7 Financial Tips for Working Women

Today, working women demand and deserve equality. They do not appreciate the different treatment that is given to them in the financial sphere, or in case of any other decisions.

Their dreams and aspirations are not different from men. Thus, their aspirations as well as issues faced in their financial life is not much different either. Financial desires common to both genders include saving for education and marriage of children, saving enough to get married, buying a new car or house, going on a dream vacation, retirement planning, and more. It is also important to maintain a certain standard of living.

Let us now look at some of the most important decisions which working women need to take to ensure their financial well-being.

1. Protection cover: If you’re a working woman and if there are family members dependent on you, you need to make sure there is enough coverage in terms of LIC and disability. It is important to protect the family financially in case something happens to you. The thumb rule says that you need to have total disability and LIC plans equal to 10x your annual income.

2. Retirement planning: working women have to plan for retirement in advance as well. In fact, they need to plan for it even sooner than men. Retirement depends on profession, and therefore celebrities, sportswomen and air hostesses have a short career. They do not get much time to plan or invest for retirement, and thus the sooner they start the better. They need special planning, and it is best if they take the help of financial planning professionals. They can plan for retirement by investing in real estate, debt and equity.

3. Gold: Women have always loved this yellow metal. If you wish to invest in gold, then it needs be an investment amounting to more than 10% of your financial portfolio. This can be either in the form of digital gold or physical gold.

4. Asset allocation: Working women needs to have some exposure to mutual funds through SIPs, or Systematic Investment Plans. These are ideal for creating long-term wealth. The same is needed for achieving life’s financial goals, ranging from foreign trips, marriage, education and marriage of children, and retirement. For best results, 10% of your investments should be on gold, and the rest on EPF, PPF, bonds and bank FDs.

5. Documenting their financial plan: It is also important for working women to convert their financial plan into a hard copy document. It is important because it is worth reviewing it from time to time. 

6. Making their Will: People still think that they should make a Will only in their old age. That is a wrong concept. The truth is that you should make a Will as soon as possible. It needs to address their total investments and savings, and in what proportion should they be divided. 

7. Limiting their expenses: It is equally essential to limit expenses, and to spend beyond their means. At the same time, one should do their best not to resort to loans, excessive credit card spending and debts. 

To conclude, it is thus very important for working women to take care of their finances, to be financially disciplined, and to live a well-planned life.