For those who haven’t seen the movie – Moana is the protagonist.

She is not a princess – she’s a heroine. The daughter of Chief Tui of the island village Motunui.

And my favourite dialogue from the movie is: “We can voyage again!”

She belonged to one of the greatest voyaging tribes, who no longer travelled. Anyone who ever wished to travel was held back out of fear of death.

She took the leap of faith and travelled beyond the island to protect her people and the endangered island.

Like Moana, celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day with courage and gift a financial plan (to yourself and to the women in your life).

In our Financial Planning journey at PersonalFN, we often find that our women clients are reluctant to financial planning.

Many women successfully handle the demands of a family, career, and household. In fact, they are the “Chief Financial Officers” of their household, but when it comes to managing their own finances, they take a back seat.

Financial independence is vital for everyone, including women. Dependence on state, parents, and partner should be avoided as much as possible.

Like Moana ask yourself this question – “Who are you meant to be?”

Today, choose to be a leader and plan your own finances.

Start your voyage towards your own Financial Freedom with Financial Planning as your ship. Because, you have strengths beneath the surface. And you are wise beyond your years. You just need to find it.

5 Step Financial Planning For Women

Step 1: Define Your Goals

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”—Napoleon Hill.

When you write down your financial goals, you know exactly what you want to achieve and utilize your money wisely.

Break down your financial goals based on the time frame to achieve them.

The table below will help you stay focused on what you really aim to achieve.
 

Your Personalised Goal Tracker
Short Term Goals (0-3 years)	Estimated Cost	Target Date	Action Steps
1
2
3
Medium Term Goals (3-5 years)	Estimated Cost	Target Date	Action Steps
1
2
3
Long Term Goals (5-10 years)	Estimated Cost	Target Date	Action Steps
1
2
3

See where and how all your goals can fit in this table. And while listing them down, you will notice that the list is a lot longer than what you had bargained for.

The most important thing to do while you sit down to plan your finances is ask yourself - why you want to invest?

For a single woman, it could be for her higher education and/or marriage. For a married woman with children, the answer could be their child's education. And a senior woman, whose children are already independent, would aim for a blissful retirement.

Once you have your financial goals in place, the next step is to prepare a plan to achieve those goals.

Step 2: Prepare A Financial Plan

Once you have identified your goals, the next step is to draw a financial plan to achieve them.

Although the broad financial planning process is similar for men and women, the latter might be required to manage their finances differently at times.

The working lives of women might be interrupted during certain important events of their lives such as marriage or children.

A classic example for this would be Mrs Sudha Murthy (the wife of Mr Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys). Inspite of being highly qualified and experienced, Mrs Murthy took a step behind from Infosys for the sake of her home and children.

Women sometimes have certain priorities which might be more pressing than their career. 

Step 3: Execute This Financial Plan

Once your financial plan is ready, you need to convert it into action as well.

For some it would be to cut down the avoidable expenses and increase savings. And for some, it would be to start investing into mutual funds.

You do not require a large sum to invest in mutual funds. Simplest way is to gradually invest via monthly SIPs with an amount as low as Rs 500.

Another important point to note over here is to buy adequate life insurance. The right kind and amount of insurance cover can be a boon to you and your family members, if unfortunate circumstances come knocking at the door. 

Also buy a health insurance to cover unknown medical expenses that may arise.

It is important to make prudent investments to meet all your financial goals and lead a healthy financial life.

Step 4: Review Your Financial Plan Regularly

To ensure that you remain on course, it is important to review your financial plan at least annually. This will enable you to incorporate any economic or personal changes in your plan to achieve your goals as intended.

You also need to adjust your asset allocation from time to time to avoid market turbulence.

For instance, you might have a large exposure to risky assets (such as equities) while you are young and far away from realising your goals, but as your goals draw nearer you must consider shifting majority of your portfolio to safe instruments (such as fixed income products) to shield the value of the portfolio from getting eroded.

Remember, without a timely review of your financial plan, you are most probably bidding a goodbye to your financial goals.

Step 5: Redeem Your Investments 

And while you are still on this journey, you may need to redeem your investments.

With a mutual fund investment this involves signing the redemption slip. In case of a life or health insurance policy, it involves submitting the policy and other required documents to the insurer. Do not ignore the taxation issues involved with the redemption of your investments.

The Way Forward...

Each woman is on her own tour called life. But the financial planning needs of women are different from men. They tend to live longer, earn less, save less for retirement, and have different insurance needs.

Like Moana, have the courage and take charge of your finances. Pledge to lead a healthy financial life.

Always ask yourself —  Who are you meant to be?

Lot of times, the lack of awareness about personal finance creates financial insecurity. The financial pinch is felt when women find themselves stranded if they are divorced or widowed, or are cheated out of their rightful legacies, or/and are rabidly mis-sold financial instruments.

That's why mere earning cannot lead women to economic empowerment. It should follow-up with advancement in her decision-making capacity.

Another thing that you as women must bear in mind is apart from managing your own financial affairs; you must actively involve in the family financial matters. You should be aware of all the investments and liabilities of your husband or father, so that you never face helplessness and are never misled by any of their debtors or creditors.

Reach out to us at info@personalfn.com or feel free to call us at 022 6136 1200 today and gift yourself with a PersonalFN's Financial Planning Services. And embark on your journey towards financial freedom. Our Certified Financial Planners will be more than happy to help you.

Once again, wish you a Powerful Women's Day 😊

Cheers!

Add Comments

Comments
aardhutwins747@gmail.com Apr 03, 2018 hi I am a working women aged 42 with twins aged 11. Their responsibility is totally on my shoulder. I am in govt sector and cannot save more than 2000 a month. Is there any suitable plan for me where i can invest.

 1