Add financial savvy to your shopping list

According to African Bank executive for insurance, Mellony Ramalho, a growing number of women in South Africa are the breadwinners in their households, with many of them neglecting to make their own financial future a priority.

Ramalho said, traditionally, women have been excluded from long-term financial planning and, as a result, are often left floundering with little to no financial confidence upon the death of a spouse or in the event of a divorce.

She explained, “In our experience, while women are very comfortable around day-to-day spending and budgeting, they leave longer-term financial issues, such as retirement and investments to their partners. “What we want to encourage is that women move beyond household budgeting and start thinking more broadly about their financial futures.”

According to African Bank, the path to a brighter financial future starts with:

• Talking – discuss spending and saving with your spouse or a trusted advisor regularly. Everyone has bad financial habits and it’s good to get these out into the open so that you can discuss ways to remedy things together.

• Planning – be a part of formulating a family financial plan in which you set out your goals and aspirations. What kinds of events do you need to plan for? When do you want to retire? What assets do you have?

• Learning – make the effort to study your bank statements and to get to grips with what you’re looking at. There is plenty of advice and guidance online but remember you can always turn to an advisor at your local bank for assistance too.

• Taking responsibility – too often, women have been raised with the mindset that they’ll be the secondary earners while their spouses take control of the long-term financial matters. Unfortunately, many women who have buried their heads in the sand regarding the family assets and finances end up having to face reality when they’re least emotionally equipped to do so – in the event of the death of a spouse or a divorce.

“It may seem overwhelming, but it’s very important to address long-term financial planning so that you’re making steady strides towards a more secure future for your family, no matter what the circumstances. If you’re entrusting your wealth management to a financial advisor, make sure you know enough to recognise good advice from bad and that this person understands what is important to you,” she concluded.