By Manalee Verneker (CFP CM)
Introduction
Traditionally, Women have been dependent on men for financial support. Certainly, it no longer is the same anymore. Today, women are excelling in various professions like entrepreneurs, innovators, and employed professionals and making their name known. Women have increasingly been recognized for their capacity to earn and their contribution towards their family’s wealth. However, many women still find themselves trapped in a cycle of financial dependence, unable to truly enjoy the benefits of their hard work. To truly become empowered and independent, women need to strive for financial freedom. There are several events in a woman’s life —career, marriage, motherhood, taking care of their family, retirement and many more roadblocks — that may lead her to take a back seat from achieving their dreams. However, Financial freedom can help women during such events to make better decisions when it comes to their finances, be it their business investments or household savings. It not only helps them become self-reliant but also guides them towards making sound decisions that will foster their independence even further.
Why Is Financial Freedom Essential For Women?
Many times, women regard their financial independence as their financial freedom. But in reality, Financial independence is just a path to achieving financial freedom. Financial independence is the stature of earning adequately sufficient money to pay your living expenses without having to rely on someone else. Whereas, financial freedom is the capability to live your desired life the way you wish, make your own financial decisions and support them, and achieve your goals. It is about how to plan and allocate the hard-earned money into an investment that would generate strong returns over time. It not only empowers them to make decisions freely but also enables them to lead better quality lives with more access to options that were not available for women before.
Financial freedom is crucial for empowering women of all ages and incomes. Here’s why earning women must maintain control over their finances and take steps towards achieving financial freedom.
1. Boosts Your Self-Esteem
Financial freedom boosts your self-worth and self-esteem, especially if becoming self-sufficient is one of your goals. It provides a sense of success that transforms how you judge yourself and how others see you. It gives a morale boost, helps gain autonomy and makes one ready to face any challenges head-on and helps live a stress-free life. Moreover, if you make your own money, you can choose to make your decisions without depending on your partner or anyone else. It can also help women maintain a career while building a family.
2. To Keep Up With The Increasing Cost of Living
In these changing times and rising inflation, the cost of owning a quality home, sending your children to a reputable school, and maintaining an above-average level of life has risen dramatically. Financially self-sufficient women can pitch in the household’s day-to-day costs and also help in achieving the family’s long-term financial objectives. It also helps women to be able to spend their money on shopping and planning a vacation without relying on anyone.
3. Enjoy A Happy Retired Life
Something to consider is that women outlive men in many cases and thus many of them end up living their retired lives alone. Financial Freedom can help women to retire early and enjoy retirement benefits such as more time for leisure activities and improved pensions after all the struggles they have gone through.
4. Be Role Models
When women achieve economic independence, they can assist in managing the finances of the household. Such women become role models for their children and help in uprooting the age-old gender biases that are deeply rooted in our culture. For example, working moms know how to manage their finances, household, children and their professional life and create harmony in their workplace and personal lives.
5. Manage Emergency Funds
Life is unpredictable as it is, we never know when our family might end up in need of an emergency fund. Homemakers who invest in emergency funds (e.g. buying health insurance) can bring peace of mind in times of need. In India, many women are efficient homemakers and by having financial wiggle room, one can have the liberty to spend their money on their needs and support their family in every way possible.
To attain financial freedom, women need to know the right wealth-creation strategies and invest in the right opportunities. To properly approach investing, it is important to understand one’s risk appetite and develop investment strategies based on it. By investing in the right avenues, women have an enormous opportunity to reach their financial freedom with confidence and ease. To all the women out there, start your journey towards financial freedom now!
About The Author
Manalee Verneker is the founder of Financial Wisdom, a privately established financial services firm based in Goa, India. Financial Wisdom was founded by her in 2021, after just less than a decade of experience in the field of personal finance.
She is a Certified Financial Planner (CFPCM) from the Financial Planning Standard Board India and a Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM) from the American Academy of Financial Management.
Her experience includes working in Mutual Fund Companies, Wealth Management and Financial Planning Companies and she has a good understanding of both Indian and International markets and products.
She is passionate about personal finance management, and financial literacy and is a strong advocate for financial advice that focuses solely on the individuals.
For any kind of advice related to managing your finances and investments, contact Manalee on:
WhatsApp: 8378080888
Website: www.financialwisdom.co.in
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @_financial_wisdom_
Facebook: @financialwisdom2021
