'Earn, save, spend and repeat': Travel influencer spends Rs 50 lakh in 2024, netizens asks ‘source of income'
Sharanya Iyer, a travel influencer, said that she spent over Rs 50 lakh last year. The majority of it was spent traveling to different countries throughout the world.
Success on social media comes with a price. Influencers must spend on high-quality equipment, styling, and even attractive locations, which can go into lakhs of rupees. In a similar case, Sharanya Iyer, a travel content developer, spent more than Rs 50 lakh in 2024, a considerable departure from her former mentality of saving money "obsessively." The content producer has over half a million Instagram followers and spends the majority of her money traveling around the world.
In 2024, she traveled to over six nations, including Laos, Thailand, Madeira, South Africa, Greenland, and Iceland, with expenses ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per trip. Her travel expenses were the most expensive, with Rs 5 lakh spent on flights alone. The remaining money was spent on housing, activities, and other expenses.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote, “Earn > Save > Spend > Repeat," adding, “I used to be such an obsessive saver and spend sparingly on the ‘big’ things. 2024 changed that with help and advice and healthy pushes from my dad and friends."
The travel blogger also stated that this important decision gave her joy and a sense of security. "Not everyone needs to agree, but this has been my significant move last year, and it brought me so much joy and a sense of safety in an otherwise difficult year," she told me.
Interestingly, Sharanya's Instagram post revealed that she also spent Rs 22 lakh on a new Hyundai automobile and Rs 5 lakh on medical bills that were not covered by insurance.
According to the social media post, Sharanya spent Rs 1 lakh on a vacation to Laos and Thailand, Rs 8 lakh with her parents in South Africa, Rs 3 lakh in Greenland, Rs 1.5 lakh in Madeira, and Rs 2.5 lakh (thrice) in Iceland. In addition, Iyer spent the summer in Europe, which cost her only Rs 60,000 after winning Rs 40,000 at the casino.
Her figures excluded food, everyday spending, and shopping, all of which she intends to reduce by 2025. "I'm of course not including spending on F&B, daily expenses, or material accumulations (big plans to cut that down this year too!)" according to her.
The video went viral on the internet, with 1.3 million views and over 400 comments. Some people expressed amazement, while others inquired about her source of money.
“What is your source of income? You're lucky that you can afford this,” wrote one Instagram user.
Another commented, "Not saving and spending all income on traveling at a young age is a very crazy idea! I don’t think it’s advisable."
A user wrote, “Amazing reel. Influencers often talk about how many countries they’ve been to, but the amount of money needed to travel should also be a topic of discussion."
What are your views on her spending?