21st-century Women have done a lot of struggles to finally reach the same footing as their male counterparts when it comes to making money and achieving Financial independence. But how good is making a lot of money if we don’t know how to manage it in a way that gives us long-term financial security?

Women are proven to live longer than men in almost every society around the globe. We are not just making this claim for the sake of it. Here are some important stats to look for before we start talking about anything else:

1. If you are 40 years old or below, there are 18.7% that you’ll get to celebrate your 100th birthday.
2. If you are 60 years old or above, there are still a whopping 12.3% chances that you’ll get to celebrate your 100th birthday as compared to just 8% for the males.
3. By the time you reach 85 years of age, you would’ve already outnumbered your male counterparts by the ratio of 2:1.
4. On average, a woman lives 5 to 7 years longer than a man.
5. And you know out of every 100 widowed people, 77 are women!

I don’t think we need more data here to realize the fact that as women, our life expectancy is higher.

Well, we don’t really get an option to choose how long we live, what we can really choose is, how do we live the time we get in this capitalist yet beautiful world?

In addition to the long age, one of the major contributors to the problem of less financial literacy and investment in women is that they lack role models. They barely have any role models to look up to when it comes to investing.

From magazines, newspapers to tv channels, financial education and practices are dominated by male figures. Making it really hard for women to relate, learn and inculcate good saving and investing habits. This has been going for years. But, in the 21st century when women are earning more than they ever did!

I don’t think we need more data here to realize the fact that as women, our life expectancy is higher.

Well, we don’t really get an option to choose how long we live, what we can really choose is, how do we live the time we get in this capitalist yet beautiful world?

In addition to the long age, one of the major contributors to the problem of less financial literacy and investment in women is that they lack role models. They barely have any role models to look up to when it comes to investing.

From magazines, newspapers to tv channels, financial education and practices are dominated by male figures. Making it really hard for women to relate, learn and inculcate good saving and investing habits. This has been going for years. But, in the 21st century when women are earning more than they ever did!

1. Women face distinct financial complications all their lives

There are many financial burdens which women face as compared to men.

Maternity, Child care, caretaking of family, the longevity of life, lack of long-term investments, lack of financial education all play a significant role in posing major financial hurdles throughout a woman’s life.

2. Wrong saving habits!

Well, women save sometimes. But, do you remember how your mother saved up some of her money In the sugar jars, in a small purse hidden in some cupboard, or behind the shoe rack? Saving money is good but sometimes, when the amount is large, these methods can be rather dangerous. They don’t only have high chances of going missing 0r being stolen but also the value of money constantly depreciates.

3. General circumstances which hinder a woman’s earning potential

Circumstances demanding early retirement, or women taking off from their job, caregiving, maternity, health issues, mental health issues can all be a hindrance to a woman’s earning potential or in limiting her income. Making it really important for women to be aware of the right ways to manage their money and making it work for them in a way that yields their long-term benefits.

Here are some tips that will help you plan efficiently for a 100-Year Life

1. Take control of your monthly expenses

The first and the easiest step to financial planning starts with taking control of your short-term expenditure. And the best way to do this is by sticking to a budget and an expense tracker. A budget can help you track your expenses regularly and even if you go off-budget and splurge some money here and there you would have the exact idea of it.

2. Take care of the taxes!

 It’s an important rule of long-term financial planning to take care of taxes. Taxes are not going anywhere. When you earn money, you have to pay taxes as well. So, while you start planning financially you should also start looking at options that can save you some money on the taxes in the long term. The best person to talk to about this is your tax accountant or financial planner.

3. Start a contingency or rainy-day fund

You are young! You are actively earning money. You have a secured job. Should you be putting money into an emergency fund? The answer is yes.

We’ve recently witnessed how unexpected financial uncertainty can happen to anyone in a pandemic. Thousands of people lost their jobs, businesses got shot, payroll cut by significant margins, etc.

But this is not it. There can be other uncertainties as well like an unfortunate health issue, losing your employment because of some other reason, etc where your rainy-day fund can come in handy. Ideally, a contingency fund should be able to cover at least 6 months of expenses.

To create an emergency fund, start with calculating your monthly expenses which should include personal expenses, rents, installments, etc. Then take a certain portion out of the money you’ve left in your savings accounts. If you, do it consistently, you’d be able to create a contingency in a short period.

4. Laid out your financial plans

We can give you all the information on different kinds of saving, investing methods. You’d still need to do some work and find out the options which are best suited to you. Since everybody is different, their financial goals, income to expenditure ratio, long-term plans, etc are also different. This is why it’s super important that you do your research as well to work out the options which are supporting your financial goals in the long term. 

I hope it helped you and convinced you to start looking after your finances for the long term, and as always, you can get back to Avon Financial for your financial security.