'Thought Rs 99 Won't Matter': GenZ Says Subscriptions Draining Salaries

A viral Reddit post about "invisible spending" is striking a chord with young Indians online. Harshit Sharma, a young professional, wrote how he was shocked to find out that salary money kept disappearing every month.

"There were no expensive gadgets. No luxury shopping sprees. No major purchases," he wrote.

But after checking his bank statement carefully, Sharma realised the biggest leak was not one large expense. It was monthly subscriptions.

Swiggy One. Zomato Gold. Netflix. Amazon Prime. Jio Hotstar. Spotify.

Each payment looked harmless individually. "Only Rs 99." "Only Rs 149." "Student offer." "Free trial." But together, they quietly became a recurring monthly bill.

Sharma said the biggest surprise was discovering that he was barely using half the apps he was paying for. Some OTT platforms were opened just once or twice a month. Yet, money kept getting deducted because cancelling subscriptions always felt like something to do later.

The post has now triggered a wider conversation online around what many are calling the "app trap" economy -- where small auto-debits silently eat into salaries without users noticing.

"I ended up losing a lot of money because I had subscriptions to almost every OTT platform. As a cinephile, I always felt - what if a new movie or series releases on a platform I don't subscribe to? So I kept taking subscriptions everywhere," Ankita Jaiswal, a young professional working in Delhi, told NDTV.

"And they weren't even basic plans. I had premium packs because I wanted the flexibility to watch on my TV, laptop, and tablet." 

But over time, Ankita realised she was barely using most of them. "After a full work day, I'm usually too tired to browse through OTT apps and start a new series. Most nights, I just end up watching random funny videos on YouTube before sleeping," she said.

"Meanwhile, the subscription money kept getting auto-debited every month. That's when I realised how much unnecessary spending was happening silently."

Ankita said she has now cancelled most of her subscriptions and shifted to a "rotation system". "Now I subscribe to only one OTT platform at a time. One month it's Netflix, another month Amazon Prime, then maybe some other app later. It saves money and honestly, I don't feel like I'm missing out anymore," she added.

'Micro-Spending Fatigue'

Experts say Gen Z is increasingly facing "micro-spending fatigue" -- dozens of small digital payments quietly draining disposable income.

Piyush Bagaria, Co-Founder at SalarySe, said subscription-led spending and auto-debit ecosystems have become a natural part of digital consumption for young professionals.

"Convenience-driven platforms have simplified everyday transactions, but they have also increased the need for stronger financial awareness and more mindful money management," he said.

Bagaria added that younger consumers today want flexibility and convenience, but are also becoming more conscious about cash flow management and financial stress.

According to him, the larger opportunity lies in helping salaried professionals build healthier financial habits and manage money in a more structured way.

Aswini Bajaj, CEO of Leveraged Growth, said the real issue goes beyond money and enters the realm of psychology. "When we talk about finances, looking at money independently of psychology is a very big mistake people make today," he said.

'Habitual Consumers'

Bajaj referred to Nir Eyal's book Hooked, which explains how companies design products to make users habitual consumers.

He pointed out that many apps ask users to enter card details before activating free trials because companies know most people will not actively cancel subscriptions later.

"Auto-debits make spending almost invisible over time," Bajaj said.

According to him, convenience-based apps have reduced people's willingness to plan expenses or exercise restraint. Earlier, spending was tied to occasions or budgets. Today, consumption has become continuous because everything is available instantly.

"What people often fail to realise is that these small recurring expenses slowly become financial leakages," he said. "Individually, they may look insignificant, but collectively, they affect savings, financial discipline, and even lifestyle quality."

For many young earners now, the solution is simple -- manually checking bank statements, reviewing subscriptions every month, and cancelling services that are no longer actively used.