Five ways women can empower themselves financially

WOMEN can contribute to their household’s financial well-being without overburdening themselves in the following ways, according to African Bank:

1. Talk. Discuss spending and saving with your spouse or a trusted adviser regularly. Everyone has bad financial habits, and it’s good to get these out into the open so that you can find ways to remedy things.

2. Plan. Be part of formulating a family financial plan in which you set out your goals and aspirations. What kind of events do you need to plan for? When do you want to retire? What assets do you have? Shared visions become shared responsibilities and help to ease the tensions that discussions about finances can cause.

3. Learn. Study your bank statements and get to grips with what you’re looking at. There is plenty of advice and guidance online, but you can always turn to an adviser at your local bank for assistance. The more you know and understand, the easier it will be to make good, sound financial decisions.

4. Take responsibility. Women have often been raised with the mindset that they’ll be the secondary earners while their husbands will take control of the long-term financial matters.

5. Manage your bank account. Periodically assess the type of bank account you have and whether it meets your needs.