Women, Let’s talk about money more!
Tags: Personal Finance, Personalessay, Personal Finance Tips, Personal

In the last few years I have made huge progress in the way I handle money. This really got me interested in knowing other people's tricks and tips on personal finance. I am the outspoken person in many of my social circles and I don't mind divulging my salary in such spaces. In 2018 I opened up to a colleague about my salary and surprise, surprise! Any guess on who was underpaid and undervalued despite having more years of experience and sharing the same designation? It is an easy guess and it really knocked the shit out of me. Upon my colleague's insistence, I went ahead and re-negotiated my salary. It was not an easy process and I still cannot believe that I did that. The fact is I was pushed to the edge and it was more of a do or die situation. Also it made me realise the importance of having such conversations among friends.

Over the lockdown months, I pondered deeply over money. I read a lot, educated myself and nudged my girlfriends to talk about it. I never thought that I will be the most financially literate person in my gang of girlfriends. Most of them live independently, some are recently married and their money sits in the savings account where the interest rate doesn't even beat the inflation rate.

I grew up in a lower middle class family with no stable income. My father's business had ups and downs and he was never good with money. So all I wanted was a steady 9-5 job with a decent salary. My parents never bothered about budgeting or planning for future. So I ended up taking care of them when I started earning. There is absolutely nobody in my circle who has to support their parents 100%. So imagine my horror when I learned that they don't even know the A, B, C of investing despite being in their 30s.

Many of my friends think that they will not be able to understand all these financial jargons. This is from women who are highly educated and earning handsome salaries. I never hear men saying that. Where such thoughts of inadequacy coming from? All of my friends leave the decisions on their money to their father, husband or brother. I am not saying they should not involve them. It is your damn money! So take an interest in it.

I had a long call with a friend who is two years younger than me. Despite earning a much better salary than me over the years, she still doesn't know about tax planning, retirement benefits and the way money depreciates its value over time. She is ambitious and talented. She is going after a new job to get a huge raise in salary. But I wonder how she is going to be benefiited from that if she never learns about how money works?

So ladies, talk about money with your girlfriends frequently. I understand that this is such a taboo topic. But if we don’t talk about it, we are the ones who is going to suffer. Remember women have longer lifespan than men. So it is absolutely necessary to learn about money even if you have wonderful partners who manages money efficiently. And men, educate and support the women in your lives and don’t just take decisions for them. I wouldn’t have known the basics of personal finance if not for the men in my life. So let’s talk about money please.