It is an irony that while many women are financially independent today, they are not financially empowered in a true sense. They may be diligent savers but not truly involved in managing their personal finances. The financial baton is passed onto father, brother and later after marriage to spouse. Working women may feel they are financially secured but that may not be true always.
When life throws certain harsh bouncers, the financial hardships experienced by women make them wish that they had more money at that crucial time. Many women realise this in hindsight and also regret not taking the right financial decisions earlier.
This is the reason every woman should create her own personal fund. This can be her biggest financial security. This kitty is meant for her alone, she should not utilise the money for her spouse and children. It is for her own personal goals and priorities – both personal and professional.
How a personal fund can help?
A personal fund can be of great help to a woman to tide over uncertain and tough situations in life. Let us examine:
Uncertain career: Priorities change for a woman more than men, post marriage and attaining motherhood. The career path becomes a bit hazy, even ambiguous. Some women take a sabbatical after work but end up becoming full time stay-at-home moms. The never-ending career gap could be due to lack of support system, personal family situation, etc. Many who resume work after a long gap or look for flexi options may have to compromise on low paying jobs. Such situations restrict a woman’s future earnings potential and eventually deplete their existing savings. A personal fund can be a boon as a woman will have money to call her own and spend if need be in any unfortunate life situation.
Unhappy marriage: Many a times, a woman compromises in a marriage despite having compatibility issues with spouse, in-laws, etc. She feels helpless and stuck in a relationship just because she does not have enough money of her own to support herself and kids, if any. A personal fund can provide her the much-needed independence to walk out of the relationship if need be when things become worse.
Parents in financial need: Even after marriage, every daughter would like to extend financial support to her parents, if need be. This true freedom of helping dear ones comes when a woman has adequate money of her own. A personal fund will give a woman that liberty to utilise her savings at her discretion to financially help her loved ones.
There could be other such similar situations where a woman could feel constrained to take a decision in her own interest just because of lack of money.
When to create a personal fund? It is prudent for a woman to create a personal fund right from her initial working years before marriage. It is the best time to contribute generously to the fund as financial responsibilities are usually less. Ideally, a woman must ensure to contribute a minimum of 15-20 per cent of her savings to her personal fund and increase the contribution every year, if possible. There are various investment options like fixed deposits, recurring deposits, debt mutual funds, etc. where a woman can invest her savings. Since the personal fund is meant for the long term, a woman can consider to invest a portion of it in equity mutual funds also. She should utilise the fund only during any adverse situation affecting her life. Judging her own financial needs and concerns will help her to exercise restraint in dipping into the fund for casual needs.
To conclude, every working woman should prepare for her own financial security by creating a personal fund. It can give her the financial freedom to live life on her own terms and not feel constrained in any unforeseen situations.