“Coming from a middle-class family, my grandfather always insisted that we save. I remember when I was 12 years old, I won INR 100 in a story writing competition and that’s when he opened my first bank account for me. The feeling when I saved that amount was out of this world. Till today, I have that bank account. I think that was the first encounter I had with saving money.”

“I believe that I have had a different upbringing. My mother was always particular about being financially independent. Both my parents work and equally contribute to the family expenses. There is no divide. We believed in saving in property and thus it was always a joint decision where everyone was consulted. I am the elder sibling and what I have noticed is that the elder one is always entrusted with money irrespective of gender.”

“This habit shaped my understanding of money growing up. I save before I spend and I am not much of a spender either. I started earning pretty young, through freelancing and this gave me the confidence to start looking at my own savings the best way I could.”

“Even when I was in school, my teachers would always entrust me with the class money collection and accounting. This gave me the opportunity to take on the responsibility of handling larger sums of money as a child. I think that’s why even my peers and friends look at me as a reliable person to even talk about money with. Our society doesn’t encourage these conversations. Talking about money is either seen as something to brag about or as a status symbol. Thus people only talk about what they have and not ways on how to become financially sound.”

“Gender roles too, play such a huge role in our lives. Even without us knowing it. We often see the ultimate authority as the father figure in the household. ‘Being allowed to work’ and ‘who brings in the money’ are all things that my relatives and friends talk about. I see it even with my friends. Whenever we want to go out, they say ‘my dad didn’t give me money’. It is rarely ‘my mum’. Women often become financially independent only when there is a need and not out of want.”

“Even when women want to learn about money or their finances, they still end up going to men for advice. And if they fail or make a mistake then get mocked for not being capable. That’s what I like about Basis. I don’t have to go to anyone to start learning. From the moment I make up my mind about wanting to be independent, the means through which I achieve it is also independent.”

Roshini is 22 years old, a Basis customer and on her way to paving a path for herself to true financial independence!