Manisha, in her early 40s, has a teenage daughter, who has recently started asking for money quite often to have fun with friends. School-level peer pressure is leading Manisha’s daughter towards unnecessary splurging. So this time, when she asked for a pretty hefty amount,
Manisha decided to talk to her about valuing money. The child is just 14 years old, and it couldn’t have been a better time to make her learn such an important life lesson. Manisha explained to her daughter the value of earning, saving, and keeping track of it.
During their conversation, her daughter asked a prudent question, the answer to which Manisha didn’t have. She was asked, “How much money do you and dad have, mama?” It was not an answer her daughter needed to know, but it got Manisha thinking.
She runs the house efficiently, but neither does she have any idea of her own finances nor her husband’s savings or assets, who were his nominees, or what plans he had for the future. Her husband manages everything, and she gets enough money to run the house and for her expenses. Manisha never bothered to know any of the details until now. It was not consciously avoided, but this conversation was never had between the two of them. For the first time, Manisha realised she could only instil such things in her child if she herself followed it thoroughly.
This is probably the case with so many women across the country. They may be heading big institutions, running successful businesses, or shaping young minds. But when it comes to knowledge of their husbands’ assets and managing finances, they have miles to go. It is not that these women are not capable of understanding numbers, but the common notion is that it is not a woman’s domain. And for decades, women have accepted and believed this idea. While it is fine to think things will always remain smooth and it is okay not to know everything, there are times when life throws unforeseen challenges, and suddenly the world changes.
Thorough knowledge of your or your spouse’s properties and assets is a basic thing that every woman should know. While it is about equality, it is much more about necessity. With changing times and women’s empowerment at its peak, taking responsibility for their own finances is the basic that all women should start doing. In case of Manisha, what if there is a situation when she has to make decisions, but is left clueless because she doesn’t know what and how much her husband has. That’s why talking about estate planning with her husband is a must.
Estate planning and inheritance are two important pillars of one’s financial journey. So before
you start inculcating the habit of savings and keeping track of it in your child, it is essential for you to start talking about such crucial things with your partner. You can guide them to platforms like EasyInherit where both of you can together register to get a portfolio, enlist all that you have acquired over the years and then plan ahead. This is the basic that you can do so that you know where to turn in times of need.
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