EMI maar diya for a phone feels normal until your laptop dies and the emergency fund is empty. Lifestyle debt is how “I deserve this” becomes “I cannot afford a real emergency.”
Run this before you borrow
- Total interest + fees over the EMI term.
- Months until you are free of the payment.
- What SIP or emergency fund that EMI could have funded.
- Whether you still have 3 months buffer after the EMI starts.
If the honest answer is “I want it now,” save for 3 months. The phone will still exist. Your future options might not.