Are you ready to get your finances in order? Today’s rapidly evolving world requires women to feel financially empowered: from keeping track of what’s coming in and going out, to creating and monitoring a retirement and general long-term investing plan. The good news is that there are plenty of useful strategies and powerful tools out there that can improve your financial picture and provide a security-filled future.
In this article, we’ll dive into different strategies and tools that are specifically designed to help women manage their money in three different ways: If you want to learn how to budget for yourself, discover investment alternatives, or find ways to increase your income, keep reading. We have actionable tips and advice that you can use straight away to start taking charge of your financial future.
We invite you to come with us on this financial wellness journey as we help you improve your personal finance. Developed on the premise of financial certainty, you will be equipped with the knowledge, preparedness and skills to set you on the right foot towards a secure financial future.
The importance of empowering women in financial matters
Empowerment means greater financial security, a benefit to all women. Over decades and over generations, women have been systematically disadvantaged. The inequality occurs on several levels: there is a large gender wealth gap, to name just one. Most women have less wealth than men, and they also tend to have a less stable and less generous flow of income. Financial empowerment directly addresses this inequality.
If we really want to empower women when it comes to finance, it’s got to be about helping women become as educated and capable around money: to give them the power and confidence to make decisions around their money, so as to live life on their own terms. We should hope that our female-focused financial institutions can help usher in this new thinking, in order to enhance female financial power and lead our society to a more prosperous and stable economic future.
Understanding the gender wealth gap
There’s a large gap in wealth compared to men despite substantial progress on gender equality. The reasons the gender wealth gap persists have varied explanations, including the pay gap, interruptions in career paths to care for a child or elderly relatives, and glass ceilings that prevent women from reaching senior levels.
Awareness of the women’s wealth gap is the necessary first step toward taking action to achieve economic parity. In order to close the gap, we must understand not only why the gap exists, but we must also be proactive in addressing and reversing its causes. This includes initiating political and socio-cultural approaches, such as equal pay for women, equal access to financial literacy and education, and support of economic equity policies.
Budgeting basics for women
The first step towards financial empowerment is a budget so as to track the inflows and outflows of your income and expenses, see how far you can save money, create monetary targets. For women, budgeting means getting control over their income to use and spend money at their will.
Budgeting is indeed the gateway to financial empowerment. It tracks your income and expenses, helps you cut on certain expenses and set your financial goals. Budgeting becomes particularly important for women who, through it, are able to regain control over their financial lives.
When making a budget, first write down your income sources and regular expenses. This comprises salary, side jobs or freelancing, mortgage offset or utilities and debt payments, whether it is a car loan or mortgage. Figure out variable expenses like grocery, transportation, late nights, travel, petrol, entertainment, night outs. And, most importantly, a percentage of income should be reserved for savings or investment for the future.
A budget allows you to actively manage and allocate your money by ensuring that your spending fits in with your goals, your priorities and your ability to save. When it comes to being a woman in control of her finances, budgeting can be the tool that equips you to make the right decisions about money.
Saving strategies for women
One aspect of financial empowerment is saving money. Whether it be to pay for unexpected expenses, to get close to your milestones, or to build up wealth, mastering the tips below will ensure you start saving.
Check them out below:
- Automate your savings: Set money aside as soon as you get paid!! Most women I know would usually reach for drinks and a soothing massage after work, but giving yourself a break by saving money might have a greater effect on your life.
- Create an emergency fund: Set aside as much cash as you can to usher in your dreams. Ruminate on your milestones from before and picture your recovery from there.
- Save for retirement: Avoid debt Don’t be tempted by loans, period.
- Set goals for big-ticket expenses: Save on the smaller things. Pick just three items to save you a decent chunk of money.
Hopefully, it has been enlightening. It might be the start of your journey to financial freedom, particularly for women. As already said, let’s give vibrancy to the latter part of a joke that might be repeatedly made when it comes to women visiting the doctor. It could go something like: ‘Women? We need more of them in emergency rooms!’
