. Even with three office days weekly, fuel and toll expenses can rise sharply.
Late-night journeys may require cabs charging higher fares during busy periods. Meanwhile, daily travelling time could increase from around 40 minutes to 2.5 hours.
That leaves less time for personal activities and productive work. The financial benefit of moving needs to be weighed against this loss.
For couples, the travel bill can double when both use separate cars. Singh considers two earners receiving ₹2.4 lakh monthly and upgrading from a central 1.5BHK. A suburban 3BHK offers more space. But each car brings its expenses.
These include fuel, tolls, servicing, tyres and the gradual loss of vehicle value. Insurance-related costs also form part of the calculation.
Together, five hours of commuting daily can leave the couple short on time. Food delivery, domestic help and other convenience services may then become more necessary.
These purchases help manage busy days but further reduce the housing savings. Travel, therefore, affects spending beyond the money paid directly for transport.
Singh then gives the example of a family earning ₹3.6 lakh monthly, a larger villa may appear attractive. However, two children bring additional journeys for school, coaching, sports and medical appointments.
School buses and family errands add further transport expenses. Maintaining one vehicle for work and another for family needs can dilute housing savings. Township maintenance charges can narrow the difference further.
Long hours on the road also bring stress, exposure to pollution and physical exhaustion. These pressures can reduce daily output and lead to lost working hours. Such costs rarely appear in the calculation of a home’s affordability.
The answer is to compare total living costs before deciding where to settle. Single professionals can prioritise reliable public transport, nearby shared workspaces and walkable daily services.
Couples can coordinate office days, share rides where practical and combine errands. Living nearer one partner’s workplace can also reduce travel.
Families should consider schools, healthcare, sports facilities and everyday services alongside the home’s size. A smaller home near these facilities may offer greater convenience than a distant villa.
Compare housing savings, transport expenses and quality of life together. The better home should protect your money, time and energy.
Budgeting rule to follow
“A useful budgeting discipline is the 50/30/20 rule: around 50% of take-home income is allocated to essential needs, 30% to discretionary spending and lifestyle choices, and 20% to savings and investments,” Namrata Singh suggests.
“A home purchase should be evaluated within this broader framework rather than by asking only how large an EMI the bank is willing to approve,” she said.
The key principle is simple: a home should not merely be EMI-affordable; it should be affordable within the household’s complete 50/30/20 framework. The apparent savings on the property should be weighed against the recurring cost of living there,” she added.
