Laxmi Jayesh Gupta is working as 'Sahyogini' with MAVIM, Palghar.
The function of sahyogini is to help SHGs, community women to understand SHG’s operation, the importance of SHG, and to set up a new SHG etc.
She comes from a middle-class family and as any other regular Indian woman; she also had a desire for a fancy Mangalsutra. Hence, she decided to buy a Mangalsutra of weight 6 tola i.e. 60 gm. The cost of gold in India is Rs. 30,000 to 32000 per 10gm. The total cost would turned out to be around Rs.1,98000, which is a big amount for a middle class family in India. As she does not have a very strong financial background, she decided to take a loan from a bank or other financial institution. She shared this her idea with the family but they did not like the idea. It soon turned into a conflict with daily arguments.
While all this was happening, she attended Jaadu Ginni Ka training session at MAVIM office. In the patronized training sessions, people introduced to basic concepts of financial management, importance of saving and tricks to save by differentiating between needs and wants. The training proved to be fruitful to Laxmi. ‘The training made me understand the importance of money and saving. I also learnt the difference between my need and my desires. I dropped the idea of buying expensive Mangalsutra and started focusing upon saving. I learnt how I can utilize my resources in more productively by investing them wisely’. Said Laxmi. Moreover, this transformation in her attitude made her family proud of her. Today, she is not only following the teaching of Jaadu Ginni Ka in her life but also helping others by sharing her experience and learnings. Laxmi says, ‘we should prioritize our expenses, first spend money on important needs than tried to get luxury things. If you have extra income.’
Absence of awareness is the epicentre for diverse issues such as in the case of Laxmi, her desires took over needs, which leads to the stressed in her family. Jaadu Ginni Ka helped her to understand the basic understanding of managing her finances by prioritizing expenses. Hence, Jaadu Ginni Ka is not only helping people to manage their finances by providing a platform with exposure to elementary financial nuances but also helping them to restore happiness in their lives.
