I have seen it in my family, and I am sure you have seen it in yours too, or maybe are a part of it. Our moms, aunts, and grandmas saving – in the form of cash or gold. They are great savers, but not-so-great investors.
While their methods were not great, at least they saved. The younger generation is falling short here.
I am going to talk about why it is important for women to save:
- Cushion in case of emergencies or changes in circumstances: Life is filled with unforeseen events, even more for women. It might get difficult to accommodate even the slightest change in circumstances if we do not have a financial cushion to support ourselves.
- Independence: Want to get an education abroad? Or travel with friends? Or start a business? We have the choice only if we have enough savings. I have seen a lot of women, older and younger ones, giving up on their dreams because they were financially dependent on their spouses.
What is the point of saving if it doesn’t grow over time? Savings will only make sense if it is followed by investing. Here’s why
Many of us hold our savings in two ways – cash and bank account.
- Savings held in the form of hard cash is in fact reducing our savings over time. Due to inflation, the INR 1000 we hold in cash today is going to be around INR 950 in a year’s time.
- Holding our savings in bank accounts (through savings account and fixed deposits), although better than hard cash, is generating sub-optimal returns that merely keep up with inflation.
There are various financial products in the market today that generate great returns on our savings. A lot of information for the same is available online. If it gets confusing, there are various financial planners and advisors who can help with the same. All we need to do is start.
My mother, when she was a home-maker, had managed to make some savings. My family faced an emergency a long time back. And thanks to my mother’s savings, we could get through to some extent.
I have seen how important it is for women to save and grow their savings through investing. I urge you to take the first step in that direction and start.
by Eesha Pathak, For Her-Mony
I’m Eesha, and I work as an analyst with an investment bank. I like playing Guitar and reading poetry.
Why I wrote on this topic: I’ve known the importance of investing for quite some time now, but it was only after I recently met someone from the industry that I realised how much more important it is for women to save and invest. I hope that my story and my learnings help women take the first step and start investing.
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