WoMoneyKiBaat: This Couple Is Breaking Major Stereotypes

When it comes to finances in a household, it is often assumed that the man of the house is the primary breadwinner. Women's earnings are often seen as secondary incomes, however, many couples are challenging this stereotype today. They are working together as a team to prove that a wife can be a primary earner in a home while a husband can choose to follow his passion or stay at home to look after the kids and household.

Anita and Neil D'Silva are one such couple who spoke to SheThePeople for our special series on women and finances. In WoMoneyKiBaat we talk to them about what motivated them to take this leap, how they manage their money and why women should have a say in savings and investments especially when it is their hard-earned money.

Breaking Stereotypes

While Anita is a school headmistress, bringing a fixed paycheck home every month, Neil is an author with a flexible income. In 2015, Neil turned full-time author and a stay-at-home dad. "He made it clear that it would be difficult initially as he would not get any income, but he was very sure that whatever he was writing is going to be a hit and people were going to read it and like it, and I had faith in him. So, we both agreed to take this chance," reveals Anita.

A Day in Neil's Life

The couple has two children, a son and a daughter, Every morning Neil wakes up his daughter, prepares breakfast for her, gets her ready for school, packs her tiffin and prepares lunch. So with Neil having an irregular income, how does the couple manage their expenses and savings?

Anita reveals that she tries to keep aside a certain amount which she invests in Mutual Funds and other traditional investments. On the other hand, whenever Neil gets his paycheck the couple keeps that money aside for once a year expenses like school fees, internet charges, etc. Speaking on his wife's skills to plan their finances, Neil says, "She has a very astute sense of how the finance works."

"It is their hard-earned money, I feel that they should have the ability to take the decisions on how they are going to spend their money or how they are going to invest it. So I feel every woman should take charge of the money that she earns."

Women Should Have A Say In How Money Should Be Spent

Anita feels that every woman who earns her own paycheck should have a say in how it should be spent or invested. says she, "Many women are working nowadays, they are independent, they are earning their money, they stay away from their family for so many hours. (Since) It is their hard-earned money, I feel that they should have the ability to take the decisions on how they are going to spend their money or how they are going to invest it. So I feel every woman should take charge of the money that she earns."

Also Read: WoMoneyKiBaat : Why this daughter puts investment on priority as caregiver

Neil couldn't agree more. "It's no longer a man's prerogative," he signs off.