Or why you sprang for a ₹ 6,990 mattress topper even as your ₹ 1,499 gym membership sits unused. Your bank account knows things your therapist doesn’t.
Like why you spent ₹ 1,200 on a candle that smells like “rain” when you could have just opened a window.
The claim: You pay upfront for a restaurant to deliver breakfast to you every morning, instead of ordering separately each day. Our verdict: If you already have a cook or prepare the meal yourself, compare the subscription with what you’d spend on ingredients, fuel, cooking and cleaning. The claim: Compact, ultra-slim, they’re like a treadmill you can walk but never run on.
Plans run from three to 30-days and are offered by most food-delivery apps, such as Zomato and Kinnow in Bengaluru. Subscriptions are typically cheaper – anywhere from 10% to 25% less than retail. But if you spend ₹ 300–400 on individual orders anyway, it can make sense to book a subscription when life gets busy or your cook is away. The ads sell the fantasy that you can casually walk for hours at home, while you binge Netflix or work, getting 10,000 steps in without sweat or a gym routine. Expect to pay ₹ 10,000 for brands such as Lifelong and Cult. Sneha Manikyam, 31, a software engineer in Bengaluru, bought Lifelong’s Fit Pro to do 15-minute walks at home, after every meal. But her machine heats up after 30 minutes.
“I don’t have an excuse now”, she says, even when it rains. Dr Mahajan says that walking pads can break up sedentary time, but should complement, not replace, cardio and strength training.
Our verdict: A walking pad runs on speeds of 1.6kmph to 3.2kmph. Prices range from under ₹ 10,000 to more than ₹ 50,000 depending on the frills. Priyanka Kartari, 38, a Mumbai-based therapist and founder of The Thought Co., is on the unlimited plan.
The robot will only clean the floor – it won’t dust the walls and furniture. That’s not even a brisk walk. Even if you use it every day, you only amble. YouTube has more serious home-workout walking videos that don’t need a machine (Brunch loves old-school Leslie Sansone!). If you already have a way to get your steps in, don’t spring for the pad. It’s not an exercise or weight-loss device. But it will do well for older folks, or those recovering from illness. The claim: Brands such as Xiaomi, Eureka Forbes and Dreame sell devices that offer vacuum cleaning and floor-mapped, wet-mopping. Our verdict: Whether you clean your home yourself or hire household help, picking a robot vacuum is about more than the money. So, consider how big the home is, what the floors are made of, what kind of mess is created every day and whether are a pets, spills, tight corners, carpets, high thresholds, stairs and construction dust floating in all day. She has used it to plan a trip to Lonavala with her four-year-old son and track expenses. It also handles follow-ups within her team and household (AI voices do the calling and reminding, and report back if the calls go unanswered).
Mittal says common requests include vendor coordination, customer-care follow-ups and restaurant or doctor appointments. “I’m paying to take away my mental load,” says Kartari.
