It is widely known that most industries across the world (except for the tech sector) are suffering the side effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Nonetheless, it is of importance to remark here that women have been hit the hardest during this COVID-19 crisis. Historically, women have been attached to their partners’ incomes, making them dependent and limited. Nowadays, things have broadly changed for the best, although now with the virus working women are seeing their finances severely affected.
Moreover, young women are the age group that is more at the risk of redundancy, due to the nature of the sectors where they work. Following this situation, applying for lines of credit could be complex issues for them, as a wide range of financial institutions is imposing new barriers to their applications. Affordability of paying is then linked to credit checks or to new ways to establish a healthy financial setup.
Therefore, I will share here some insights regarding how women can make the most of their overall finances during these uncertain times.
- Set up an emergency budget
If you are spending your cash flow as soon as they enter into your bank account, maybe you should consider having an extra layer of savings in your account. Therefore, setting up an emergency budget could limit your spending. Try to save some money weekly and place it in a different saving account, so you will have access to it when you are running an emergency or when things don’t go as you expected.
- Protect yourself with a life insurance
It could be a good idea to join a good life insurance or, if rely already on one; make sure that it protects you and your relatives in case of unforeseen events. Also, the most important point here is to ensure that you too have adequate individual coverage.
- Avoid financial stress and anxiety
Looking at your finances, and especially to your debs can cause high levels of anxiety and stress altogether. This is why we must cultivate a new mind-set to feel excited and positive when running money issues: paying attention to your health is always a priority. Then, split your time and create a schedule to go through your money goals: just try to do it step by step, without feeling the pressure of it.
- Pay just the debt that you need to pay
Try to focus on paying only as much debt as you need to pay, unless it entails paying the minimum per month. Keep in mind revising interest and other fees from your financial institution, as these little checks can make the difference on a small scale.
- If you feel confident enough, invest
Make the move and invest in those stocks that are not at high risks, such as online businesses and renewals. You must avoid investing in potentially unstable businesses, such as airlines and retailers. And if you do have the chance, ask a broker for recommendations on the process.
- Have assets in your own name
Be prepare having some financial products on your own name, just in case something bad happen e.g. divorce. This way you will avoid any risk of being left behind. Just make sure that your assets are in your name to make them more secure.
- Take good care of your retirement account
Pension schemes are suffering now from low-interest rates, as the stock market is extremely volatile and does not show any clear evidence of anything at all. Therefore, it is of importance for you to place your retirement account in the right place (where you pay fewer interest rates). Keep sending money to retirement account/s and ask for some guidance if you feel lost within the process.
To sum up, it is clear that economic crises have never been easy to handle, but with the right knowledge and guidance women can keep up their fight on the equity of rights. Another aspect to be remarked here would be the inequalities between men and women in terms of the kind of job they perform. While we see nurses working at the hospital on a non-stop basis, we mostly see men in power positions across society. This gap affects our decision-making processes, affecting our life patterns and conceptions about life.
Therefore, politicians must carefully consider how women and man are experiencing this pandemic. There is a big need for sex-disaggregated data to fully understand how the virus affects women and men because obviously, they affect them differently. This data must point out not only to health statistics but also to the economic impacts, the distribution of wealth and the extent of domestic violence.
There is still a lot of progress to be made in terms of opportunities for women, but it is clear that unless this is not the right time for many, our efforts must keep concentrating on those goals that we want to achieve, for a more prosper future.