If there was a gift I could bestow on you this Valentine’s Day, it wouldn’t be floral in variety. It wouldn’t even be a fancy unpronounceable cheese from a foreign land that tastes so good you wonder if, in fact, this cheese may be your one true love. No, what I want to gift you is the gift that lasts a lifetime: financial freedom.
And I mean, true financial freedom. The kind where you can live as you please without concern for how you will be able to fund your life. You’ll have secure housing, go on little holidays with friends and family and have the ability to pay bills without worry, despite a cost-of-living crisis that is seeing most of us (86% in fact) feel the pinch.
The reality for most women is that we’re underpaid and overworked, so whilst we know getting on top of our money is important we park it till we ‘have time and space’ to tackle it. Unfortunately, this often never happens and instead, a life calamity – like a redundancy, divorce or death occurs, forcing us to take control on top of a highly stressful/emotional situation.
And while it might seem poor taste to discuss money, break-ups and death on the national day of very overpriced red roses and teddy Hallmark cards, to me, there is no better time than today to do it. Getting a financial game plan in place is critical.
Right now, not only are women more likely to be cutting back on things we enjoy (almost 50 percent of us are cutting back on things like entertainment and holidays) but more alarmingly, one in three of us are cutting something they once considered an essential need.
Women are also feeling strained by the rising cost of living (46% of us), and the toll doesn’t just live in our beautiful brains, it impacts our physical health (42%) and relationships (36%). Don’t even get me started on the systemic inequality that exists in structures like superannuation and the increase of older Australian women living in poverty.
Your relationship with money is going to be lifelong and therefore one of the most important you will ever have. In years from now, on this most auspicious love day, I hope you once again look in the mirror and say: “I love you and thank you for making this a priority all those years ago”.
So, how exactly can we improve our relationship with money?
- First up, acknowledge it is a journey. Just like you don’t wake up one day ready to run a marathon, it takes time to feel confident and excited by money. Before confidence comes bravery.
- Think about what you inherently ‘believe’ about money. We have stories about money that were formed in childhood that, more often than not are harmful and wreak havoc on our financial futures. Maybe you tell yourself ‘I am just really bad with money’ or ‘I can never save’. Unwriting and rewriting these tropes are enormously important and powerful.
- Get a cashflow plan. Know your take home income and figure out what is a fixed cost (rent, childcare, insurance, etc) vs variable cost (groceries, clothing, holidays). Then my two golden rules: Separate (consider if having accounts for specific purposes makes sense to you) and automate (set up a system that moves money straight after you get paid). You want to make sure you put every hard-earned penny to use.
- Get goals that light you up and put away funds for them first (see above note about cashflow).
- Protect yourself. From whatever unexpected sh*t life throws at you. Get insured, have a will, sign a financial agreement if you bring assets to a relationship and for god’s sake, no matter how much you love them, have at least one bank account of your own that no one else can access.
- A man* is not a plan (*or women, or whoever you happen to love) They aren’t your ticket to freedom. They shouldn’t make all the decisions around money. Financial abuse is rife and poorly understood in Australia. Play an active role in financial decisions, always.
- Invest. In yourself. In learning about money. In putting money in investment markets. In taking the time to figure out where your super is, or if it’s invested in things that suit your values. Whatever it is, this relationship with money is going to be forever so read the book, listen to the podcast, take the course. Do whatever you need to do to start and grow your knowledge and financial confidence .
Happy love day from me, who will sing bad homemade love songs to my dog and probably fold the ever-growing pile of washing.
Also, shout out to my Dad, who will likely remember it’s Valentines Day at approx. 6pm tonight and come home with the last, very sad looking bunch of flowers that just cost him a small fortune, only to be told by my mother that it’s a nice gesture but it’s wasted money and it could have been invested instead.
If you are wanting to make this year the year you get on top of your money (yay!!!) I have built a 10-week financial literacy program, The Greenhouse, to help you learn move you forward – no jargon, no judgement, built by me: a qualified financial adviser.
As I am a licenced financial adviser, please note that everything in this article is considered general advice.