Hello dear ladies, and welcome to this podcast by Angel One.
Did you know that only around 33% women in India take independent financial decisions? While that might seem like a small number, this number is constantly on the rise - thanks to people like yourself, jo har din apni financial life ko important decisions se define kar rahe hain.
Now, you might already know ki savings aapke financial life ka ek crucial aspect hota hai. Lekin what might be less clear at first, is that while saving is a great habit, only saving might not be as effective as you might think.
Ye samajhne ke liye, listen to Kavita's story.
Kavita aur main kuch samay pehle Delhi mein same class mein padhte the. We started bonding over Delhi's impeccable street food, and kadak chai every winter morning. In the last few years, our friendship strengthened, and we stayed in touch despite moving cities after getting our jobs! Now Kavita works in an MNC in Delhi, and I moved to my home town in Bangalore. We both earn the same amount of money, and last month we were discussing how saving money has become a crucial part of feeling secure and independent with our lives. Kavita around ten thousand ki monthly savings karti thi, and same with me.
But there was a crucial difference in our approach to savings. Kavita used to leave her savings in her salary account, and I realized early on, ki leaving my savings in my salary account is perhaps not a very good idea. Kavita managed to earn some menial interest on her savings, and was discussing how she is planning to make an FD with her 5 year savings. This is where it all started. I explained to Kavita ki she can do better things with her savings than keeping them in the bank account and putting it all in an FD.
What I told Kavita that day is exactly what I am going to tell you right now. Let's call it investing 101 for women! Dekhte hain how you can reclaim better control over your financial life as a woman with these 6 measures!
Number 1 - Define your goals.
This might seem like an abstract step, aur kai log is step ko pointless consider karte hain. Lekin imagine a ship, jiski koi destination nahi hai. Surely, aap is ship mein fuel daalkar kai jagah lekar jaa sakte ho - lekin until you have a destination, you will only be covering distance in the sea, haina? Savings aur investments bhi is ship ki tarah function karte hain. Agar aapne pehle se apne goals define kar rakhe hain, toh you will not only feel motivated to save for these goals, but also know why you are saving your money in the first place. Lekin iska ek aur important implication hai. Knowing what you are saving for will also help you understand ki aap apne savings ko kis plan ya fir instrument mein daaloge.
Number 2 - Understand your risk tolerance
It's great to know ki aapko ten years later ek house purchase karne ki zaroorat hai, or that you will need a set sum of money for your child's education. Lekin knowing this also gives you another crucial piece of information - it tells you ki aap apni savings ko kitni risk se expose kar sakte ho. For example, you might come across a fixed deposit scheme that will pay you a 7.5% interest rate, but you know ki ye paise depreciate nahi honge - this kind of a scheme is less riskier than one in which the returns are not pre-decided. Risk tolerance ko samajh kar aap apni savings ko basically unke maximum potential par grow kar paaoge. To understand this concept more precisely, think about how much percentage of your savings you are ready to lose, in the hope of higher returns. If you can't lose even a single percentage of your savings no matter how big the potential reward, then you will probably need to invest in instruments that offer fixed, but pre-decided returns. Sounds simple, right? Toh dekhte hain 3rd point.
Number 3 - Know your options
Now that you know ki aapko kin goals ke liye save karna hai and how much risk you can take on your savings, you need to know about the various options available to you. A good rule of thumb is to separate your goals by long term and short term. THis will help you narrow down on what investment instruments will fit well to your goals. For example, have you heard about PPF? PPF stands for public provident fund. Isme invest karke you can obtain returns at a relatively better rate than FDs, lekin you cannot withdraw all of your savings before 15 years from the start of your investment date. Now, this instrument will definitely not work for you in case you are planning to buy a computer with a part of your savings in the next 2-3 years. However, an ELSS, jiska lock in period 3 saal ka hota hai, will fit perfectly for this goal.
Now, there are some instruments that are associated with high risk - lekin often, logon ko risk ka conception appropriately scope karna nahi aata hai. For example, kuch mutual funds 16% se upar ka return rate dete hain. While these funds will be susceptible to larger market forces, long run mein ye ups and downs flatten ho jaate hain. Covid pandemic ke time par kuch mutual fund investments ki value half se kam tak drop ho gayi, lekin after the recovery, these mutual funds returned better growth than before the pandemic. Toh instruments ko evaluate karne se pehle time aur risk ke implications ko sahi tareeke se samajhne ki koshish karen.
Number 4 - Make regular, bite-sized savings
Doston sabhi logon ki will power meri friend Kavita ke jaisi nahi hoti. In fact, maine apni pehli salary month ka end hone ke pehle hi spend kar di, and I couldn't svae much. The thrift spender that I am, I decided to set apart my savings at the beginning of the month. Iske liye, maine apne mutual funds ke systematic investment plans ko automate kar diya - this helps me keep my savings on track, without spending all my money. It is easier to make small, bite-sized savings rather than setting aside a big chunk of money - toh save small, and invest your money regularly rather than waiting for the big day when you will invest a big sum of money - because it might never come!
Number 5 - Don't close your plans early
Apne investments ko track par rakhna is as important as starting to invest. Leking this requires some planning in the background. Apne long-term investments ya savings ko available money ki tarah treat na karen. For example, you might face a medical emergency and be tempted to withdraw your mutual fund earlier than you had planned. Lekin is purpose ke liye you need to maintain a separate emergency fund, jo aapko aisi situations mein help karega. Same goes for a vacation - don't pull out money from your mutual funds or an ELSS because all your friends are going on that trip that you had not planned for - save for it first, instead of disturbing your current plans!
And that's it! With these five simple steps, you can not only grow your savings at a much faster pace, but also take a well-planned approach to your financial life in general. After all, stability ke liye aapko unexpected aur sudden movements reduce karne honge, and increase the degree of expectedness in your life. A well planned financial life can help you find this stability!
Doston aap soch rahe hongein ki hum women investing ke baare mein 8 march yani ki International Women’s day ke baad kyu discuss kar rahe hain. Doston wajah yeh hain, ki aksar log woh din celebrate karte hain and agle din stereotypes and conventions mein chale jaate hain, we are here to remind all the young women to make every day count, use the vast universe of financial resources and knowledge Angel One is providing you and take small steps everyday to up your investing game. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Take a decision that will help you bring newfound stability and peace of mind to your life! Angel One wishes you the best on this journey!
If you would like further information on how to bring about this change in your life, don't forget to visit www.angelone.in! Until then, take care, and goodbye!
