Women face many financial challenges such as dealing with the rising cost of living as the sole breadwinner in their households. They also have to save more money for retirement because they live longer than their male counterparts.
While taking control of your financial future may seem a daunting task, women can take steps to achieve financial security and freedom for themselves.
Five women share their tips for saving money:
1. Budget
A budget can help women keep track of their finances by giving them an overview of their income, expenses and savings.
Below, TikToker NomazDiaries shares with people who are inexperienced to budgeting how they can create their own budget. In her video, she lists her monthly income as well as her list of monthly expenses and the cost of each expense.
She further breaks down her expenses into online expenses, cash payments and savings.
@nomazdiaries A budget method that saved my life #budgetforbeginners #fyp #viral #nomazdiary #cashenvelopes ♬ Intentions (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Justin Bieber & Quavo] - Elliot Van Coup
2. Emergency fund
An emergency fund can be a financial buffer that will be useful to women should they face a crisis such as losing their job or getting retrenched.
Janine Horn, financial adviser from Momentum said that having an emergency fund for a rainy day can help people avoid life's pitfalls.
Women should have at least three months of their salary saved in an emergency fund.
3. Pay off your debts
According to statistics from National Debt Advisors (NDA), over 30% of female consumers have unsecured debt, including payday loans and revolving credit
Charnel Collins, CEO of NDA said that the first step women should take to sort out their debts is to make a list of all their debts. This should include interest rates and monthly payments.
Then they should put all of their focus on paying off high-interest debt first, as this will save them money in the long run.
4. Speak to a financial advisor
According to Paula Walker, a director and advisory partner at the Consolidated Wealth Group, women should think of a financial advisor as a personal trainer. This is someone to guide you and keep you going when you might feel overwhelmed.
“An advisor helps you focus on the big picture and will build a portfolio to match your goals.”
“How often you interact with them is up to you – but periodic check-ins will keep you on track and by attending these meetings with your partner, you’ll both be updated on your financial progress,” Walker said.
5. Retirement
The Alexforbes Member Insights 2021 found that men usually retire on 35% of their final salary, while women typically retire on 9% to 26% of their final salary.
Women usually retire with less money because of the gender pay gap between men and women. Therefore they save less and get less of a matching retirement contribution from their employer.
Belinda Sullivan, head of corporate consulting strategy at Alexforbes says that women can tackle this challenge by starting to save as early as possible.
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