One of the most important ways we can take care of ourselves as women is to make improving our finances a priority. Here are three ways to do just that and come out ahead in the process.
1. Invest in yourself
While you might assume the term “investing” only refers to putting money into stocks, real estate, or other tangible money-generating assets, investing in yourself is one of the best ways to maximize your financial growth as a woman. Sad to say, we’re already at a disadvantage thanks to the gender pay gap. Last year, Pew Research found that women earned an average of just $0.82 for every $1 earned by a man — and this rate only increased by $0.02 between 2002 and 2022.
What’s the solution? Well, we’ve got to level the playing field, and that starts with you. You can invest in yourself by adding to your job skills. Check out courses available on sites like LinkedIn, or consider trying out online learning platforms like Skillshare. No matter your field, you can likely become better at all the bits and pieces that make up your job. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, taking in-depth courses about InDesign and Photoshop can help you hone your skills and give you the power to increase your pay as a result.
Another crucial way to invest in yourself is to spend time learning about how to better manage your money. The Ascent has wonderful personal finance resources that can teach you how to budget, stay out of debt, and more. I also recommend chatting with a financial professional — it can be life-changing.
2. Pay yourself first
You likely already know how crucial it is to save money for future goals, emergencies, and to invest for your future, so I won’t retread this ground. The hard part for many people is finding the money to save. If you don’t earn enough to begin with, the best way to get ahead of the curve is to increase your income (be that via a side hustle or higher pay at your main job — you might also consider changing careers altogether). If you’re on sturdier financial ground and are still having a hard time sending money to your savings account or IRA every month, it’s time to start paying yourself first.
What’s that mean? Rather than leaving your savings or retirement account contributions for last (the ol’ “I’ll just save whatever’s left at the end of the month” move), start taking that money out of your pay first thing. As an example, I’m a full-time freelance worker, so if I want to avoid trouble with the IRS, I have to actively plan for my quarterly tax payments. I do that by taking a set percentage right off the top of every paycheck I receive. While I’m at it, I also take out set amounts for savings goals (more on those below). That money all goes directly to my high-yield savings account, where it is safe and growing with interest.
If this all sounds like too much to remember, a lot of people have found success by automating their savings. You can set up automatic transfers from your checking account to other financial accounts to happen right after you get paid — if the money moves automatically, you won’t forget to save, and you also won’t have the chance to spend it.
3. Set goals for the future
My last tip for maximizing your financial growth is a bit less tangible. Namely, you need to sit down and pick some goals for yourself. Life is complicated and overwhelming, and it can be so easy to get sucked into the intricacies of day-to-day tasks and obligations. So it’s 100% worth doing a little thinking and deciding what you want out of life — you know, big-picture stuff. Do you want to retire early with $2 million in the bank? Want to pay for your kids’ college education (or your own)? Or, like me, do you dream about buying a modest home that you can turn into your own slice of paradise?
The first step in taking it from dream to reality is to decide what you want. Then you can make a plan. If I can do this, so can you — I recently completed a huge savings goal (to get ready to buy that little slice of paradise). Before I started saving, I ran the numbers to decide how much to put away, and I broke the big savings target down into smaller weekly goals. I couldn’t have done it without taking the time to set goals and think about how I want my life to look. You can do the same, and then let it inform the steps you take to get there.
As women, if we want to get better with money management, achieve our dreams, and earn more, we’ve got to do the work. The methods above can help.
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