Of course, with her salary there's no problem. She'll be able to pay the bill. As she always is."But then, I have very few savings, " she says. "Knowing me, I'll cry over the bill for a day, and then go back to do the same thing," she says morosely. "The thing is when I see temptation, be it the latest I-POD or that little black dress, I tend to succumb to it. The huge increase in the number of malls in the city hasn't helped matters any."

Prasad isn't alone. She has good company in 30-year-old Armaan Bisht, who says he has a "zero" bank balance, despite monthly earnings enumerating Rs 50,000 plus. "I'm a brand freak. From shoes to gizmos to fast cars, I need to have them all. My folks are always yelling at me for my ways, but it's a difficult habit to break. At the moment, I'm paying Rs 20,000 in EMIs for my Honda Civic. Maybe, if I'd had something by waying of savings, I wouldn't have had to shell out such big bucks," he says.

And then there's 29-year-old Ayaan Khan who has just cleared a debt of Rs 1 lakh--in credit card bills. "Never again," he says crossing his fingers. "I have sworn never, ever to get myself into a situation like that again."

Welcome to a phenomenon which has its origins in an era synonymous with plenty. Add to that a consumerist culture that dares you to own the moon, and you have even affluent yuppies in the grip of debt. Or a wafer-thin bank balance at the very least.

Sociologist Aparna Ghosh explains matters thus. "These kids have it all. The brains, the breaks, and an economy which is on the upswing. It's not as if they haven't heard of financial planning. But it's only theory," she says. "It's simple economics really. The more people spend, the more the demand for production, which in turn will increase employment, which in turn will feed further prosperity."

Need we say it's upto the individual to decide whether to carry the boom-wave forward, or get carried away himself ?

Ghoshs advice is simple enough. "Prioritise at the beginning of a month. Ask yourself whether you really need yet another pair of shoes. Instead of buying five sets of clothing, make an FD instead. Get yourself a financial manager, who asks you to put down an X-amount on the table every month. And if you already have one, how about visiting him?"