Mothers are superheroes. Cooking delicious food, managing time efficiently, being great listeners and problem solvers are some of their superpowers. But one thing to which they are not given enough credit for — “ How efficiently they manage money”. Here are some of the key financial lessons we have learnt from our moms.
Women are multi-talented but don’t forget their finance skills!
“Plan your money according to your needs.”
A Mother is the one true finance minister of the house. Who else can plan and execute a budget so well? They will always plan out every need and still manage to save something out of it. The first lesson our moms will always teach us — “Prioritise needs over wants, keep a budget and don’t be a spendthrift.” This is also one of the golden rules of personal finance. If you don’t have savings, you cannot invest, and you cannot become financially strong.
“Keep some money in case of emergency!”
Have you ever noticed that when we go out, our mothers tend to give us extra money and say, “Just keep it; you might need it in an emergency”. And if you have forgotten your wallet at home, you will understand the importance of that money. Prudent financial planning is the key, and our moms know it well. Keeping aside a certain amount of money and touching it only in an emergency is a step towards prudent financial planning.
Whether homemaker or working, our mothers have always made sure that they keep an eye on the performance of their investments. Founder of The Finance Box, Minakshi Agrawal Todi, says, “As kids, my mother always took us to the post office to buy a Kisan Vikas Patra, and we used to see our piggy bank money disappear for a while. When we finally got it back, we had forgotten about it by then, but it used to be double in amount! I used to get annoyed at this ritual as a child, but now I know the importance of it.” The habit of making investments from a young age is important to make financial progress later on in life.
Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket
Educating ourselves about asset classes and how diversification protects us from taking on unnecessary risk. Adequate knowledge about the investment tools, returns and assets are also necessary to invest in the right asset and at the right time.
Kitty parties
When it comes to investing, our mothers do have quite a creative approach. We must have seen them putting money away with each other every month and collecting it all back by the end of the year. With the collective money, they buy themselves or us a gift or save it for another year. The money being rolled on does not earn any interest, but it gets saved and collected as a lumpsum for later consumption. The small party every month with friends is the cherry on the “savings” cake.
Buying jewellery
Over the years, our grandmothers have invested in Gold jewellery and passed it on to our mothers on their wedding day. Our mothers also love to invest in Gold pieces just like their mothers. It’s not only a tradition but a wise investment. Gold is an inflation hedged asset. If prices of goods increase, the price of Gold will also appreciate. Besides that, Gold is the safest investment. No wonder our mothers are such geniuses.
If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation!
Our mothers have taught us the importance of savings and managing money. The are not only our strengths but also our biggest assets. This mother’s day, give your mother a big hug and thank her for making you financially empowered! You can also gift her a finance lesson on www.thefinancebox.in and empower her so that she can empower the entire family!
We would love to hear what personal finance lesson you have learnt from your mother. Do share your thoughts in the comments to get featured on our Instagram page www.instagram.com/thefinancebox.
Give your mothers the tools for financial independence and empowerment!