According to statistics, 80 percent of women in India struggle with financial literacy, and 62 percent of Indian women do not own bank accounts or have limited access to banking services.
For ages, women are not involved while taking financial decisions in their homes. Many women leave their financial decisions to their male counterparts. Only 33% of women take their own financial decisions whereas 64% of men participate in money decisions. Out of 33 percent, 13 percent of women take up money affairs due to their helplessness. That is, they are either divorced with a child or they are left as the only breadwinner of the house.
But why wait for the times of despair to take charge of your own lives?
Financial independence plays a huge part in gender equality. A woman must build a safety net for their future even before planning a marriage or children. When compared to men women have a more life expectancy and certain women even earn less than men due to career breaks and pay disparity in certain fields therefore it becomes imperative for women to become financially independent and plan their retirement plans.
There are certain ways listed below that would guide and motivate you to become financially healthy and wealthy.
Take a look!
Be Alert and Aware
All the ladies out there need to be aware of the trends in the financial market. Certain schemes offer lower rates on home loans. Explore all the schemes and policies available in the market, especially girl-related schemes, and cash upon the lower rates of interest on different business avenues.
Enroll yourself in various online courses and consume finance-based content to get educated on personal finance. Accounting or budgeting is no rocket science, rather it is a lifestyle that will make you feel empowered and liberated.
Women are better multitaskers and have more patience than their male counterparts, trust me, ladies, you’ll be great Financial Managers.
Plan your budgets
Women are great at saving; demonetization is the testimony of the same. But at the same time, women tend to face a lot of apprehensions in managing their finances as from childhood they are not taught to be risk-averse. In addition to it, they are also scared of society that if something goes wrong everybody will blame them. But you can’t swim in the water without wetting your feet. You need to understand numbers, and the basics of accounting to live a fruitful life.
Plan your budget cash flows according to your lifestyle. Jot down your needs and wants and calculate the surplus amount for your expenditure before the month begins. Always keep your earnings higher than your earnings.
Start Investing
On regular basis women take conscious money decisions then why not take a step further and start investing and planning your retirement plan?
To reap the benefits of your investments, start early. If you have low-risk appetites then start investing a meager amount monthly in mutual funds. This will inculcate a sense of saving in a disciplined manner within you.
Even if you don’t know about investments, start investing as money decays being in the secret compartments of your house due to inflation. It is always preferable to consult a financial expert who would help you make a comprehensive plan to fulfill your future endeavors.
Remove your mental block and change your perspective of linking investment with gambling with growth.
Maintain your credit score
Women majorly have 3 milestones to achieve in their lifetime- marriage, motherhood, and career-driven women – at the expense of their further education.
Despite having these individual responsibilities on their shoulders, many women still proceed to have a joint account with their partners or parents. If in the future you require money or want to own something with your finances, you should be able to bear it yourself. Therefore, always balance your CIBIL score. Keep a check on your civil report and credit transactions. And try to take one loan at a time.
Ladies, you’ll feel much more liberated when you start taking your financial decisions. Man is not a financial plan.
From childhood, young girls should be educated to save money otherwise they might turn into heavy spenders and bad savers. Spouses, fathers, and the men of society should encourage their wives, daughters, and women to become financially independent to gain their confidence and self-esteem.
Come out of your shell to seek excellence
There is no doubt that we can crunch those numbers under our heels if we have to. Time and again it’s been proven that whenever money is handed over to women it reaches a far more productive stage. Women-led companies have outperformed men-led companies. They have not just increased their company’s valuation and profits but also lead the company with more self-satisfied employees. And when individuals are more satisfied the productivity of the company increases.
Female entrepreneurs have broken stereotypes to emerge as a phoenix in their respective lives. Women like Aditi Gupta- co-founder of Menstrupedia which aims to educate the masses about menstruation and the process of puberty, Radhika Ghai Aggarwal the first woman from India to enter the Unicorn club, Ananya and Anushree Maloo founders of India’s first male intimate hygiene company have unleashed their inner strength and come up with some ground-breaking business ideas. So why not you? Break those barriers and leave behind an incredible legacy for the generation to come.
Recently Gita Gopinath became the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Every woman has the ability, you just need to have the willingness to incorporate it into your life. Be curious and ready to learn just like the 7 Gujarati women who scripted the amazing success journey of Lijjat Papad just by monetizing their primary skill- cooking.
Things you should keep in mind
- Don’t forget to keep some money in liquid form as your emergency corpus.
- Health insurance and term insurance are an absolute must.
- Having one source of income is risky so always try to build passive income or assets.
- If you want to be your own boss and run a business do check out the policies and government schemes available in the market. Often national banks offer low-interest rates for women entrepreneurs.
Being single, unmarried, married, or having kids it is salient for every woman to be prepared in every dimension of their life as prevention is better than cure.
Remember ladies, dreams occur twice in life, once in the mind and another in the real world. So, believe in yourself and set your financial goals because, without money, your lifetime goals would remain unfilled.
