For many working professionals, choosing where to live involves a familiar trade-off: pay more to stay close to work or move farther away and save on rent.
A woman living in Gurugram has sparked a discussion online after revealing that more than half of her salary goes towards rent. Despite the sizeable expense, she says she has no plans to move because living just a few minutes from her workplace gives her something she values more than the monthly savings — time, energy and peace of mind.
Why she chose expensive rent over a longer commute
Instagram user Shakti Dharni Pandey shared a video explaining her decision to live just a four-minute walk from the school where she works.
According to Pandey, she had the option of choosing cheaper accommodation farther away. However, she decided that the money saved on rent would not necessarily compensate for the time and energy she would lose while commuting.
“More than 50% of my salary goes towards paying my rent, and I’m not going to change it,” Pandey said in the video.
Her post included glimpses of her everyday routine, including cooking, cleaning and working from home.
Because her home is so close to her workplace, Pandey said she can even walk home during her lunch break. That gives her enough time to eat a hot meal, take care of some household chores and return to work without spending hours travelling.
‘I choose my peace over saving money’
Pandey acknowledged that spending such a large share of her income on rent could appear financially questionable.
However, she said the arrangement works for her because it allows her to avoid a stressful daily commute.
Living nearby means she does not have to rush through her mornings or worry about traffic. She also saves money on daily transportation and, more importantly, gains back time that would otherwise be spent travelling between home and work.
“I choose my peace over saving money,” she said.
Pandey added that rather than treating the money saved by moving farther away as an investment opportunity, she has consciously chosen to spend more on her current lifestyle.
For her, the additional rent helps protect her “mental health, energy and time” and allows her to prioritise her own well-being.
Her choice sparks a debate about rent versus investments
Pandey’s post prompted a wider discussion among social media users about whether paying significantly higher rent can make sense when it eliminates a long commute.
Some users supported her approach, arguing that financial decisions are highly personal. They pointed out that commuting can consume several hours every week, while transportation costs and the stress associated with traffic can also add up.
Others took a more conventional personal-finance view.
They questioned whether giving up opportunities to invest through instruments such as SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) in order to pay higher rent could create problems over the long term. From this perspective, rent is an ongoing living expense, whereas investments can potentially build wealth over time.
Is paying more rent worth it?
There is no single answer that works for every professional.
For someone with a long commute, living close to work can provide substantial lifestyle benefits. The calculation is not limited to rent and investment returns; it can also include commuting costs, hours spent travelling, fatigue and the value a person places on having more time outside work.
At the same time, spending more than half of one’s income on rent can leave less money available for emergency savings, investments and other financial goals.
Pandey’s decision therefore highlights a broader question facing urban professionals: how much is personal time and peace of mind worth?
Her answer appears clear. For now, she would rather pay more to live close to work than spend a significant part of her day commuting.
At the end of her post, she posed the question to her followers: “Will you do something like this?”
