From the fear of finance and investments.

From being financially dependent

From being financially illiterate

From the stereotypes

From the bias

Trust me when I say this, investing is not difficult to understand, nor is it complex. Yes, there are a multitude of products to consider for investing. For that, there are experts who will give you advice based on your requirements. All you need to do is know why you are investing, what do you need the money for, what will you do with the money that you are investing. Once you have the answer to this question, all the other questions are simple to answer. Like for example, what kind of risk you are willing to take for this investment. How long are you willing to keep the money invested for?

Investment is about making your money work for you. Its about putting your hard-earned money to generate wealth for long term. So, you wonderful women out there working, earning your own money, start with making a list of 3 goals for which you wish to invest.  It could be a car, house, education for self, jewelry, anything you always aspired for. Now think, by when you want to achieve this? 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years or more. When you have limited resources, you need to strive for getting optimal returns for the risk you are taking. So, if anyone suggests products to you, first consideration point is what is the risk involved in the product.

Second consideration point is Timelines for investment. Always choose products based on the timelines that you have. Please understand that the financial products for the short term and long-term goals cannot be the same.

For short term goals, product2s that offer liquidity, safety/stability and capital protection should be considered. In the short term, you don’t want the invested capital to get eroded due to a product that is volatile. Also the you should be able to liquidate the investments when you need it.

For long term goals, financial products that offer growth and beats inflation should be considered. In the long term the biggest enemy is inflation, because the value of the money keeps reducing as years go by, so no matter how much you invest the value of the investment may remain the same if you invest it in products that offer low returns. And obviously when you are choosing products that give higher than inflation returns, the risk is also high. But the same gets mitigated over the long term.

A common mistake people make is that they invest based on tips from relatives and friends, and if burn their fingers in it, they never get back to investing. Instead, take time to understand the product, ask questions before investing, see if the tip is suitable for you. And even if you made an investing mistake, don’t let it discourage you, learn from it, seek experts’ advice and continue the financial journey. Lets pledge to #breakthebias