Investment alert! Top four tips for working mothers

Working women, especially those, who are mothers, have to multi-task hugely to get things done both at the professional and personal levels. They are saddled with huge duties and therefore find little time to devote to the issue of personal finance. However, this is something that they must focus on to ensure a comfortable life in the future.

While time management remains a pain point for most working mothers, it should not cause them to ignore money matters. Hence, here are the 4 monetary aspects all working mothers need to focus on: 

1] Shift in Financial pressure

Being a mother is a “Job” in itself. From running the house to managing schedules at work, the task list can be never-ending! All the chaos and responsibilities often put heavy pressure on managing the finances.
 
Rahul Jain, Head, Personal Wealth Advisory, Edelweiss says, "Working mothers are advised not to put themselves in a situation where one partner is put under financial pressure test. Both the partners should discuss their finances and pre-plan. Working from home or re-joining the work or building a fund especially for children is to be considered and well-planned by the couple. This will ensure their careers keep moving as desired and also ease out on any financial worries."

2] Plan for Emergency needs

Giving up on your job to bear a child is a tough decision. But this does not stop you from planning your finances well when your little one arrives. 

Stressing on the need for an emergency fund for a newborn, Jain said, "Building an emergency fund with at least 6-months of your expenses set aside can help you in the time of need. This will help you in managing your expenses, till the time you complete your maternity period and re-start your career."

3] Revamp your Insurance needs

Let's better explain this point with an example -

Neha (35), recently had to go through an emergency operation for her hernia. She is working in the financial service sector and draws a monthly salary of Rs 80,000. She has two children and she and her husband had recently taken a loan for a new house – where they were shelling out an EMI of Rs 50,000. She would have been in a dire state with her finances after surgery, had she not opted for a medical insurance 7 years back at a premium of Rs. 1000 per month. The medical insurance took care of not only her operation but her post-surgery expenses as well!

"There is an unnecessary adage of sacrifice attached to a mother – especially when it comes to tackling resources. But your financial resources need not be privy to sacrifice if you take care of some basic insurance requirements along the way. Always make sure that you are able to diligently allocate a portion of your insurance – so that like Neha, tomorrow you don’t fall in a fix!", said Rahul Jain of Edelweiss.

4] Be less risky with your portfolio

As a parent – the responsibility requires you to take care of several expenses. Therefore, when it comes to planning and identifying your investment avenues, it is best if you look at options, keeping two things in mind:

a) The risk element is countered through a well-diversified portfolio; and

b) You have sufficient corpus placed in funds which can be liquidated whenever the need arises.

Most importantly, be very smart with your investment strategy. Smart investment strategies don't often change a lot.