- Monthly envelopes for all expenses in the year - a little bit is put into each envelope each month and it is taken out when it is time to spend. So monthly budget does not get annihilated in case of weddings and festivals.
- DIY - from Holi colours to Rangoli colours and dresses to wall paintings. In our houses, the paintings on the wall are either done by us or our cousins. There is no bought art.
- Cooking - In most middle class homes, cooking is done by a family member.
- Buying gold - If we have 200 rs for a gift, we will buy .00002 grams of gold, but not a 200 rs shirt. Because shirts are waste of money and silver and gold are not.
- Love of Land - Home, land, these are like mother. They are not commercial assets. They are fruits of someone’s hard work and dreams for the family.
- Wholesale market - We buy monthly groceries, stationery supplies and uniforms from the wholesale market.
- Buying is easy, showing is not - If you are rich or poor, you will come home and show off something you have bought and others will be glad to see it. If you are middle class, you will come home and not tell anyone what you have bought because then you will hear a lecture about how it was not needed and where you could have got it cheaper.
- Each purchase is an achievement - because it has been saved for and planned.
- Family Holidays - This is a unique feature of the INdian middle class. Family holidays mean extended family holidays - the great Indian joint family takes one holiday a year even if it is to a temple.
- The joy of the first salary is a uniquely middle class emotion.
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