Empowering young women with financial literacy enables them to be more in control of their relationship with money and, more importantly, create in them a better understanding of investment options out there and subsequently, be more confident in their ability to invest and grow their funds.
“When money flows into the hands of women, who have the authority to use it,
everything changes — for women, their families, and their communities,”
— Melinda Gates, philanthropist.
More women (12.4%) are financially excluded compared to (10.8%) in men, here in Kenya. This is according to the 2021 FinAccess Household Survey. Globally approx. 56% of the unbanked population are women. These statistics just go to show that there is still a long way as concerns getting women to be financially literate and independent when it comes to managing their own finances. Few pointers for women as they start to invest:
Understand Your Money Story
This is the impact your childhood experiences has on your current view and handling on money. If the experiences were majorly negative then most likely it is impacting you negatively and some of your bad money habits can be attributed to those experiences. If you have poor money management skills then it means you are hardly saving or investing. Consciously work towards adopting better money mindset, which will create good money habits that encourage you to save, invest and grow your money.
Invest In Your Financial Literacy
Knowledge gives you power over things you once thought were impossible or things you were never aware could make a difference in your life. This is why financial literacy is very important. Learn financial basics, read financial literature, watch webinars and listen to podcasts on investing. Building your financial literacy will increase your confidence level based on the information you now have and move you from point of information to Action – to invest and compound your funds.
Develop Financial Self-Independence
Build that personal “This is MINE” investment that will help you achieve your investment goals and empower you to make financial moves if & when you need to. Be proactive in creating that budget that will help you plan your income, expenses, savings & investments. Your proactivity in building YOUR investment, will help you avoid any future feelings of self-guilt and remorse.
Prioritize YOUR Investment Goals
When you have built that “MINE” investment, then you need to prioritize it. While putting others needs comes naturally to women, it is equally if not more important to have your OWN investment goals. Set your own personal investment goals and prioritize to work on them and achieve them. Adopt a respectable level of selfishness because even though: a daughter, wife or mother – you are still an individual: a Woman!
Trust Yourself
In Finances as with other aspect of life, you have to first believe in yourself so that others can believe in you more.
Trust that you are good enough and deserve the money you make. Trust that the investment decisions you are making are coming from an informed point of view because you have dedicated time to increase your financial literacy knowledge. Take those bold steps to grow your investments.
Women can leverage so much on their inherent skill sets to help them pivot their financial status. These tips help start the foundation and urge them to keep improving their financial literacy skills, develop better money management, grown in confidence when it comes to making informed financial decisions and ultimately long term wealth creation.
