Tag: personal

In my previous post I wrote about how much capital I know I have. In this I tackle another question that might be interesting to people to compare their situations — how much we pay the domestic worker who works in our home and how did we reach that number.

I have written earlier about how I came across the mental block of hiring someone’s service for domestic work. That was the time we had hired M’s services.

When M came to our 1 BHK (where Swathi and I live), she was used to only doing sweeping/mopping and washing plates. But what we really wanted was someone to cook for us (once a day). So we told her we would be fine with however she cooks and asked her if she could cook too. She was okay with this.

We did not know how much to pay. So we asked her. She said she usually get ₹2,000 (or was it ₹3,000?) for just cleaning and would take ₹3,000 (or was it ₹4,000?). We agreed. This was in the beginning of 2021.

We have forgotten lots of details. By 2023 we were paying ₹4,000.

In the beginning of 2024, M left Bengaluru and after two months of nobody working, we found L through our neighbor.

With L, we had the same discussion on how much to pay, and she just asked us how much we will pay. We said we were paying ₹4,000 earlier, and she said okay. So L started working in our house for 4k. Then this year, we made it ₹4,500.

Other stuff

Sunday is holiday. They also take holiday whenever they want (by informing earlier in person, that day over phone, or not) without any pay cut. Advance payments/loans we have given a few times on request to M.

Bonus during festivals we either pay or give gift (as per what M/L says is good), or both.

Both M and L had a kid who would occasionally accompany them. They would keep themselves busy with whatever coloring books, color pencils, etc we had. Swathi tries to have conversation with the kids, I don’t.

Swathi also tries to have small-talk, build relationship, etc with M/L. With M she was pretty thick. With L, due to language barrier (L speaks only Tamil), she hasn’t yet built that rapport I think.

Nevertheless many health related issues they do speak openly with Swathi.

The Point

As I wrote in the other post about capital, the point of documenting all this is precisely to create transparency to enable comparison. It might evoke emotions inside readers (good or bad, positive or negative, neutral, shrug, whatever), but that’s okay and intended.

Some more resources

If you want to read more about demands of DW union(s), you’re better off visiting links like:

• All Work, Won’t Pay
• Domestic Work is Work: an illustrated booklet
• In Bengaluru and Chennai, domestic workers have to work in six households to make minimum wage
• Underpaid and overworked, Bengaluru’s domestic workers face exploitation

It was three years ago in November 2022 that I last wrote about my financial situation.

That post ended with my bank balance at around 11 lakhs.

I left Kinara capital in June 2023, and then I perhaps had around 20 lakhs if I put everything together.

From then, I was spending more money than I was making.

I was taking a honorarium from SOCHARA till March 2025. Between October 2024 and January 2025 I was also taking consultancy fees from DemTech, as part time head of engineering.

I have also been doing small-ish projects here and there, like JeevaRaksha courses, open data projects with Manoj/Sahya, web development projects, data engineering projects, etc fetching anywhere from 3,000 to 1,00,000.

So, now in August I have around 14 lakh in liquid cash (7.3 lakh in savings account, 6.5 lakh in fixed deposit). I also have perhaps a couple of lakhs that I’m due to get from house owner, etc. And about a lakh in share market (which has been red for months now).

Safety Nets

I think my parents back at home might have around 3-5 crores in assets, lands, fixed deposits, etc with their long government jobs as doctor and teacher.

My brother is earning well. He even gave me YouTube premium.

Swathi might have a couple of lakhs in her bank account, and her family might have some assets too.

Worst case plans

In case I want to make some more money for whatever reasons, there are some possible ways.

If the hiring market is good, I can possibly get into a engineering leadership position anywhere from 36 to 72 LPA.

If I put together a good resume I could probably also get into management positions in hospitals, I’m not sure how much that would pay. In any case, I’m extremely unlikely to pursue this.

Social Capital

I have a handful of very close friends. Their financial situation is similar or worse than mine.

Outside of this, my social network is mainly surviving activists and struggling friends.

I do have some elite connections, but I’m not used to using them, and I don’t know how to . I’m used to just giving giving giving, without asking for anything in return.

Through volunteering in free software communities and my engineering career, I know a few rich software engineers.

Through volunteering in groups like Bahutva Karnataka, I know a few NGO heads, lawyers, do-gooders, etc.

Through my doctor career, I know a few big doctors and entrepreneurs.

Can I get out of jail if they put UAPA on me? Probably not. But can I get out of other tricky situations with my friendships? Probably yes.

The Point

This post probably will evoke very strong emotions inside a lot of people. These are perhaps going to be for different reasons. Some will be like “Oh, Akshay is filthy rich and that’s why A can act/live the way A does”. Some will be like “Oh, Akshay has so much money, yet A doesn’t do any shit for society”. Possibly some will be like “Oh, I have as much money as Akshay, but I do much more (or less or the same)”. And some others will even be like “Oh, Akshay is trying to claim moral high ground by writing about this” (That’s okay).

Basically, I want to enable a comparison exercise. Yes, the dreaded thing that Instagram tells our parents shouldn’t have been doing with their neighbors. I think comparison is actually fine. I want to enable transparency in this crucial detail about my (our) lives such that everyone is able to compare themselves and their situations with mine (others). We should all be thinking about how much capital we have and how we are using it, and how much capital others have and how they are using it. We should then share our notes with each other and help each other do better with whatever resources they have.

If you do document your wealth, please share with me.