You are obviously spending a lot of time at home. Even with the work-from-home routine and all the video calls happening, this probably is the first time in your life when you have spent so much time with your spouse. You may have also witnessed how the partnership has worked beautifully while handling household chores. So, why not extend this partnership while managing your finances and investments?
Men have usually been the ones making investment decisions due to societal conditioning. However, studies conducted worldwide suggest that women make more responsible investors than men. Women tend to have a more conservative, patient, and disciplined style of investing and prefer moderate but consistent returns over a longer period of time. So, dear men and women, investing is not for men alone. This needs a partnership and this is the best time to start with some investment chores together. Here’s what you should do.
Prioritise your expenses
Women are more tuned to the needs of the household. They are the ones managing budgets and expenses, and squeezing out savings to build an emergency corpus of their own. So, sit down with your partner and review your household budgets. Start prioritizing your expenses in order to avoid wasteful expenditure. For eg., you may realise that buying household stuff online or buying in large quantities could give you huge savings. And these small savings may have the potential to turn into a large corpus if invested well.
Review your goals together
Women are in charge at home even when it comes to children’s schooling, grooming or potential career choices. And they have a huge stake in a post-retirement life as well. So, in every sense, you have a knowledgeable partner at home who should be brought to the financial planning table immediately. Chart out both your short- and long-term goals with your partner. A discussion with your partner will help bring more clarity to your goals.
Take a balanced investment approach
Investing as a couple is quite different from investing as an individual. This is because your risk appetite and investment preference may differ from that of your partner. Investing as a couple involves arriving at a consensus and taking a joint investing decision.
Consulting a financial advisor with your spouse can help bring further clarity to your thinking and planning. We also suggest looking at mutual funds. With the choices they offer, mutual funds can help you get the desired investment portfolio aligned to your budget, goals, and r risk profile. And with that, they will also offer you the flexibility for a periodic review and realignment.
It is a no secret that two heads are better than one. Involving your partner in investment chores is not just sensible, but also responsible. So, go ahead and use this responsible option today.
source: hindustantimes
