Should We All Have A 'Fraud Budget'? Financial Advisor Questions After Hefty Rides Amid Rains

It was one of those days in an urban metro when the rain falls in sheets, traffic slows to a crawl, the city gets flooded and the odds of getting an Uber or other means of transport are about as good as finding a dry spot on the footpath.

In one such similar case, Financial planner Rochak Bakshi found himself in Bandra, Mumbai needing to get to Dadar station. His Uber booking kept failing, so when a kaali-peeli cab dropped off a passenger right in front of him, he decided to hop in. The deal was struck, Uber was cancelled, and a few minutes into the ride, the driver casually doubled the fare.

The choice was simple but unpleasant: pay up or step out into the downpour and start the journey all over again. Bakshi chose to stay put.

At the railway station, the day’s theme continued. A man offered to walk him to the platform for Rs 100, a service neither requested nor reasonably priced. Bakshi declined, but the man pressed on and eventually, he gave in.

“I knew I was being overcharged,” Bakshi wrote in a LinkedIn post that has since sparked a lively discussion. “But what pinched wasn’t the money, it was being taken for granted.”

His solution? A “Fraud Budget”, a small mental allowance set aside for situations where arguing, negotiating, or resisting is not worth the stress or the time. In his case, it bought him a dry ride, a peaceful mind, and time to read 50 pages and reply to emails.

The post hit a nerve. One commenter said, “Sometimes you know you are being defrauded but peace of mind takes over and you move along.” Another pointed out, “Money can be earned back, but not time.” Some even felt the small extra payment might have helped someone in need.

Of course, not everyone will agree with the idea of giving in, especially in a country where inflated fares, “special” service charges, and questionable add-ons are common. Almost across all metros, whenever the weather worsens, most e-commerce or transport platforms and even local vendors or drivers follow the ‘surge pricing’ strategy where the price of a product or service is temporarily increased in response to high demand or limited availability.

Bakshi’s post touched a nerve because it asked a simple question that many commuters, shoppers, and travellers have faced: when do you fight, and when do you just pay and move on?

Maybe that is where the “Fraud Budget” comes in, not as a licence for overcharging, but as a reminder that sometimes the real cost is not the extra Rs 50, it’s your own peace. In Bakshi’s case, it was a reminder that not every battle needs to be fought, especially when the rain is pouring, the cab is warm, and you have got a good book to finish.