For quite a long time women had been depressed in India before being given the opportunity to lead in parallel to men in all walks of life. Exceptional to everyone’s expectations, they performed well and proved their worth in personal and professional life both. But the cosmopolitan life have made these women extravagant splurging without checking their limits. So, the usual money-manager tag being given to women seems to die away and the money management remains a history for them now.
Sameera, in mid 20s, well-educated has been working in Mumbai for quite a long time. By God’s grace, she managed to start earning handsomely in few years of work making her more independent and giving her own identity. And similar to this, her lifestyle also changed shifting from Nokia GSM to Blackberry, splurging more on shopping, restaurant foods et al with minimum thinking on Personal Finance. They have the notion in mind that their dream men would bring all the charm and comforts to their life.
Let us understand Sameera’s financial position and read her lifestyles since she has been earning. She currently holds a credit card where she has got a significant dues pending, thanks to her openhanded expenses. She is still unaware of the various nuisances and hidden charges on her credit cards which the credit card company adds every now and then. Her fault is : she didn’t read the fine prints of credit card and neglected the nuisances of overspending on credit card. She also has a medical insurance provided by her current employer which is also not sufficient in city like Mumbai where medical expense can unbalance your financial kitty. In the name of life insurance, she has got nothing much, means she is under-insured. This is not the new story with a cosmopolitan unmarried earning girl. The story does not end here with Sameera. Rita, Deepali, Anjana, Midul and others share the same story and are least interested in future financial requirements.
Here are some reasons why working women should have balanced financial positions and should decide about it little early without ending into a financial mess:
- First of all, they should have enough life insurance in terms of Pure Protection schemes. Should any unfortunate things happen in future, their nominee would get the entire sum assured. It works well when the women are married and are burdened by home loan debts, kids’ education expenses and other major expenses. And if they take insurance early in their life, it will cost less to them and there are additional discounts being offered to them by insurers due to less prone to risks.
- Women should take medical insurance policy at an early stage, when the insurance seeker is not suffering from any ailment. This is important because as one ages, there is likelihood of developing ailments which can be fatal too. Moreover, women are more prone to health care services due to their inherent conditions.
- Disciplined investment always pays well in the long term. The working women should make systematic investments into various saving products at an early age so as to get a compounding effect on their returns.
- Since for many women, their dream job might be a dream for fulfilling their cherished dreams, they should avoid splurging and must keep checks on their expenses. Incase they use credit cards more often, they must pay the bill in time else the interests on credit card dues can put them in debt trap.
Smart work, smart thinking, multi-environment adaptability and loyalty to the company are some of the flying colour words which define today’s women but when it comes to their own money management skills, they score very low and mess their financial conditions. They must follow a disciplined approach towards their personal savings and check their expenses.
