Women's Day: How to meet financial goals; experts provide top tips

Women's Day  (#WomensDayZee): Are you a woman who feels strongly about managing your own finances rather than leaving it to your father, brother or spouse? While women are becoming independent and taking big decisions including those on money matters, there are still many women who allow the men in their lives to make these decisions for them. With International Women's Day looming, we bring to you the top tips that can put women in total control of their lives.

For those who want to take their own financial decisions and manage their money Zee Business Guests Pooja Bhinde, a Certified Financial Planner and Priyanka Bhatia, co-founder Women On Wealth have these valuable tips.

There are a lot of places where women let men take financial decisions for them. This is not just limited to small cities but is also the case in big cities including the top metros. The situation is improving, though.

The challenge before them is a lack of knowledge of financial issues and the gender pay gap. Women lag behind in the global financial literacy index. More than 70 pct women do not have enough knowledge about financial issues. According to a 2015 survey by Standard & Poor, around 80 pct women in India do not possess knowledge about financial matters.  

Another important challenge is the pay gap among women and men for the same work. According to a 2019 Monster Salary Index report, women are paid less for the same work as compared to their male counterparts. The average pay gap is around 19 pct.  

The women also have to take a career break to fulfill domestic responsibilities.

Tips from the experts

1. Financial Freedom 
Women should start involving themselves more in matters related to important financial decisions. They should not start investing on the advice of just anybody. As a starting point, begin financial planning with your spouse. Start educating yourself on financial aspects too.

2. Make an emergency fund
Make an emergency fund with a 3-6 months view. This Contingency Fund will be handy in times of exigencies. For this investment in liquid funds is viable for a 6-12 month view. Also, they should know that return from liquid funds is better than the savings accounts. 

Pooja Bhinde's recommendations on 6-12 months liquid funds

--ABSL Liquid fund
-- ICICI Prudential Savings Fund
-- Axis Treasury Advantage Fund

Short term Debt Fund with 1-3 year view

-- HDFC short term fund
-- DSP Low duration fund
-- Kotak Bond Short term  

Fixed Return Investments

-- Bank Fixed Deposits (FD)
-- Corporate FD
-- Recurring Deposit
-- PPF
-- Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

3. Retirement Planning
The life span of women is higher than men and therefore, they should make sure they are financially secure even in that period of their lives.
So, it is important to plan for retirement to lead a tension free life after 60 years.
Whether you are a working woman or a housewife, retirement planning is necessary.
So, you should start saving the moment you start earning. Below is a list of funds that may be suitable:

Large-cap funds with a 5-year view
-- Axis Bluechip Fund        
-- Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund
-- Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity fund

Multi cap/Mid-cap funds
-- Kotak Standard Multicap fund
-- Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip fund
-- Axis Midcap Fund

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ELSS Fund

-- Axis Long term Equity fund
-- DSP Tax Saver fund
-- Mirae Asset Tax saver fund

Term Insurance
-- ICICI I protect smart