Financial freedom for women (Part 1)

Business
Every woman needs a private rescue fund (PRF) that only one trusted person knows about. That trusted person does not necessarily need to be someone you are living with.

Every woman needs a private rescue fund (PRF) that only one trusted person knows about. That trusted person does not necessarily need to be someone you are living with.

By Maverick

We are surviving in unpredictable and risky times and many families have lost everything they worked for, including their homes, because a spouse/partner who was supposed to be knowledgeable about all things financial, made a gamble with family assets and lost.

Yes, there are many others who have taken calculated risks with family assets and won, but this discussion is about women who find themselves in financially bankrupt situations and the importance of them achieving financial freedom that benefits the whole family, but most importantly, themselves.

The issue here is, it is risky business to transfer the responsibility of the family’s financial management to one person because no one person or gender has the monopoly on great ideas. The PRF is a hedge against poor financial decision-making, mitigation for unforeseen circumstances or your own retirement if you are lucky to get good innings. Where you locate your PRF is key.

Do not bank the money, for when you need it, it might not be readily available. Cash is currently in short supply within the banking system and when you need your loot, the banks will be dispensing $50 per day and you might need to wake up at 4am to get that miserable amount.

The best way is to apply for a safe deposit box and so far the best one in town is at CABS by Northridge Park near the racecourse.

To achieve marital status is a blessing from the Almighty, not an achievement. To marry and then agree to down tools waiting for a spouse to fund your lifestyle all the way to retirement is as good as setting up an open fresh meat stall in the middle of Hwange National Park and expect to come from there with all limbs intact.

A husband is not a viable retirement plan, neither is any spouse for that matter. Your children are not viable retirement plans either. As a woman, you have to work hard and smarter and achieve your very own financial freedom.

If you are an adult woman of 50 years and above, is not deaf, blind or incapacitated in whatever shape or form and you find yourself flat broke, all is not lost, not yet, but it is most likely your fault that you find yourself in this quandary because you should have made different choices when time was on your side.

If you are an adult female, who is in an unhappy or abusive relationship, by staying put for economic reasons, you are in trouble because the trauma you endure everyday is likely to distract you from achieving financial freedom.

If you are a married woman, with a high achieving spouse, who has convinced you that you do not need to work because he makes more than enough bacon for both of you, you need to go back to the drawing board and ask yourself whether this is truly what you signed up for. No one achieves financial freedom from controlled handouts.

Often, to make you redundant is a control mechanism to ensure financial dependence. At the end of the day, it is your choice what outcomes you desire for yourself and your life.

Being married does not necessarily entitle you to his funds. Even if you control the family bank account, you still need to be accountable. Staying at home doing nothing except the school run is a foreign concept.

Our mothers worked, so did our grandmothers and those who came before them. They worked and the clever ones kept their PRFs hidden under mattresses. I am not advocating the same, but there are smart ways to work for your financial freedom even though you are a stay-at-home mum.

In an ideal world, when one spouse is the breadwinner, you are entitled to a share because you indirectly contribute in a supportive role. But in the real world, in the event of say, a divorce (I am not wishing that on anyone), it is always hard to prove you did.

In the eventuality that he changes his mind about promises made while under the crispy comfort of the warm sheets, you could easily find yourself vulnerable, wondering how the hell you got there. Stand up, use your hands and do something, now! It is not too late. After all, many men are not coping. Often, when the burden of bread-winning becomes unbearable for them, they start viewing you as a “chipfukuto” (weevil), and abuse in all its dimensions sets in.

Many women are already vulnerable in their matrimonial settings and with courage, could be making different choices.

Many are trying, but many more are emboldened with a thick blanket of confusion and dizziness. If you are the other woman, a “small house”, living large without any knowledge of his financial affairs or who owns the house you are living in, beware, for one day you might just find yourself and your children in the streets. There are many scenarios that women find themselves in and the ones listed above are a few examples.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

l Gloria Ndoro-Mkombachoto is an entrepreneur and a regional enterprise development consultant. Her experience spans a period of over 25 years. She can be contacted at [email protected]