Ever since I started earning for myself, I have followed, at least attempted to follow, Budget proposals closely. And the one constant has been this: whatever the announcements, by whoever, it invariably never ever makes any positive difference to my own budget. I don’t gain a penny, but lose many.

Amazingly, whether it is Manmohan Singh, Yashwant Sinha, P Chidambaram or Pranab Mukherjee, after no Budget have I, or some People Like Us (PLU) that I know, rubbed two hands in glee and said, ``Wow, this year’s gonna rock for us.’’

Somehow, in the end, we end up spending a bit more than the last year. If LCDs become cheaper, the cable guy jacks up his rates. If tea becomes cheaper, milk gets dearer. If cars cost less, petrol costs more. If I save Rs 3,000 at the end of 365 days because the income tax exemption limit has been raised, I spend Rs 6,000 more because transportation charges have gone up and my subzi walla says he’ll have to take a little extra for that tomato, potato, bhindi and lauki.

For the bulk of PLU, especially those employed by others, which is almost all of us, the bottom lines, more or less, remain what they are and life goes on in exactly the same manner after the Budget as it did before it. If anything, you should be happy when the Budget guarantees status quo. Because, come to think of it, the Budget seldom has anything for the PLU.

But when you get out of your office at the end of the day – with most of your proposals on hold because your boss, too, was busy with the Budget – and hit the hard road home, you realize nothing has changed for the better. The edgy cab driver suddenly charges you more because fuel prices have gone up, the pirated CD you pick up is rented out at Rs 5 plus and the gardener you pass by makes a quick request for a wage hike because he’s just heard Budget se bhao badh gaya hai.