Being the sole breadwinner of a family can be challenging. A little bit of courage and planning can take you a long way. Anita Chandrakant Maniyar, Sonali Pal and Aparna Mohan share how they learnt to control the reins of their own and their family’s finances.
Three women from three different backgrounds and needs. What they have in common is that they are the single earning member of their households. Anita Chandrakant Maniyar takes care of her three daughters. Sonali Pal is building a financially secure future for her son and herself. Aparna Mohan’s household includes her elderly parents. Here are their stories:
Mother to three daughters, Anita Chandrakant Maniyar, a 53-year-old businesswoman from Jalgaon, took over her husband’s business and also started one of her own to increase the family’s earnings after her husband passed away in 2015 at the age of 48 years. All the children were studying and Anita was determined to fulfil their dreams. Over the years, thanks to her determination and sound planning, Anita has managed to fund her daughters’ education using loans, investments and savings. She also ensures that at least 10 per cent of her monthly earnings is put away into an emergency corpus. “When I started running my husband’s shop, I was criticised. Being a shop owner is a role designated for men in our area. But I did it for my daughters,” she says.
A technologist by profession, Aparna Mohan, a 46-year-old resident of Bengaluru, has been taking care of her elderly parents for the past few years. However, Aparna went ahead and self-financed her MBA from IIM-Bangalore. Her father, Brijendra Mohan, 81, has cancer and needs constant care. “My mother (Nirmala Mohan, 73) is also old. Neither of them has any pension. But I enjoy the experience of being the bread-earner and taking care of my parents,” says Aparna. She admits that it can be difficult to manage everything but one can strike a balance between financial planning, family life and work. “Single working women who also manage households alone and take care of family have always been questioned. But I enjoy my journey and the experience I gather,” says Aparna.
Sonali Pal, 44, has been handling the household and raising her 16-year-old son single-handedly since 2012, after her husband passed away in April that year. Although her brother and father always remained pillars of support, becoming a “father” also for her son has not been easy. While she was working earlier too, being the sole earner meant she needed more income. So, Sonali joined the corporate sector. Ever conscious of her responsibilities for her son and towards herself, she is paying serious thought to retirement planning. “After I turn 60, I plan to start my own business, as we don’t have any pension these days,” she says.
Sonali invests in small savings schemes that can be liquidated in times of need and in mutual funds and Public Provident Fund (PPF). She has already started to take small steps towards setting up her business.