Women are the real architect of society. Be it a girl of 16 or grandma of 60, you will always find that behind every great achievement, there was always a woman who chose to be strong and to voice her opinion and changed history.

So if you think that being a housewife & not understanding the finance world is your shortcoming then read it on and get rid of this misconception. Your daily accounting with the vegetable vendor, milkman and the housemaid is a practical aspect of financial management, that usually goes unrecognized. A penny saved is a penny earned and you might just be underestimating this fact. It should not surprise you that the savings you keep aside from following strict budgets always go a long way in building a huge corpus for your family.

The number one economic issue in today’s world is the lack of financial literacy, especially among women. Your journey from being a homemaker to a professional, from a wife to a team leader, from a mother to a CEO, from a daughter in law to a Finance minister has not just made our boundaries limitless but has empowered us from within. We now know that we can be the best at any role that is entrusted upon us because we deeply understand the science of balance.

We have started to become financially independent but it’s time to become financially empowered. We still hesitate in paying bills electronically and try to figure ways to avoid it. We do keep a tab on our household expenses but never give much thought to how we can also fund our child’s education. We save but do not invest. We still avoid sitting with the insurance agent or the financial planner; even if our husband or father encourages us to do so. But the time testifies, that a woman can be just as good financial manager as any man can be.

Let us start with these simple steps to managing finances:

• Preparing an excel sheet or note in a book about the daily, weekly and monthly expenses and incomes.
• Keep a tab at how much you save every month and how can you save more.
• Understand about investment options from your banker or mutual fund agent.
• Grasp the idea of how a bank account works and how much interest is earned on a saving account.
• Understand, how the life insurance policy work from your agent.
• Comprehend the financial documents and statements at home and see how they are filed and why.
• Keep important personal documents like Pan Card, Aadhar card, Passport, Driving licence handy.
• Help your family member with filing of financial documents.
• Think about your important financial goals and sit with financial planner to understand how you can achieve the same.
• Chalk out a plan as to how you will deal with an emergency.

“Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, but it will improve the lives of all those around you.” – Robin Sharma. Financial literacy empowers and secures your life like no other understanding and comprehension can ever do. So be financially literate and empower your tomorrow.