How Can Women Be Financially Independent?

Please follow these pointers to have a better control of your money.

Do not obsess about passing wealth over to your children. We live in times of obsessive parenting. Sometimes, our guilt about being working mothers leads to needless generosity with kids using the money we earned. By all means support your children and enable their growth if you so wish, even after you have provided for their well-being and education. But draw the line at some point, when your kids have begun to earn money. They will do much better when they have to fend for themselves. 

There is nothing complex about investing and finance. Money left idle loses value, while money deployed to work earns an income or grows in value, or both. Every investment option can be understood in terms of where the money is deployed, and what happens to it. Return is what you get by allowing others to use your money; risk is the quality of that promise to give you something for using your money. Ensure that your money is put to use by scrupulous institutions whose promises are valuable. Don’t hand it over to your street side broker and hope that trading on the screen will magically grow it. 

Do not part with your wealth too easily and too early. One of the women told us the story of how her PF proceeds were used by her brothers to set up businesses that failed. She was lucky enough to inherit the wealth her husband left behind. But her warning that money in the hands of an elder attracts many in the near and extended family evoked resonance. Many dismiss the needs of senior citizens, and generalize they don’t need much money. Whatever is yours should be in your control, so you can decide how to spend, save, and give it away at a time that you deem appropriate. 

Do not assume that all the wealth you have should be hoarded and kept in a place you deem safe, until you are alive. Money as we just learnt has many uses and there are many institutions that will use your money for their business and pay you for doing so. Only a portion of your wealth might be needed for your routine everyday activity and annual spending. The rest must be invested efficiently to earn an income or grow in value. What you do not need immediately should be allowed to appreciate. Allocate your wealth between growth and income, based on what you have and what you need. Do not allow fear and misinformation to guide your investment decisions.