Four tips for financial self-care

It is important for women to not get too much “materialistic stuff” in one run.

Yes, a big house, nice furniture, the best tech gadgets, an expensive car and luxurious holidays can make a few heads turn, but when it comes to taking care of their overall health and their budget, less is most definitely more.

They should, therefore, try and be cautious when it comes to credit or when taking out various agreements at once, as their expenses to acquire lots of “worldly stuff” and things can begin to exceed their income.

In a very opinionated society, women are expected to spend lots of money on their physical appearance these days.

What are the extremes they have to keep up with and will go to? Things like plastic surgery, luxury fashion brands or other expensive products that are needed to upkeep “beauty”, to mention but a few. Beauty is only skin-deep, and although self-care is important, this starts from within.

The opinions of others tend to fade quite quickly and women should not let their financial selfcare (sticking to the budget/their hard-earned money) get swallowed up by trends or marketing gimmicks during their own physical self-care process. The word “budget” may sound like a taboo topic since it can be presumed to be “too complicated”. But, women should try and keep it basic: nett income – investments – expenditures = the amount they have left for the month – the amount they can add to savings. The template is indeed practical to start off with (see infographic above).

If 20 to 40-something women are burdened with debt and they need an extra hand, financial planners, the National Credit Regulator, bankers, coaches and debt counsellors are there to assist.

Women have to do their research well and ensure they get the best help to fix their debt problems in a sustainable and regulated manner.

Carla Oberholzer is debt advisor at DebtSafe