8 Habits of Financially Smart Women

Being on top of your finances is a lifestyle choice. It’s a habit and women who are financially smart achieve it by practicing it on a daily basis. So what habits do these women follow to help them make financially viable decisions? 

We’ve put together 8 habits of financially smart women to help you manage your money matters better.

1. Always Stick to Budget

Budget without a doubt is the first step towards streamlining your finances. Every smart woman starts at this step. She makes a budget and sticks to it. 

There are many ways to do that. 

• Some prefer pen and paper to record their expenditures. Others use apps such as the Money View Money Manager that can not only help you make a budget but also track your spends and expenditures. This would help you to modify and update your budget according to your long-term financial goals.

2. Control Expenditure

A financially smart woman knows when to prioritize and say no to unnecessary expenses and doesn’t fall into the temptation of retail therapy, discounts, and sales unless needed because even if a product is at a discounted rate, you are still spending money. 

• Our financial standing is determined in the ways we manage our expenditure. And a smart woman manages to save where she can without compromising on the quality of life.

3. Utilize Discounts, Deals, and Vouchers

Saving money doesn’t mean compromising on the quality of life. 

Discounts are great to buy products that you need and a smart woman is aware of that. 

She buys the best cosmetics but stocks them while they are on sale. She uses coupon codes and vouchers before placing an order online. She keeps a track of her favorite brands and stocks her wardrobe during the end-of-season sale. 

She uses all the tricks up her sleeves to spend the minimum to get the best products in the market.

4. Maintain an emergency fund

Savings in the form of FDs, cash stacked on the top shelf of the closet, or gold which can be liquidated any time are important. But, apart from this, most financially smart women have an emergency fund which is separate from their savings and can be used, as the name suggests, in emergencies.

Ideally, your emergency fund must comprise at least 6 months of your income.

5. Organize and Maintain Financial Paperwork

A financially smart woman understands the importance of maintaining her paperwork as losing finance-related paperwork would cost both money and time. And she values both.

• Most people don’t keep their paperwork neatly and may even end up losing important documents. It is essential for everyone to keep all their documents – financial and legal in a safe place and have multiple copies of the same as well (unless prohibited by law).

6. Track Spending Habits

A smart woman knows where the money is coming from and where it is coming. She is aware of expenses that are about to increase which can help her cut down on frivolous expenses. 

• And this is possible only if all spends are tracked every day, month, and year. You can also do this either through journals or through money management apps such as Money View Money Manager.

7. Follow a Save-First-Spend-Later Approach

It is not possible to save at the end of the month. If you are serious about saving money, you need to set aside the amount in your budget and do so at the start of the month itself.

• Follow the 50/20/30 rule of thumb where 50% of your income goes towards your necessities such as groceries, rents, bills, etc. and 30% is towards your wants or discretionary items and 20% should be saved and/or invested. You can change this ratio based on your requirements but saving at least 20% is important.

8. Explore New Avenues of Income

In addition to her regular income, a financially-savvy woman tries to find new avenues of income. Be it expanding her house and renting it out, freelancing in her free time or taking tuition to earn some extra bucks. Or simply investing in other sources that can increase her monthly income.

• Being financially smart takes a lot of planning and discipline but it is essential to live a good life. The above steps are just a few that are commonly implemented.

Have the women in your life followed such tactics or other unique ones?

Let us know in the comments below.