WEALTH GUIDE

Things I wish every woman knew about financial wellness

BY COURTNEY RANDOLPH

Financially well-off women are those who are financially secure and don’t experience financial stress. Many aspects of a woman’s life are impacted by financial stress, including her mental health, mood, relationships and even productivity. Financial health involves more than just numbers. It involves more than simply keeping up with bill payments, making investments and saving for the future. Focusing your attention on the things that are important to you will give you control over your daily finances and put a strategy in place. In this article, I will highlight and discuss 10 things I wish every woman knew about financial wellness.

1. Making Future Plans

By developing a plan for the future, you can ensure your continued financial stability and success. You know where you’re going and have a plan for how to get there, which is beneficial for both your physical and emotional health. A financial plan, like a diet plan, makes you healthy. Knowing how much you can spend, save and invest makes you feel organized and in control of your finances. It’s an exemplary practice for financial wellness.

2. Set Your Financial Objectives

Setting goals is a unique step to financial wellness. Make a list of your immediate and long-term objectives, no matter how big or small, as well as your projected income and expenses. You will be able to see your target more clearly as a result.

3. Start Investing and Saving Today

Once you have the essential knowledge and your goals are in place, focus on investment and saving. Understand the advantages money gives you. This will make more sense when you consider it from the perspective of your long-term objectives. Saving money in the bank will not provide you with enough interest to meet your objectives. An investment strategy is required. Start with getting your financial house in order, then assemble a team of financial confidantes – these individuals are engaged in your interests and are trusted professionals with whom you feel comfortable, and develop a personal relationship with each of them. You should never be dissatisfied with the wealth advice from your team – always advocate for yourself! 4. It’s Vital to Have Financial Education

Women need to become financially educated because it is empowering. After working with countless clients, I know you wouldn’t know what you don’t understand, so without additional guidance, you don’t have full control over your finances. Money is the cornerstone of life, and managing it better basically means managing your whole life better. Clean your credit as thoroughly as you would clean your home. For banks, your credit report is a representation of your financial integrity. It’s the love letter that enables you to transact with banks, achieve financial stability and build wealth.

5. Financial Well-Being is a Holistic

Concept

Traditionally, we associate wealth management with our net worth, but it involves much more. A good financial consultant will approach your finances holistically and consider your overall financial health. Personal finances involve more than just building capital, they also involve protecting and conserving assets in the right way, whether through mortgages, debt management or estate planning. Building savings, managing cash flow and protecting assets are the three main goals of wealth management. Each of these areas offer opportunities for an adjustment that could improve your financial status.

6. Financial Guidance is for Everyone

Every woman has the right to consider their options and see if there are ways to strengthen their financial situation. Don’t be afraid to talk to a professional about

your financial situation and get rid of that insecurity. Never feel embarrassed about trying to educate yourself and looking into what you could be doing to improve your financial status. And usually, all that needs to be done is to restructure what you already have.

7. Don’t Dismiss Retirement

Planned retirement is a key that needs to serve as the basis for all of your long-term financial objectives. Women are more likely to experience poverty in their old age and be forced to rely on government assistance for living expenses due to improper planning. Saving money is essential, and using it to invest in growth over time can give you the financial wellness you need and deserve during retirement.

8. Budgeting is Key

Making a budget is necessary for financial wellness. As a woman, understand how your household finances operate and make an effort to manage spending. Once you’ve established a budget, you’ll be able to track where your money is going and how much you have available.

You can find out how much money you are spending and on what by using something as basic as a bank app on your phone to track your income and expenses. I would advise against using credit cards, but if you must have one, make sure to monitor it, set a spending limit, make monthly payments and search for 0% balance transfer offers. Women who don’t plan their budget end up wasting money on things that are not important. Additionally, you are not in a position of power if you are in debt or spend all of your income each month.

9. Assets

Contrary to popular belief, the bank wants you to have assets and has many programs to help you get them. We know people have had a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to banks ever since 2008, but from my experience, we see so many programs being implemented to help people obtain assets such as homes. Understand the three-letter acronym DTI - Debt To Income. Watch your DTI like a HAWK. 1% over can make or break your dreams. When credit is unavoidable – qualify! I know we grew up hearing DON’T let anyone run your credit until you’re ready to buy anything, but I say qualify so that your banker can tell you what steps you need to take to get to your dreams whether that is a car, a house or a business loan. Through the application process, you gain valuable information that allows you to be more informed in the future, if at first you don’t qualify at the amount you truly need.

10. Bottom line

Financial wellness for women entails building a routine that will allow you to feel in control of your money. There is no easy way out, and the path is not linear. It involves modifying your routines and behavior to achieve your financial goals. You must constantly work on every part of your financial life and never stop learning if you want this comfort to become the standard.

Start TODAY. I wish I would have started 15 years ago. Every day the market is moving and every day we wait is $1 that we didn’t invest in an asset, even if it’s simply starting an emergency fund in a savings account. You can be one car problem away from a ripple effect into the poverty line (a place I have visited - and a place from which my “WHY” came from in order to help other women obtain their wildest dreams.)

Bonus: One of the most powerful things is a group of women with great financial character. Women can shift wealth too. I think the number one thing is income and growing your income year after year. I wish the message was less about simply chasing the dream and more about how to grow your income and finding career strategies to do just that. Z

Courtney Randolph is a MVP Award Winning Mortgage Banker, NMLS# 2259849, for Rocket Mortgage, LLC Company NMLS# 3030