PRACTICES TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

All of us look for ways to improve our lives everyday. The reasons for this may vary from wanting to advance in our careers or  to be a better parent, spouse or friend or simply to live a life that makes us feel better about ourselves. 

I have listed below a few practices that can help you to improve your life and help you lead a more balanced and productive life. Many of these practices are simple and uncomplicated, and can be adopted in to your daily lives without any difficulty.

1. Eat healthy, Meditate and Exercise 

I list this as the first point as your health and mental well-being is the most important aspect when it comes to improving your quality of life. Your health must be the number one priority. You cannot enjoy your life to the fullest if you don't have a healthy lifestyle. Also if you are constantly stressed or anxious and you can’t focus on the task at hand, you will suffer both in your personal and professional lives. It will  also negatively affect your family members as well. (as they say put the oxygen mask on yourself before you try to help others). Therefore, eating a healthy diet, meditating to increase your focus and to reduce anxiety or stress and exercising to keep your body fit must become one of  the most important tasks in your life. 

2. Be Positive 

Being positive not only helps you to see the solution in every problem, but being an optimist has proven health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, depression and anxiety. Positive Thoughts will attract Positive Outcomes in to your life. Studies have shown Optimists tend to live longer than their negative counterparts, suffer less from chronic illnesses, make more friends and have better and successful relationships. A few ways that you can be more positive are,

- Keep a gratitude journal

- Surround yourself with positive people

-Smile

-Identify and stop negative self-talk

3. Live in the moment –Be present 

I feel that  with the constant ability, and need to be connected and/or validated by social media and so called “friends” has a drastic impact on personal relationships and the ability to focus on one thing at a time. Turn off your phone when you are at dinner with a friend or your spouse, Give your full attention to the person in front of you,  Enjoy the moment, Read a book in peace, look at the rainbow in the sky, look at the hummingbirds and enjoy your delicious and expensive coffee without scrolling through social media.

4. Be efficient and productive 

It is important to work well in an organized and productive manner. Incorporate ways of increasing your productivity without spending hours on a task that can be completed in 10 minutes if it done is in an effective manner. Learning to work smarter will help you advance in your career, and it will also give you some free time to focus on new and exciting projects or a new venture in your life. 

5. Focus only on what you can control and Stop worrying

Most things that happen in our lives are beyond our control. Worrying about them is simply a futile endeavor and a waste of time. It is better to focus on what you can control and use that time for something more functional, practical and constructive. It is also important to stop worrying about the outcome. Once you have done anything to the best of your ability, whether it is an exam, an interview or a business venture. Stop worrying about the result. 

6. Hard work is more important than good luck 

This is one of the most important things  my parents taught me. They did it, not by preaching about hard work, but by setting a strong example. I am lucky to see firsthand that Hand Work is the way to achieve success in life. You can overcome any hardship as long as you are willing to put in the work to deal with your troubles. This ideal must be instilled in all children from a young age, and they will benefit from it throughout their lives. Work hard so that even if  you fail you know in your heart that  you have done the best you can.  

HOW TO BECOME A FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT WOMAN

Being financially independent is important for women for various reasons. These reasons include coping with rising cost of living, being prepared for emergencies and being able to support herself and/or her children if the need arises. Empowering women to achieve financial freedom will benefit the national economy and promote gender equality within the society. I have listed several reasons why women should strive to achieve financial independence in my previous post.

In this post I wish to write about a few ways that women can become financially independent and self-reliant, regardless of their age or occupation or whether they are married, single or have children. This list provides a few basic ideas on how a woman can be empowered to take managing her finances to her own hands and stop relying on another person especially her parents or her husband, for income or managing money. 

Have a Job or a source of monthly income

I believe that every woman must be in a position to earn a monthly income. This could be in the form of a traditional 9 to 5 job in a company or working as a part-time employee or being a freelance worker or being self employed or being an entrepreneur. The internet has provided many opportunities for women entrepreneurs in our generation to launch successful businesses and earn a substantial income to support their families. Some of these online income streams include blogging, being a virtual assistant, being freelance writers, and online teachers.It could also be the income you receive in the form of bank interest or dividends or rental income from your investment properties. There are also opportunities to start a home based business such as selling baked goods or food parcels, selling flower and vegetable plants, being a seamstress, babysitting, tutoring and teaching music or dancing. Most of these jobs do not have the restrictions of traditional jobs and can be done in the comfort of your own home. These jobs provide the opportunity for women choose an opportunity suitable for their lifestyle and earn a monthly income to support her family. Sometimes the income that you earn may not be a significant amount. However, even a small monthly income can become a huge advantage when you are facing a financial emergency. 

