Financial Literacy 101

Money is a skill, not a talent

• ·Nobody is born knowing how to handle money
• ·You already manage a household budget every single day
• ·Today we give that work a name, a page and a plan

Note: Open by asking who in the room decides the monthly grocery amount. Almost every hand goes up.

Count what comes in

• ·Wages, salary, tailoring, tiffin, rent, pension, scheme transfers
• ·Daily earnings count: ₹200 a day is ₹6,000 a month
• ·Write it once a month, on one page

Count what goes out

• ·Fixed: rent, fees, EMI, electricity
• ·Daily: food, transport, gas, recharge
• ·Occasional: festivals, medicines, uniforms
• ·Invisible: snacks outside, data packs, small lending

Note: The invisible column is usually ₹800–₹2,000 a month. Find it live with the group.

The 50 / 30 / 20 split

• ·50% needs · 30% wants · 20% savings
• ·On ₹10,000 → ₹5,000 / ₹3,000 / ₹2,000
• ·The ratio works at any income — only the rupees change

Pay yourself first

• ·Move savings out on the day income arrives
• ·Month-end leftovers are always ₹0
• ·Separate envelope, tin or account — never the same purse

An account in your own name

• ·Aadhaar + PAN (or Form 60) + two photos
• ·Ask for a zero-balance (BSBD) account — no minimum, no penalty
• ·Always fill the nominee field
• ·Collect the passbook and update it monthly

Where savings should sit

• ·Cash at home: available, but grows by ₹0 and disappears
• ·Gold: 8–15% lost in making charges
• ·Chit fund: social discipline, no legal protection
• ·Recurring deposit: 6–7%, insured up to ₹5 lakh

One month of expenses, always reachable

• ·The emergency fund comes before every investment
• ·It is what stops a fever becoming a 60% loan
• ·Build it at ₹300–₹500 a month if that is what is possible

Three rules that never change

• ·No OTP to anyone, ever
• ·A PIN is only needed to send money, never to receive it
• ·Urgency is the signal of a scam — hang up and visit the branch

This week, do three things

• ·Start the notebook tonight
• ·Move 10% of the next income out on arrival
• ·Book a date to visit the bank — go with one other woman

Note: Hand out the FinSpire guide and the Mind Over Money copy here.