Life Planning
T
he month of July 2017
has certainly been the
happiest month in the life
of Mumbai-based couple,
Shayok Banerjee, 35 and Debjani
Mukherjee, 35, as their daughter
Tisha was born. “She brought home
so much joy, good luck and energy in
our lives, as if the whole world had
conspired to provide us with what
we need,” gushes Debjani, the proud
mother.
But a baby also brings with
it an added sense of financial
responsibility. And planning for
a child’s future is as important as
managing immediate expenses
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that are required in raising a baby
and take care of school education
expenses and other related costs later.
For the Banerjees, expenses have
of course, increased since the birth
of the baby. “We never imagined
that diapers would cost `4,000 a
month, plus vaccinations and doctor
visits of `10,000 a month,” says
Debjani. She had taken a sabbatical
of five months after her maternity
leave got over to take care of her
baby, and now she is back to work.
It helps that they stay in campus,
her workplace is a few minutes away
and she can visit home every few
hours. Plus there is a baby-sitter,
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while Shayok, his parents and her
parents also chip in to take care of
the baby. “All this would have been
impossible without a strong family
support system,” says Debjani.
Noida-based Rashmi Singh, 31,
and her husband Rajesh Kumar, 32,
are proud parents of seven-month-
old Aayansh. The couple’s life too
has changed after the birth of their
child, especially how they look
at their savings and investments.
Married in 2016, they had plans to
invest in a house. With the birth of
Aayansh, they have postponed their
house buying goal by a few years
and are making it a point to set aside