I may hate it, but I’m the person who handles finances in this family. Kind of seems to make sense since I’m home full time. I was kind of freaked out at first- I mean, what if I messed up? But I was determined. As with all things- hey, guess what? I’m NOT PERFECT!! But I can handle the finances. (I still hate it).
We women NEED to be able to handle our own finances. Lots of money or little money, we have to know how to budget and handle money. I’d much prefer someone did it for me- but what if something happened and suddenly I was left to handle things on my own? That could be disastrous! In no particular order, here are
some tips to help women manage finances:
1. Educate yourself. Don’t know how to balance a checkbook? Find out how. Get a book. Check a tutorial online. Ask your bank. Ask a friend. Learn what to do with your money and where to put it, no matter how much.
2. Know your income. From $100 a week to $10,000 a week/month/year, you need to know what money is going to be coming INTO your family. At least a ballpark. You aren’t going to get far without knowing!
3. Know your expenses. There are certain things that you likely spend money on each month- for us- mortgage, gas for vehicles, electricity, cable, internet, phone, food. There are also “regular” expenditures that won’t be monthly but you can count on incurring- like car insurance payments (we pay 1x/year because I can’t stand to give $4 a month to a company for absolutely no reason and want to keep my $48 in my pocket), heating oil, property taxes, etc. It isn’t that you have to know the exact dollar amount of these, but having at least a general ballpark figure will help you to make a plan. Which brings me to item 4.
4. Have a plan. You can call it what you want- a budget, money plan, I don’t care what it is. But have a plan. Then, live within that plan. For us, our plan is that we pay bills off in full each time they come in. Period. We actually put anything and everything we can onto one particular card- we accrue reward points/moneys that benefit us and we pay it off monthly. Win, win. Part of that plan is a deposit into a savings account. Even if it’s $5 a week, something goes into savings.
5. Stay organized. Keep records. You need to be able to find things and reference them- and if anything happens, you’ve got it already set aside.
Articles like this one on Women and Money from Time Magazine are also great resources for information about women and money.
What are your tips for managing money?
This post was inspired by Genworth Financial. Opinions are my own.
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I too handle all of the finances here too and wouldn’t have it any other way. I love your tips and will be passing them along to my daughter.
“Know your income.” I think is one the most important things to know. We often spend outsind of our income when we dont think of this.
Thsea re great points and I know how important it is to keep up with and budget for finances!
I am very good at saving money but thanks for the extra tips!
Very helpful. Thanks for sharing
Finanaces are a challenge for us all. Great job.
all excellent suggestions and not just for women
I hear alot of people say, don’t use credit cards. The whole reason they say this is to avoid paying interest on monthly payments. However you need to establish a good credit score, and credit cards are the easiest way to do that. You just have to make sure you have the money to pay it off each month and not get interest charged. You can go charge, say $30 at Walmart, then pay it off when the bill comes. Some retailers even give the credit cards for free with no annual payment to have them. I think Fashion Bug and Roamans do this. You could go in and charge a scarf or blouse for 15.00 and pay it off when the credit card bill comes. That’s how I built up my credit score, and NO it’s not easy but you have to pay for the item anyway so why pay interest on it?
i can use at least two of the tios..thanks
i think they should teach this stuff in scholl to help todays kids
I wish I had known more about managing money when I was younger. It would have saved me a lot of grief as I got older.
great tips! thanks for sharing
It is so important for women to be involved in the finances and know what is going on.
I think one of the most important things is to stay organized. If you can’t find your paperwork how can you take care of it.
I completely agree that women need to be able to handle their own finances! These are REALLY good tips, especially number three. I used to let my fiance do everything but ever since I stepped in, we have been able to start saving for the first time. lol
I handle our finances and take care of all household needs
I wish my husband would share more in managing the finances!
Erin
I used to handle the finances, but as I had more children, my husband took that job on. I think I could easily jump back in though if I had to and these tips are great.
I too am in charge of my family’s finances, as I am the planner in our family of 2. Hard job, but definitely a necessary one for the success of a family, no matter the size.
These are great tips and I would hope that all women make themselves aware of their finances. Being overly co-dependent can be a scary thing.
Now-a- days learning finance is very important. Thank you for the valuable information.
Good advice. Some people need help with this, so good to put it out there.
Great tips. Always shop with a list and stick to it.
These are definitely some pretty good tips.
i def. agree, knowing your expenses is a huge must especially those big ones such as car insurance, house insurance and property tax. those come up every year about the same time and they are big ones for us.
I think it is important for women to manage their finances and if they are married to know how to pay the bills even if their husband does that job.
Keep track of your debit card spending. It’s easy for all those little swipes to add up.
I think that having a plan is important. It helps you stay on track.
I think it is important for women to know how to manage money so that in the event that something unfourante was to happen then would know how to take care of themselves and the family.
Definitely important to know your expenses so you don’t over spend on things that aren’t essential!
This is all good advice. My best advice is to write a budget and stick to it.
I read something recently about women and finances that questioned a woman’s ability to manage money. I call BS on that! Even if it is the man who works fulltime, who is that knows–in detail!–*exactly* how much the groceries, the kids’ clothes, the extra-curricular fees, the pediatrician, the dentist costs? We do! We know the good price to look for a Barbie doll or a train set! So, yes, we do need to be educated and learn to make plans, but we can do this thing even better than the men.
You GO Oirl! I totally agree with you.
It is always important for a woman to feel empowered by knowing how to take care of her own finances.
always follow your gut feeling known also as common sense ,,,,thanks
I think having a plan is important I only wish I had figured that out about 25 years ago when I was young and invinci le!
This is a GREAT post with some really helpful suggestions. Women should always be aware of the finances and how to buget. You never know if and when you will be left alone, and it is very important to have experience with money management.
I feel people should have some one that knows more about finances to help them.
I think having a plan is the best and most difficult to adhere to. Without the plan, we overspend… But setting a realistic plan can be difficult for me.
Great common-sense financial advice – thanks!
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you so very much for this information. I know I will be referring to it.
I had to learn finances rather quick in my marriage. Hubby likes to spend spend spend
Maybe it should be titled for men and women! LOL I am the one who takes care of our finances – dh doesn’t have a clue! He couldn’t balance a checkbook if his life depended on it!
I think it is extremely important for women to manage their finances carefully. I have seen too many women depend on their husbands for their financial security and become both emotionally and financially devestated when the husband either passes away or is no longer in the picture.
I know I have to keep an eye out on my expenses because since I do only onilne billing and statements, I really don’t know what I’m getting charged and one time I looked at my cable bill and saw that I was getting charged for the German language channels. WHAT!!!! how did that happen?
It is so important that women understand how to manage their finances for themselves, their families and to set good role models for their children. I am starting to teach my daughter about the value of money, and I hope to lay the building blocks for the tips you outlined above.
Learning finance is so important these days, it is never too early to start!
Balancing a budget is very difficult when kids and family seem to want or need something extra constantly. Thanks for the helpful information though.
When my husband passed away I did not know how to manage our household finances since he always did it – it was very hard at first but now I am doing well. Everyone should be able to handle money matters
I think it is extremely important for women to manage their finances carefully. I have seen too many women depend on their husbands for their financial security and become both emotionally and financially devestated when the husband either passes away or is no longer in the picture.