Women and personal finance in India: Changing the discourse

Every person ends up managing finance in some way or the other. Housewives have been doing this for the longest time, children who get pocket money do that and people who earn money, generally try to ensure that their expenses do not exceed their income. The quality of money management can vary and with the newer investment avenues and newer expenses, this appears to be a daunting task. It is especially challenging for some women who have their hands full with work, children, classes, schools, teachers, relatives, and the list goes on.  

Irrespective of their position on the financial independence continuum, women need to have a broad idea of the household income and the expenses. The expenses should also be bucketed into absolute necessity, good to have and  nice to have. The items that fall into each of these would vary upon each individual circumstance. For me my child’s math tuition might be an absolute necessity which could be because I think my child needs extra help or because I have spare cash to slot this into absolute necessity.

women need to have a broad idea of the household income and the expenses

Once you understand your expenses, you should be able to figure out if any of those expenses can be slashed, can you save more? What do you do with your savings?

When you have spare money, you should invest that amount. However also weigh the risk for each investment. Additionally, you need to think of how would you continue feeding certain investments if you or your spouse ceases to be employed? Will it have an impact on the EMI payments? It is important that you also think of protecting your investments. Insurance could help you with that.

Once you understand your expenses, you should be able to figure out if any of those expenses can be slashed, can you save more? What do you do with your savings?

It is important that you make some provision for emergencies, children’s education and retirement. All these are known expenses and it’s good to save/ invest keeping these in mind. There might be situations where you have to dip in to say your retirement money but you need to ensure that you remain focused on replenishing the retirement fund.

Taking time to plan your finances can truly help you streamline your expenses. With the money saved, you can invest, pay off your debts or even go on a holiday! This may appear tedious but the benefits you reap are yours to keep.

Rashmi Sharma is a corporate lawyer with Premji Invest in Bengaluru.