Fight For A Seat At The Table: Financial Influencer Anushka Rathod On Financial Independence

Money knowledge not only empowers women to become financially independent, but it also allows them to earn, save, invest, and manage their own finances, reducing their dependency on others and providing them with greater control over their lives and choices.

Unfortunately, gender bias still exists in many facets of society, including the financial sector, especially in a nation like ours. Therefore, having knowledge of money contradicts gender preconceptions and traditional gender roles that frequently restrict women's access to finance.

Anushka Rathod, a young influencer from Surat with 820,000 Instagram followers, focuses on providing advice to her fans. When friends wanted financial guidance, Rathod, who had previously worked in investment banking, began her career as an influencer.

Rathod spoke candidly with SheThePeople about her decision to join this field, her early years in the industry, and everything she had learned through the years.

Interview With Anushka Rathod

When Rathod was about her own money story, she stated that she comes from a business family, and for her, dinner table conversations were all around money, around business, and how to make money, and that was the primary goal of everyone in her family. She also added that "Both my parents are working, and from the beginning, I was comfortable talking about money. I was told to optimise my money and was groomed to become financially independent."

Rathod also talked about the people who played key roles in helping her understand the value of money in her family. She said, "In my case, it was my mom. I come from a relatively orthodox 'Marwadi' family, but luckily she had a college degree; she had a psychology degree, and she was the rebel who paved the way for me. When she got married, she had to quit everything, and she was a homemaker, but she fought her way through and did a home business that went well. In my family, it was only my mother who was very independent, and she passed this on to both her daughters."

Anushka Rathod Journey:

Rathod also talked about how she handles situations in which women are typically suppressed while discussing money.

She said, "I think you just give them answers and give them some financially valid statements. In our family, my father takes all the financial decisions, and they think they know best, and women don't know, but when I start giving valid points and showing results, they start listening to you."

"You have to fight for a seat at the table when it comes to money conversations. But eventually, when we show we have reasonable points and we have the ability to join the table, we will get to sit there."

Rathod also shared the three most important financial lessons that she has learned in her life. She shared that the most important lesson she has learned is that one shouldn't be afraid of missing out; if someone on social media is doing something, it's not necessary for you to do it. She added, "You should stick to things that you understand, and even if you get lower returns, you should know where your money is going."

On social media, everyone's going on vacation, buying houses, cars, and fancy clothes, and Rathod added that one should be clever with their investments. The third thing Rathod added to the list was having an emergency fund.

"For me, if I had not had an emergency fund, I would have suffered a lot because just before COVID came, I had quit my job."

Suggested Reading: Five Stereotypes Around Women And Money That Need To Be Busted