Is saving Rs 25,000 worth 4 hours in traffic daily? Gurgaon debate erupts

The dilemma was discussed by Dr Sunny Garg (@drsunnygarg) in an Instagram video

A man working in Gurgaon earns ₹1.5 lakh a month but spends nearly four hours every day travelling to and from his office. He now has an option to rent a flat closer to work, but it would cost him an additional ₹25,000 every month.

While his wife feels the extra rent would eat into the family's savings, he is beginning to question whether the money saved is worth the exhaustion of his daily commute.The dilemma was discussed by Dr Sunny Garg (@drsunnygarg) in an Instagram video, where he used the hypothetical situation to highlight a choice many working professionals in the National Capital Region (NCR) may recognise: pay more to live closer to work or spend several hours travelling every day.“There is a man who works in Gurgaon. His salary is ₹1.5 lakh. But it takes him two hours to reach his office and two hours to come back. That means four hours of daily traffic,” Garg said.The man has found a flat near his workplace, but the rent is ₹25,000 higher than what he currently pays. His wife questions whether spending that much more on rent makes sense when the family could save the money instead. Garg described the man's dilemma: “I am saving money, but by the time I reach home, I am so tired that I have no energy left.”

“Is the extra rent worth the time saved?”

Garg asked viewers to consider what the daily commute takes away beyond travel expenses. While the additional rent is a fixed amount that can be calculated every month, the cost of spending three to four hours on the road is harder to measure.“We can calculate the rent immediately. But what about the time spent in traffic, that exhaustion, not being able to spend time with the children after reaching home, or not being able to do anything for our own health?” he asked.At the same time, he acknowledged that ₹25,000 is not a small amount and that not every family can afford to pay that much extra for a home closer to the office.Rather than treating the decision as a simple choice between shifting house and continuing the commute, Garg suggested looking for alternatives. These could include asking for hybrid work, negotiating different office timings, carpooling, staying near the workplace for a few days each week or exploring other job opportunities.

“Sometimes we get so stuck in two options that we fail to see the other ways to solve the problem,” he said.He ended by asking viewers what they would do if they were in the same situation.

Social media users weigh in on the ₹25,000-versus-four-hours question

The video prompted viewers to share their own experiences and opinions. Some felt that the time saved by moving closer to work could be worth more than the additional rent, while others pointed out that relocating a family involves several considerations beyond the office commute.One user agreed with the idea of treating time as money, writing, “Time is real money, and the second-last suggestion is useful.” Another viewer raised a point about the expenses involved in travelling every day: “What about the daily travel expenses? What about the fuel cost for four hours of commuting?”One commenter shared an example of people travelling much longer distances to work to save money. “I have seen people travelling from Agra to Delhi by train for work, spending nine hours travelling every day.

People save money, not time,” the user wrote, adding laughing emojis.Another person said that a long commute was not always enough reason to move house. “I also spend about the same amount of time travelling every day. But shifting house involves much more than just the commute. You have to consider the children's school, the society, safety and other family members,” the user explained.Not everyone was convinced that paying ₹25,000 more was the better decision.

One viewer said they would rather save the money, pointing out that people do not get paid for spending time scrolling on their phones over the weekend. “I would save the ₹25,000, because nobody is paying me ₹25,000 for scrolling on my phone for four hours on the weekend,” the user wrote.The discussion highlights why the decision to move closer to work is rarely just about rent. For some households, the additional expense may be difficult to accommodate. For others, a shorter commute could mean more time with family, rest and personal responsibilities.Garg's question leaves viewers with a choice that has no single answer: how much is four hours of daily travel worth, and what is a family willing or able to pay to get that time back?