Investing for women: getting started
Investing is a channel through which all wealth is generated, and all long-term financial aspirations can be realised. Yet, it has proven to be an elusive area for women to get exposure to, in spirit if not in fact. This is largely due to a multitude of barriers women face that prevent them from getting serious about investing. It is an uphill battle to make women feel empowered to go invest and take control of their economic destiny, but this research tells me that we can tackle the problem head on if we have the commitment.
Pretty basic stuff. But before you start buying and selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds or real estate, you’d better learn a little something. How does compound interest work? You should probably find out. What does diversification mean? You should probably do some reading. How risky are you? You should try to find out.
If you have knowledge of the basics, then it is time to put that to work. Start with setting the goals for investment. Do you want to invest for retirement, for your child’s education or for some other financial goal? How much time horizon do you have? What is your risk tolerance?
Then select the best investments for your objectives. Try, if you can, to work with an advisor experienced with women investors to map out the best investment vehicles for you and your goals. Most advisors will want to understand your overall financial picture as well as what it’s like sorting through an enormous financial landscape.
Lastly, keep checking on your investments, seeing what’s happening in the markets and learning about economic news that might affect them. Adjust your portfolio from time to time, bringing it back into the universe that keeps it focused on your goals and risk.
Financial investing can seem scary and we are sometimes held back from investing by bad information. Women, however, can overcome these roadblocks and start taking charge of their financial futures if they want to. With the proper information and advice from money experts, women can reap the wealth benefits of investing. Investing really can help us build solid foundations and a secure financial future.
Tools and apps to track and manage finances
In the modern world, there seems to be a tool or app for everything, and your finances are no exception: You can budget, save, invest and track your expenses like never before, and chart a route for your financial future in relative ease. Let’s look at a few of the trendiest tools and apps around:
- Mint: Free budgeting app that tracks your income and expenses, creates a budget and lets you set goals for saving money and sticking to the budget; provides advice and personalised reports on how to manage your money more wisely.
- Personal Capital: Personal Capital (www.personalcapital.com) is a trusted app that curates the financial info you need in once place. Using the app, you can: Track your investments Analyse your overall portfolio Plan for retirement.
- Acorns: An app that makes investing easy and accessible. It saves spare change from your purchases. Great if you want to start investing without much capital.
- YNAB (You Need a Budget): YNAB is a family friendly budget app that helps your dollar dance. The educative app teaches your money how to work for you by living within your means and budgeting the money to help you achieve your financial goals. It embraces the philosophy of giving every dollar a job every time and comes complete with tools and tutorials to help you save money.
These are just some of the many tools and apps available to help women plan and track their finances. Research what others use and what may work for you. Let technology assist you on this journey to financial wellness.
Resources for financial education and empowerment
More resources and tools and apps are becoming available to assist women with financially preparing and competing. You can be on the road to financial empowerment by taking advantage of great information, actionable advice, and support services. Here are some of the resources you can look up on the internet.
- Books: There are many books written specifically for women on topics such as personal finance, investing, and wealth building. Some popular titles include “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, “Smart Women Finish Rich” by David Bach, and “The Feminist Financial Handbook” by Brynne Conroy.
- Online courses and webinars: Many organizations offer online courses and webinars on various financial topics. These include everything from intensive courses on nitty-gritty technical details, general advice and the basics of accounting to more research-based and descriptive ones on the topic of money, savings, investments and more. Find a course that’s tailored towards women to help you better understand your financial needs and goals.
- Financial podcasts: Nothing makes learning about personal finance easier than a financial podcast. Listening to a podcast while doing the dishes or driving to work is an easy way to keep up with new aspects of your financial health. Some of my favorite financial podcasts, all hosted by financial experts and focused on new ideas, subjects and perspectives include: “The Dave Ramsey Show,” “The Money Girl Podcast,” and “HerMoney with Jean Chatzky.”
