Women and money: The top 11 Smart Financial tips for Women

Turn Your Financial Life Around
Why do a lot of women give their financial security to their spouse or significant other and by doing so allow death to lead them into poverty?Why do a lot of women spend more money than they earn and later become mired into debt?Most women that tend to make smart money choices are known to be assertive,open to change and have an optimistic outlook .It is believed that our problems with money are often a sign of problems in our lives and relationships.When we work on money issues, many other problems tend to take care of themselves or when we work on other problems,majority of our money problems takecare of themselves.For a lot of people, money is an emotionally charged issue.It sometimes represents power,love,or control especially when it comes to relationships.Our beliefs concerning money and our emotional attachments to money, strongly influences the ways in which we spend and also handle money.If you are not exactly where you ought to be financially, try and study what drives you emotionally on issues of money.Also try to figure out the psychological blocks that are keeping you from becoming financially independent.Before you read the below tips,have a look at the importance of being financially independent through this hub :Why women who are not financially independent are likely to face violence.Below are some of the most important things women should do for themselves and their financial future:

1.Never rely on someone else, for instance a boyfriend or husband for your financial security.Author of the book "Prince not so charming" says that women make a great mistake of giving control of their money to the men in their lives.Then when they end up single, like most do, maybe as a result of death or divorce,they aren't in a good position to take control of their finances.She encourages women to manage their finances in each and every stage of their life.
2. Set goals- Setting financial goals and building a financial plan is the key to financial success.Always write your financial goals on apaper and be specific as to when you want to get there and what you are planning to do to make it happen.
3. Never use money to make yourself feel awesome/good.Do things that promote your creativity and self respect so that you don’t necessarily have to seek those feelings through spending a lot of money.
4. Always be involved in the everyday management of your family's finances and also talk about money with your spouse. If youwill not allocate time to manage your money, you will in the long run not have any money to manage.Take time to track your money.Otherwise money gets frittered away if its not managed.
5. Get an education- Women with college degrees make more money than those withoutdegrees.Education generally expands your mind as well as your earning potential.In addition,always educate yourself about investing and money management.
6. Get an emergency fund.This will prevent youfrom getting into a financial hole that might be difficult if not impossible to get your way out incase you loose your job or incur a large bill thatcould force you to take a heavy credit debt card.7. Don’t take your spouses or partners debt when you get married.It is advisable to wait until both of you are out of debt before saying Ido or you can protect yourself with a pre-nuptial agreement.8. Never spend more than you earn- This is one of the greatest secrets to creating wealth.You cant always have it all.Choose a fancy lifestyle and still like to become that millionaire next door.Live below your means if you plan to be one.
9. Never let the fear of the unknown,fear of loosing money or fear of failure stop you from investing.10. Shop smart- Going for shopping without a list will definitely cost you more than when youshop with one.Shopping with a list is important as it will help you live below your means and helps you avoid impulse buying.Forexample you can make a list of those items you must have in your wardrobe: the number of bloused,jackets,jeans and shoes.Say goodbye to recreational shopping, and hello to increased savings.11. Learn from the mistakes you have made in regard to money.Don't let this mistakes hobbleyou.Your financial security is all dependent on yourbeliefs,attitudes about money and your willingness to take your financial future into your hands.

Women and Money: How single ladies can make charge of their Finances

Advice for single ladies looking to increase their salary, save for retirement and more.Gone are those days when a woman couldn’t have a say on money matters and needed her father's permission to get a mortgage or go to college to get her degree.Thanks to the advancement of women's rights and a spirit of independence in women.Below are some financial areas women in which single women should think about and have a strategy for working through them.Pay equalityWhereas women earn lower than men,women are quite hesitant to negotiate their salaries.They should come out and stop being afraid to negotiate their salaries.Both single and married women earn less on average than men though this has improved with time.The census report shows that women earned 77cents for every one dollar men earned in the year 2012 which is better compared to the 66cents earned in 1960.President Barrack Obama mentioned that despite the improvement, the wage discrepancy is still an embarassment that is happening in 2014.If you as a woman don’t negotiate on you salaries, that is going to have an impact on your earnings for the rest of your career.Catey Hill, the author of “Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less and Saving More,” agrees that. “Most women end up with very good grades, but once they go to the negotiating table, they low ball themselves."


