More women today are taking charge of their investment decisions and playing an active role in managing their finances. Research and surveys reflect this steady rise in participation, highlighting a positive shift in how financial decisions are being approached.

As this engagement continues to grow, keeping a few key considerations in mind can help support informed investing and long-term financial independence.

Prepare for the rainy day

Financial prudence calls for preparing for rainy days in advance before committing. Emergencies, more often than not, arrive unannounced and can derail even the most well-crafted plans. Women, and for that matter, anyone, may find it challenging to continue investments if they aren’t prepared to address contingencies.

Only when you are well-geared for emergencies can you continue with your investment plans earmarked for various goals. Be it Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) in mutual funds for long-term goals such as accumulating a corpus for child’s higher education, their marriage or saving for retirement, a robust preparation for a bumpy ride goes a long way in ensuring success.

To put it simply, you must build a contingency plan and a corpus for the same to make sure you can tide difficult times with ease.

Save as much as you can

Many women build strong saving habits through careful planning and long-term thinking. Given factors such as the gender pay gap, career breaks, and longer life expectancy, developing a consistent and proactive approach to saving can play a meaningful role in achieving financial security.

A Monster Salary Index Survey found that, women in India to earn 19% less than their male counterparts with the median gross hourly salary to be Rs. 196.3 as compared to Rs. 242.48 for men in 2018. Also, when it comes to caretaking, it’s the woman who takes a break, which results in non-linear career progression and losing out in terms of forced savings in EPF.

For investments, particularly in market-linked products, it’s important to remain committed for the long haul to make meaningful gains. Aggressive savings can help you to continue your investments during your working years and even when you are not working due to personal commitments.

Take care of your loved ones

Financial responsibility is shared, and women play an equally important role in supporting their families and loved ones. To secure the financial future of your dependents, you should avail a life insurance plan, most notably a term plan.

The simplest form of life insurance, term insurance offers substantial coverage at a nominal premium. In case of an unfortunate event during the policy term, your nominee receives the sum assured.

Similarly, to keep high costs of medical expenses at bay, it’s essential to buy a health insurance plan. A family floater health plan offers coverage to every member of the family and prevents out-of-pocket expenditure in the face of a health emergency. It also helps keep investments on track and ensures you don’t miss out on essential commitments.

Don’t forget about yourself

While juggling between professional and personal commitments, don’t forget about yourself and your retirement. With a longer life expectancy than men, your post-retirement years can well stretch more than your active professional life. Hence, it’s essential to build a sizeable retirement corpus to take of post-retirement needs.

While there are several instruments through which you can do so, the National Pension System (NPS) is an ideal vehicle which provides the flexibility of investment and choice of asset class. A low-cost instrument, you can withdraw 60% of the accumulated corpus in the NPS tax-free upon turning 60, while 40% of the corpus is used to buy an annuity for regular income in the form of pension.

In conclusion

With the right approach and long-term perspective, you make not only sound investments but also address essential life goals and compound your wealth in the long-term.