- Financial advisors: If you’re looking for advice, and someone to show you how everything fits together, the best place to start might be an adviser. A financial adviser who is ‘femtastic’ should specialise in working with women, and help you develop a personalised financial plan that works with your objectives and circumstances.
But these can also be great sources of knowledge, tools and inspiration about women’s financial empowerment – so use them to deepen your own knowledge and confidence in making financially smart decisions.
Overcoming common challenges for women in finance
It is often said that behind every successful man, there is a strongwoman. Yet statistics, news headlines and anecdotal observations tell us that a woman’s path to financial success is often made more difficult than this saying suggests. Challenges to women in the financial world include the gender pay gap, cultural barriers and associated struggles. If we are to improve gender equality in the world of finance, it is beholden on us to identify and tackle the challenges. So, here are some of the common challenges women face – and strategies to overcome them.
- Gender pay gap: Apart from the gender pay gap being second in the list, up top is wealth-building, something many women struggle with. By closing the gap in your own paycheque, you earn more, and closer towards reaching the top. Here’s what to do. Workplace: Advocate for equal pay and negotiate your salary. Research what your grade rate is in the world of employment and confidently go for it.
- Societal biases: Women might be held back from their confidence due to biases in society. It’s important that you strive to overcome it with the right financial education and the right people around you. Find your tribe – women who are on their own journey to financial empowerment.
- Cultural expectations: As a woman, your family, friends and others might have certain expectations that affect your financial decision-making. As you take control over your financial destiny and tap further into your financial power, make sure you are directing your progress only towards your goals and dreams. These choices should be your own.
- Lack of financial education: You might not have learnt as much about money as others might have, so it’s important to make up for it now. Educate yourself. Read books, check out some online or audio courses, or listen to podcasts about personal finance and investing.
Women can overcome these obstacles to financial success by directly addressing them, and by proactively embracing financial empowerment.
Building a support network for financial empowerment
Financial empowerment requires an ecosystem of support, and you will need allies who are also walking the walk. You may not know how to get started, but there are usually others whose company and advice can keep you motivated, guide you, and hold you accountable. Here are few ways to develop the support network you’ll need to succeed:
- Join women-centric finance groups: Check for online or local groups of women focused on their own empowerment. This is an excellent way to talk through financial dilemmas, find out what others are doing, and learn.
- Attend financial workshops and events: Attend financial workshops and events; most are built around networking and sharing of ideas and contacts. Affinity to affluence Rather than being intimidated by people who appear affluent, listen to them and learn. They might have finances to support but often that wasn’t their starting point.
- Seek mentorship: Someone who has succeeded financially can be a valuable resource as a mentor to help you along the way.
- Engage with online communities: For example, become a member of SpendMatters, The Motley Fool, Quora, the StockTwits chatroom, as well as any other online forums, social media groups or blogs related to personal finance and investing like mine. Ask questions, get answers and share information.
Remember, a support network isn’t just about those who help you but also the people you help. So, share your experiences from having found or not found work, make connections with your agreements, and disseminate the knowledge and value you gain.
Conclusion: Taking control of your financial future as a woman
In conclusion, the empowerment of women in terms of finances and money is very positive because it will promote a forgotten and unequal society, which will benefit more women. So, if women can take control over their finances, they are more likely to create wealth, dream big and also achieve their goals.
Budgeting, saving, investing – these are the tools to help women take charge of their financial destinies. Creating a budget, saving and investing: tools and apps can simplify the process, offer valuable insights and guidance.
Financial education and resources also have a huge part to play. Teaching women to look after their money will help them come to an understanding where they don’t have to depend on someone else if they don’t want to. It will give women the resources and confidence to make decisions. Overcoming adversity and building a support network also help to build women’s sense of financial empowerment.
Don’t let not knowing or uncertainty stop you. Do something. You have the power to create a financial future free of money anxiety and full of prosperity. The right strategies, tools and support can help. Take control today so you can have the financial future you deserve.
