Financial literacy is essential to anyone, and for women responsible for providing for their children and families, the skill of making, managing and growing wealth is fundamental. One of the common threads of most single female breadwinners (single mothers) is that they live in survival mode. When society continues to portray women responsible for their families as struggling, broke and always needy, it is not farfetched for women to begin to believe these narratives and live into it, but it does not have to be so.
Wevvo Nigeria partnered with the founder of Smart Money Africa and Author of “The smart money woman” and “The smart money tribe”; Arese Ugwu to educate single moms on financial literacy and savings culture last week, and here are some of the nuggets the financial coach shared.
-Pay yourself a percentage of your revenue monthly: this is an investment mentality and helps in personal finance. Make sure you set aside a portion of your income to save.
-Understand how money works
-Have assets that can be converted to cash if your income stops: these assets can be investments, real estate and businesses that generate a recurring revenue.
-Reduce your liabilities: restructuring your liabilities doesn’t necessarily reduce the overall money you owe but it can give you more cash. Pay the loans with higher interest first.
-Track your expenses, print your bank statements or use apps: make sure to know what you spent every amount on and refrain from spending on things that are not necessities.
-Build a foundation, no quick fix to making money: have a plan, there are no simple ways of making money.
-Beware of schemes that promise quick returns: beware of ponzi schemes and the likes. They offer out of the ordinary returns and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get your money back.
-Have self-awareness of what motivates you: understanding and developing your self-motivation can help you take control of your financial life.
-Budget, budget, budget: always have a budget for everything and make sure you work within your budget.
-Every investment comes with a risk, determine your risk appetite before going in. E.g stock market, private credit loan companies, purchase of distressed asset etc
-Leverage on providing solutions to problems, listen to peoples problems and position yourself as a solution provider.
-Prioritise your spending: prioritizing your bill’s and expenses in order of importance allows you meet basic needs, protect your credit and lower your financial stress. It allows you focus on finding ways to cut costs.
-Live below your income: you must not spend more money than you earn.
-Have an emergency fund. It is important to have 3 to 6 months of your income saved up at any point in time Separate from your rent: the purpose of an emergency fund is to be able to pay for unexpected expenses without taking new debts.
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