Godwin works in the administration department of the Institute of Management Studies, an educational service provider which prepares candidates for leading competitive examinations like CAT, GRE and GMAT.

"Inflation has of course affected me," he says while waiting for a cab to load his monthly groceries that he bought from a supermarket store just outside Matunga railway station, a Mumbai suburb.

It surely would have. In the last one year, says Godwin, his monthly expenditure has shot up by a huge 30 per cent. Here's how the equation works for Godwin.

He earns Rs 20,000 per month and spends as much as Rs 17,000 to Rs 18,000 every month on his family for groceries, medicines, utility bills, travelling and other miscellaneous items that change from time to time. That's a whopping 90 per cent of his monthly income.

In the April of 2007, remembers he, the same monthly expenditure ran up to Rs 15,000.

Godwin faces this inflation onslaught on two fronts: One he has cut down on recreational activities like going to movies and eating out. The second plan, though, is a bit dramatic. Since he has no other option Godwin has decided to cut down on his mutual fund investments.

"You have to eat to survive, don't you? To get something you have to lose something. For buying the same amount of groceries now I have to give up on entertainment and investments," is how Godwin sums up his predicament.