There isn’t one stat that shocks me more than another, but collectively they terrify me: UK women face retirement with 35% less in their pension pot than men; only 40% of investors in the UK are women; 73% of women don’t feel confident investing their money and the UK gender investment gap stands at nearly £600bn*. I could go on.
With a background in Wealth Management from Goldman Sachs, I’ve seen first-hand how the rich get richer– and invariably they tend to be men.
So I’ve made it my mission to help women like you to build their own wealth and know how to take action when it comes to your own finances and investing. I know when you’re in the throes of motherhood, with high childcare costs, rising living costs and very little time to yourself, thinking about money can feel overwhelming and gets pushed to the bottom of your to-do list. But here are my simple tips on how to start taking action now, so you can help to bridge the wealth gap and make it as normal for our daughters to have as much money as our sons when they grow up.
Get money savvy - plan, strategise and budget
In an ideal world it would be nice to do this for pretty much everything. In reality we just don’t have the time between mummying and all the other things we have to do. So my advice is to choose the key areas that are really important to you and put a plan together to help you achieve them. That might be a yearly family holiday, or redecorating the bathroom or a date night once a month.
Plan: What is it you want to achieve?
Strategise: How are you going to get there?
Budget: How can you get that money together so that you can succeed?
By giving yourself an actionable plan you can set clear goals and timelines to make these things happen.
Prioritise couple conversations.
If you have a partner it’s good to try and set the expectations of regular, open and honest conversations about finances, money and costs. Even if it’s about things you “manage” the money on vs your partner. Keep them up to speed (on a high level) about what you’re spending, saving and investing for– and vice versa. We often wait to have these conversations when we’re under financial pressure; my view is to have them more regularly so there’s no surprises or heated conversations when it’s most stressful. I have a quarterly financial planning meeting with my husband so that the conversation is very normal between us. It’s so important that as women we are involved in the money and finance conservations (if we aren’t already leading it) - this is a good way to make sure that happens.
Jump on the rental trend
There’s been a rental boom in the past few years and now is the time to take advantage. You can rent pretty much everything! What about things your kids will grow out of like bikes, clothes, toys, bedroom furniture? Renting them can be a great way to save money, make money and stop things gathering dust in your house that you never get round to selling on.
There are also other ways you can use the explosion of rental apps to accumulate money to invest or save – and make – money for yourself. Rent clothes for special occasions rather than buy – or rent out your own wardrobe; rent your driveway; rent your camping gear that you only use once a year. There are lots of creative ways to make money outside of your salaried income if you look for them.
Write a will
We tend to think wills are something old people should have… not something we need yet. We don’t like to think about death or leaving our children behind. But the reality is it’s always better to be prepared. Although it’s not what we want to think about knowing things are all set up for the kids to be taken care of in a worst case scenario can actually give you a sense of peace you didn’t know you needed.
Map out your childcare situation and subsequent costs
For some people childcare costs are more than their rent or similar to a mortgage. It can be one of the biggest household expenses. Insane if you ask me, but that’s the current world we live in here in the U.K. There’s no point in burying our head in the sand about this; thinking ahead and planning can reap big rewards. Let’s say you’re fairly sure you want kids or want more kids, putting money aside and investing into a pot for “childcare”, that can accumulate over time can be really helpful.
Create a YOU fund
Why? Because you’re absolutely worth it and need to have those moments where it’s all about you. We spend so much of our time and selves giving to our little ones (and the big ones… do we ever really stop mummying?) we often forget to give to ourselves. So if you can, squirrel away the odd £1, £5, £20 or more if you can afford it, every now and again. You can either keep it in cash if you plan to use it soon. If not, consider investing it for the long term and then using it to hit a future “me” goal (those personal goals that are just about you) or buying yourself something nice.
I started my fintech investment platform Propelle to help women build investment confidence and most importantly to help them to take action towards building wealth. Don’t put it off. Remember nothing changes if nothing changes. Now is the time to jump in, even if it’s with small amounts to start with. This habit-forming action will pay off in the long term.
Ayesha is the founder of Propelle, a game-changing new fintech investment platform designed exclusively for women to change the way they invest and build their own wealth. Through Propelle women have the opportunity to connect, learn and invest regularly, with confidence in a way which has never been available to them before.