Key highlights
- Financial planning for women is essential because women are dealing with several issues that throw them further down the value chain. One of these is the gender pay gap as well as family obligations.
- Women need some skills that will help them plan their financial future better, so they can retire in comfort rather than struggle
- Women need to be able to adequately manage their expenses and earnings to plan a better financial future for themselves.
Financial literacy expert and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Stewards, Sola Adesakin, said there are some skills women need to gain financial literacy.
She stated this on Saturday during a webinar themed Building a strong Financial Foundation: Essential Personal Finance Guide for Women sponsored by Nairametrics in partnership with PlusTV.
The top skills are highlighted below.
Collaborative skills
According to Adesakin, women need to collaborate more to drive their business goals. She believes that when women learn to work together, they can achieve anything. This is a better alternative than going it alone.
Risk management skills
Women need to understand risks and the different ways those risks can affect their earnings and investments. Risks are always present, so, understanding those risks will help women to better understand the financial decisions they make.
Earning skills
Adesakin said women should always think of the best ways to monetize their skills. According to her, everyone is a function of what they earn, and it is always best to increase their skills base, so they can earn better.
Savings and investments skills
According to Adesakin, savings is putting money aside and investing is putting money to work. It is important that women understand the difference between savings and investments, so they can plan their financial future better when taking decisions that are either savings or investments based.
Technology skills
Women who are interested in planning a financial future will need to be able to follow events as they unfold using technology. There are investment and savings platforms online that could be beneficial to women. Also advancing knowledge in financial literacy can be attained via technology or digital platforms, so women need to understand how tech-based savings and investment platforms work. Technology literacy is the future.
Possible investment opportunities for women
While speaking on the possible investment opportunities that women could take advantage of, Adesakin said before investing, women should take the time to understand how investments work before taking any steps to invest.
According to her, everyone does not have the same level of tolerance when it comes to investing. Some can take high risks, while others cannot. She provided a practical example of someone earning N1 million and able to invest N200,000, being different from someone who earns N100,000 and asked to invest the same N200,000. She advised women to understand their capacity before investing.
Adesakin believes women can take advantage of investment opportunities in the following:
- Exchange-traded funds as well as index funds
- Fixed deposits
- Treasury bills
- Stocks and equities
- Angel investing
- Commodities
- Real estate.
Common financial planning mistakes women make
During her presentation, Adesakin highlighted some common mistakes women make which can limit their focus on a well-planned financial future. Some of these common mistakes include;
Blaming everyone else – Adesakin said some women tend to blame their parents, the government or even their kids for their inability to plan their finances. This makes it difficult for them to focus on what matters, which is taking responsibility for their finances and planning better by prioritizing their needs and wants.
Inability to embrace knowledge – She said some women need to do better by embracing the knowledge that is available to them, so they can better understand their finances and the best possible ways to manage them. She, however, noted that in current times, women are better equipped with knowledge when compared to the past. She encourages women to do more in this regard.
Inability to collaborate – Adesakin encouraged women to learn to collaborate effectively to grow their businesses so that they can achieve their goals faster and with a support system. She highlighted the fact that women need to get past the competitive era into the partnership era.
Building wealth is a marathon, not a sprint
While speaking on some peculiarities concerning women and their earning power, Adesakin said it is important to understand that building wealth is a marathon, not a sprint.
She encouraged women to plan by creating a roadmap or blueprint to identify their strengths, and weaknesses, and develop their finances. also highlighted the fact that personal economy, national economy. and the global economy will always affect finances, so, women need to be aware of these factors to make smart decisions.
She said:
- “Do not abdicate your financial future to anyone. Ask yourself what your earnings and expenses are. A good financial future starts now. As women, the odds are stacked against us like the gender pay gap, career breaks for childbearing or family obligations, not having as much financial confidence as the men, and even higher healthcare costs.
- The days seem slow, but the years are flying by. There is a window available to you, where you can plan your financial future.”
What you should know
According to Adesakin, the tools for planning financial literacy include; mindset, skill set and knowledge. To adequately plan one’s financial future, one needs to be aware of cash flow, asset allocation, major purchases, net worth, estate planning, education funding, insurance and retirement plan.