Real estate
In the past homes were mainly purchased by men but the number of women that are purchasing homes is now increasing though a lot of women still aren't diversifying their money.More women are needed to buy real estate which is a worthwhile financial investment.Real estateIn the past homes were mainly purchased by men but the number of women that are purchasing homes is now increasing though a lot of women still aren't diversifying their money.More women are needed to buy real estate which is a worthwhile financial investment.
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Why women who are not financially independent are likely to face violence

Why women who are not financially independent are likely to face violence

Every woman should have her own job,money and be able to support herself and her children.Economic factors that make women vulnerable to gender based violenceThis article discusses why women need to be financially independent in order to avoid gender based violence.Women should at all times try to be financially independent before they get into marriage because not doing so will make them vulnerable to gender based violence.Economic factors contribute greatly to women’s vulnerability to gender based violence.Women are in most instances not financially endowed to take care of perpetual needs like payment of school,fees,rent,food,etc.This leads to their vulnerability as they will totally submit to their husbands without question.The men in turn take advantage of the situation to the extent ofadministering violence to the woman .The above also be the reason why women prefer to keep quiet about their situations hence the confidence and courage of the husbands to continue doing the same.A number of women therefore are usually unableto take action against their violent husbands, or took action but withdrew charges against their husband because they are financially dependent on their husbands to a greater extent.

The economic dependency syndrome has alsobeen reflected in a certain case in Nakuru where the magistrate had to discharge a batterer sentenced to serve three years in jail for battering his wife.The wife pleaded with thejudge to release the husband since she could not cope to feed her children or pay school fees because the bread winner had been jailed and they were left suffering.At an interview,the judge who had initially jailed the husband but freed him after pleas from the wife said:”The husband who was jailed was the soul breadwinner for his family; when he was jailed the woman was helpless,she did not have any source of income and could not afford to buy food or payfees,she saw her suffering as having been caused by the court and aked for my intervention.I pitied the woman so I had to call for the file and I had to discharge him to prevent his family from suffering.”For several women therefore, keeping the relationship despite the violence is more important for one practical reason and the reason is the financial support they derive fromtheir husbands.Few women are economically indepednt and theiur pockts can allow them to manage comfortably without their husbands.Most of the time it is more difficult for a battered wife who is wholly dependent on her husband financially to report her husband to the police or press charges against him effectively than it is for a woman who is economically independent.Economic factors therefore make women vulnerable.This calls for urgent need for empowering women to have the ability to make their own decisions concerning the violence they are faced with.Women cannot obviously make rationale decisions because oflack of empowerment.They perceive themselves as helpless or powerless because they economically depend on their husbands fro support.There is therefore need to create awareness of their rights to enable them respond appropriately to the problems they face.

Women who are economically dependent ,as we saw earlier are less vulnerable.They are able to support themselves and children in case the husband is locked in or can decide to live on their own if violence becomes unbearable and also minimize unreasonable behavior from their husbands.Magistrates have often admitted that women who withdrew cases are most of the time not economically independent while those that areeconomically independent let the cases proceed.Economical hardship also contributes to fight in the family as the men who appear to be in control of finances,justify the beatings when they give out money and their wives do not useit properly and even want to control their wivesown finances,when their wives are also in gainful employment.

Let us knowDo you think women's depedence on men is a cause to the violence they face?Yes
No
I doubt it.It's just an excuse,even indepedent women do face violence

Would you or have you ever wanted to retain your spouse even after violence/physical or emotional abuse because he is the one who supports you and your children
Yes
No
I can never take anyone back after abusing me in any way.Im not sure