6 Tips For Housewives To Plan Their Finances

Ishita is a housewife dedicated to her family care. She works day and night to ensure that her house always remain in order. She has never involved herself in money matters and has left it to her husband, Kaushik,  to manage. She has been a happy woman shouldering responsibility of her family which includes two daughters. The only area she has been taking care is the household budget. Her husband Kaushik gives her a monthly amount to manage household expenses which she has been doing successfully. Not concerned about money matters, Ishita always spend the savings from this budget towards his children entertainment.

But Ishita concerns has increased lately as high inflation in recent years have splurge household expenses. Kaushik income raise did not helped much as the rise in children education has been much higher.  For Ishita it is a helpless situation as she did not knew that any such financial problem can arise and so never considered the need to save. Few months and her life took  a difficult turn when Kaushik died in a road accident. He had a housing loan but had made some provisions for his family future. Even then the lack of awareness on financial matters left Ishita worried as she had to now manage financial affairs from what his husband has left for him.

Much like Ishita, lack of awareness on money matters can force any housewife in a difficult situation. With growing inflation and reduced subsidies on household items like gas cylinders and others, the need to involve in managing their household budgets and plan for their family future, including themselves, is more now. With a little awareness they can help their families become financially stable.

Here are 6  tips on what housewives can do to include financial planning in their life –

1. Manage Cash Flows

Generally, housewives have a good  habit of budgeting when they are going for household purchase.  But most of the times it is limited to grocery purchase and others. A wiser approach is to  expand  this good habit to evaluate your house hold complete expense which has utility bills, house rent, credit card debt and loans if any. Mostly these are taken care by your spouse. By analyzing  these expenses you will get a picture of the total household expense of your family. You can then compare this with your household income to know your family cash flow situation. For this you don’t have to rely on any expert. There are many tools available now which can be utilized  or you can use a simple  excel worksheet like this to track your household budget.  Even a diary can be a good tool for you if not very conversant with using tech. If needed take help of your spouse to create a budget for you.

2. Work On Total Expenses

You have done  a good analysis of your cash flows and found that at some  areas the spending is more. Find ways through which you can reduce them. Eating outside in restaurant, going for weekend shopping at malls, frequent movies are some of the expenses where there will always be  a probability to cut short.  Then utilities bills can also can be reduced by bargaining a good deal with companies. For e.g. internet connections if not used heavily should be at lower cost and phone bills can always be reduced by taking appropriate packages.  Even your shopping can do a good job here. Check out items at  grocery stores near your area instead of shopping at malls. The price difference can bring lot of saving to you.

3. Save And Then Spend

Housewives do have  a good habit of saving money. But it can do more wonders if spending it on  items like entertainment, which is not necessary, can be avoided. Rather, this habit should be developed to save for yourself and family future. You can have  a savings account where you deposit money whenever you are left with some surplus.  This way you will develop a habit of saving even small amount of money. Once you have saved for the future you can then look at spending the remaining surplus towards your family wishes.

4. Invest To Grow Your Money

If you are saving, the money has to grow to meet your future requirement . Money lying idle in your bank account or at home is of no use if it cannot beat inflation. Hence, it’s important that the money is invested for growth. Make yourself financial savvy or take the help of an expert. You can even discuss with your spouse for knowing about investment.

5. Plan For Contingencies

If you are a housewife you generally rely on your spouse planning. But contingencies can arise in future which may force you to take financial decisions yourself. Any liability which your spouse takes,  you have to shoulder equally. Hence, it is always wise to involve with your spouse and plan for the future. Know what contingencies planning you require and how much your children education expenses will need.  The biggest planning is retirement where you will be spending days with your spouse. Knowing how much you will need for your golden years will help you in planning ahead.

6. Enhance Your Awareness

Financial Literacy is needed even for housewives. Know about the various financial instruments  that can be helpful for your future. The best medium to start  is banking products. If you have a savings account, visit your bank and enquire about them. However, avoid attraction towards other investments and do not make a decision without discussing with an expert. You can even discuss with your spouse or research online if you are net savvy. There are many personal finance shows run by TV channels dedicated to women, such as ZEE TV ” Money Matters For Women”. You can take part and have your personal finances queries answered by experts. By knowing about the financial instruments you will make yourself aware on what’s right for you.

Life is full of uncertainties and you do not know which one knock your door.  For housewives , awareness on money matters needs a special attention.  By taking one step ahead you can lay the foundation of a strong financial future for yourself and your family .

Do you get involved in financial decisions of your house ? What steps you take to keep yourself updated on money matters?

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