Financial literacy in families often flows through mothers.They are the ones who manage household budgets, track expenses, and make daily trade-off decisions.Use that position to also teach financial confidence. Have open conversations about savings, investments, and planning with your children. The greatest legacy mother can leave them is not just wealth, but the wisdom to build it.
Poonam Tandon, Chief Investment Officer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance
There is a quiet paradox at the heart of every Indian household. The person who plans everything, the school fees, the family vacation, the grocery budget, the medical appointments is often the one with the least financial planning done in her name.That person, often, is a mother.
It is time we changed that conversation.
India’s mothers working or otherwise are among the most significant, yet least financially protected, contributors to this economy. Consider this: according to India’s Time Use Survey 2024, women between the ages of 15 and 59 spend an average of 305 minutes every single day on unpaid household and caregiving tasks.
When this work is measured in economic terms, women’s unpaid care and domestic contribution is estimated to account for approximately 15 to 17 percent of India’s GDP. That is not a small number. That is nation-building quietly, every day, without a salary slip.And yet, recent industry data continues to show that women remain underrepresented in life insurance ownership in India, accounting for only a little over one-third of total policies.
In a country where women comprise nearly half the population, this gap is not just a market statistic it is a reflection of how we continue to undervalue the financial security of the very people who hold families together.
So here is my simple advice to every mother reading this:
Start with protection, then build wealth
The foundation of any financial plan is ensuring your family is protected if something happens to you. If you are a working mother, make sure you have an adequate life insurance cover not just your spouse’s. Your income, your skills, and the care you provide have real economic value. Insure it.
Protect your health.
A mother’s health is the family’s wealth. Ensure you have a robust health insurance cover in your own name. Do not rely solely on your spouse’s employer policy or a family floater that may not adequately cover your needs.
Invest in your own name
One of the most empowering things a mother can do is have investments that are entirely hers. Whether it is a life insurance plan, a mutual fund SIP, or a PPF account start one in your name. PPF is particularly powerful because it offers tax exemption at the point of investment, the interest earned, and at the time of redemption. It is one of the very few financial instruments in India that offers this triple tax advantage, and it is worth using.
Think long-term, not just milestone-to-milestone. Many mothers I speak with plan beautifully for their children’s future school fees, college, weddings. But they forget the longest financial journey of all: their own retirement.
Women in India tend to live longer than men. That means your retirement corpus needs to last longer. Begin early, stay consistent, and make sure your plan accounts for your golden years not just your children’s. Investment through NPS, superannuation plans of Insurance companies, or deferred annuities can help in this context.
Invest in Gold
Consider investing in gold- a practice our grandmothers trusted as well. Today, you can do the same more conveniently through options like Gold ETFs or Sovereign Gold Bonds.
Talk about money
This is perhaps the most overlooked step. Financial literacy in families often flows through mothers.They are the ones who manage household budgets, track expenses, and make daily trade-off decisions. Use that position to also teach financial confidence. Have open conversations about savings, investments, and planning with your children. The greatest legacy you can leave them is not just wealth, but the wisdom to build it.
This Mother’s Day, I want every mother to ask herself one question: Am I taking care of myself the way I take care of everyone else?If the answer is no begin today. Even a small, consistent step is the right one.
You have spent a lifetime investing in others. It is time to invest in yourself.
Happy Mother’s Day.