MONEY MATTERS
Money matters especially when you feel you don’t have enough of it to enjoy your life. Financial expert Dr. Dewan Farhana breaks down some investing and savings tips for money saavy women.
Q & A WITH DOCTOR FINANCES
Why Should Women Invest: Women should invest because it is the most empowering thing they can do! Through investing, you can can choose to retire early, become work-optional, leave a toxic boss, end a toxic relationship or build generational wealth. Financial security prevents women from being forced to remain in places where they are not thriving and their talents are not being appreciated, whether in the personal or the professional sphere.
What’s Compound Interest: It allows our money to continue growing on its own, giving us the leverage to grow wealth that savings alone does not. Even a high interest checking account barely counters yearly inflation. You’re basically just losing money over time! Invest in the stock market, allowing us to grow our net worth, reaching financial independence.
How to Achieve Financial Independence: People tend to think that financial independence is something fuzzy and undefined, but in reality (and unlike the traditional retirement age of 67) it is actually an exact number. It’s calculated as our annual expenses multiplied by 25. So if we need $60,000 a year to live, we would need 1.5 million invested in low-cost index funds. We can then withdraw 4 per cent from our account each year to live comfortably and not run out of money for more than 30 years.
Little ways we can save daily? Determine what makes you happy. Is it travelling? Having coffee with friends? Paying for a babysitter for a night off? Then automate your fixed expense monthly bills. Pay yourself including contributing to your emergency fund and your investments. The norm is to invest 20 to 50 per cent. Use the remaining money for fun because depriving yourself won’t keep you motivated to keep saving and investing. Enjoy that latte, a vacation or a nice meal.
Top Three Money Tips: Live below your means, invest early and often and automate everything.
Financian Freedom Means: Time is our most valuable asset. We want to have the options and ability to pursue what we love and live life on our terms without financial repercussions.