“My dad passed away when I was 17 years old. This meant that my mum had to start everything from scratch. We had never really bothered about learning about money and it was never a discussion at home. But this meant that we would have to start at the very beginning. My mum started going to work and I went to college.”

“At 21 I got my first job with TCS and that’s when I came down to Bangalore from Mumbai. This was my first company, I didn’t have any savings and I was living in rented accommodation. This was when I started learning about tax saving investments - that’s how my journey with money began.”

“At the workplace, you meet a lot of people and become a lot more aware of how others manage money. This was when I came across other investment avenues such as Mutual Funds, Stocks, even practically saving in gold. But all this meant going that extra mile and doing that extra homework to get to understanding finances. It was only in 2017 that I actually took my first step towards saving in stocks. That’s the funny thing about too much information. It’s all over the place and the more you read, the more you get confused.”

“As women, we undermine ourselves. We ask a lot of questions because we’re curious and we assume that guys are better at finances than us. But that’s not true. It’s surprising to see that this is not true. I suppose this ties down to how we are in families. Women are not encouraged to talk about money, so they lack the confidence, they’re afraid that they will be judged and not taken seriously. There is no awareness and no support system to tell them that they know just as much as anyone else!”

“My family consists of my mum, my younger sister and I. What I have noticed is that people aren’t interested in talking about money with women. I want to make my own decisions and not be looked down upon when and if I fail. There’s one thing I have understood about people, they respect you when you are earning. When you are independent and take decisions for yourself. I am independent today and this to me is a huge step in bridging the inequality."

“I started my journey with money at a young age and that wasn’t an easy one for me. I am happy to see Basis exists today. It’s a one-stop solution for me. I wish I had something like this when I was in my 20s. I am not embarrassed to ask a question, not intimated to learn something new. A safe space that I can share with others.”

Anusha is one of the most active members at Basis and is building her future one financially independent decision at a time!