Over the years, more women have claimed their financial independence and are now more financially literate and we love to see it.
This International Women’s Month, we want to share with you some major steps you need to take to be a “Smart Money Woman.” It’s 2022, none of us has a chance to slack on their finances.
Today’s inspiration comes from Arese Ugwu - the executive director of the series ‘The Smart Money Woman’ on Netflix which is a sequel to her book, Smart Money Woman.
If you haven’t watched the series or read the book, we got you! Here are some of the crucial take-home lessons we learned for you to refer to.
Let’s get into it….
This carries the weight of most, if not all, financial decisions. Basically, what it means is confronting your money fears is the only way to conquer them.
Ask yourself the tough questions, for example, “If I lost my job today, how would I manage myself and my bills before I get the next one.” or “How will I pay for an unexpected medical expense?”
Sit down and give this a serious thought, accept and face your financial situation, and then plan your finances.
The best part is on Koa, we can help you manage and grow your money. You can customize your savings goals and watch your savings grow over time with our interest rate of up to 10% p.a. without you having to do much about it.
Reckless spending and negligence can cost you big time as it’s a burden on you to change it. What you need to do in such a situation is to first accept and face the situation as we have discussed previously.
Then, think back on every time you have ever spent or engaged in behaviors that are against the money goals you have set. You will start to notice some patterns that you can then use to make a list of things that trigger you to overspend and come up with solutions to avoid these triggers.
At this point, we’re sure you’re tired of hearing this but we’ll repeat this song till the end of time. Please keep track of your expenses. Tracking your expenses helps you understand where your money goes at every point in time and even ensures that you are spending within your budget.
As Arese Ugwu says, “Learn to spend with intention by allocating your resources to reflect the lifestyle you want and are able to afford.”
Another important lesson to take home is that debt can be a useful tool for financial leverage. According to the narrator on Smart Money Woman, ‘Wealthy people use debt to leverage their investment, but poor people use it to make the rich people richer.’
Know the first rule in the debt book? You should only borrow to acquire an asset that will appreciate in value, for example, a piece of land in Kamakis.
Borrowing a lot of money to go out with friends is a financial mistake! Basically in the future, when borrowing money, make sure you’re using the money wisely. We’re always watching.
Lastly, create an emergency fund.
We have a whole blog dedicated to learning more about emergency funds. Read more here.
But basically, an emergency fund is money stashed away to help you in times of financial distress. It is a safety net you can tap into to take care of unanticipated expenses, such as an illness, major home, and car repairs, or even unemployment.
Having an emergency fund gives you a better shot at weathering a crisis without making you fall into debt to pay for your emergency.
Now that you are well equipped with this information, what’s stopping you from being the smart money woman you’ve always dreamt of? Take charge of your finances today, it is never too early or too late for this.
We’re rooting for you!