Get a clear picture of your current financial situation 

It is important that you have a clear understanding of your current financial situation or a financial snapshot. It is paramount that you know your outstanding debt liabilities, taxes, and what assets are in your name. It will help you to understand your current situation and help you to decide on a course of action, to set and achieve future financial goals. Organize your bills, tax documents and all other financial related documents so that it is easy to analyse your financial situation on a monthly or bi-annually basis. Set goals to achieve certain financial achievements and work towards it. 

Create a budget, save and invest 

Having a budget will help you to get a clear picture of how much you are earning every month and what your monthly expenses are.Find a budgeting system that works for you. A budget will also help you to cut out any unnecessary expenses and save money. Always spend less than you earn. It is imperative that you save money on a monthly basis even what you can save initially is a very small amount. Invest in assets that will generate a monthly income. Find investments that suit your lifestyle and your own financial situation. Create passive income streams to provide you with an income even if you are unable to work. Plan and invest for retirement from a young age. Be involved in your family's financial and investment decision making process. Don’t let someone else make all the financial decisions and just hope for the best.  

Educate yourself 

The phrase “Knowledge is Power” has significant weight in the context of money management. It is a well known fact that many of the successful entrepreneurs make it a habit to read and educate themselves on a daily basis. If you are serious about achieving financial freedom and independence as a woman, it is essential that you take time and make an effort to educate yourself on money management, saving and various streams of investments. This will not only help you to manage your money independently, but also help you to understand the risks involved in different investments and make better investment decisions. Make it a habit to educate yourself on tax liabilities as well as benefits that you are entitled to under the Law. Find out if your city provides any form of tax benefits, subsidies, workshops or networking opportunities for women-owned businesses and use that information to develop your business. 

Pay off Debt 

It becomes virtually impossible to become financially independent if you are in debt as the debt payments will eat up a large chunk of your monthly income. Evaluate the amount of debt that you currently have and device a plan to pay the debt off as soon as possible. Make sure that you understand the liabilities involved if you are co-signing a mortgage or a vehicle lease. Take steps to properly manage your money and not to amass any high interest consumer debt such as credit card debt. 

Safeguard yourself and your money 

Make a plan to prepare for unfortunate contingencies such as disability and death in the family. Although it may be a morbid topic to discuss have a plan as to how you are going to provide some form of financial security to your dependents (especially if they are minors) in your absence. Prepare a last will and appoint nominees for your bank accounts if you feel it is necessary to do so. Get an insurance cover (if necessary) to provide for grave illnesses or major surgeries. 

It is vital that all women make it a goal to become financially independent and become empowered to work towards advancing their financial position within their family.

Why Every Woman should strive to achieve Financial Independence

Financial Independence is a broad term which can be generally described as being able to support yourself financially and the ability to earn enough money to cover your monthly expenses without having to depend on another person. For a woman being financially independent generally means that;

(a) you have a job or you are self employed or you have a source of income; which means that you get a monthly salary or earn a profit from your business or you have income generating investments.

(b) you are knowledgeable about personal finance and money management; which means you know how to budget, save and invest money. 

(c) your finances are not dependent on another persons salary or capacity to earn. 

(d) you are in control of managing your own finances; which means you have the discretion to decide how much you spend, how much you save and how you invest. Those decisions are  not made under the direction or authority of another person.

Why should women be financially independent? 

1. To off set the Cost of Living

It is clear that in today’s day and age it is becoming increasingly difficult for a single person with one income to support an entire family, no matter how frugal you are. It is also  unfair and unreasonable, in today's economic context, to expect one person to undertake the entire responsibility of supporting the family.  Having a secondary income will help take the financial stress off the primary breadwinner and it will reduce any conflict as between you and your spouse when it comes to money. Therefore, it is important for women to earn an income to be independent and to support her family. 

2. To prepare for an emergency 

If your family is relying on one income, you might be put in a precarious position if the primary breadwinner has some medical emergency or looses his job. To have a secondary source of income at such a time, will be a blessing. It will help you to pay for the basic necessities and keep a roof above your head. It will reduce the stress relating to financial matters and give you peace of mind knowing that you are able to look after your family’s needs. 

3. To look after your parents and pay for kids expenses 

Women who are financially independent can easily look after any emergency medical and other needs of your elderly parents without being a burden or putting any strain on the family’s finances or having to ask for permission from their spouse. You can spend for your children’s expenses without having to constantly ask your spouse for money. 

4.To be your own knight in shining armor 

Being able to earn a living, to manage your money, to save and to invest on your own, will help you to advance in your career and in life. You will not be treated as a dependent and you will not have to rely on your husband or your parents for money. It is important that women know and understand that they are capable of managing their own finances and they take the opportunity educate themselves about personal finance. 

5.To be able to set and achieve future financial goals 

When there are two incomes in a family, you will able to save for retirement faster, save for a down payment for a house, pay off the mortgages faster,  save an emergency fund and increase the chances of getting approval for home loans. Both of you can work towards common financial goals for your future and to secure financial stability for yourselves and your children. 

6. To have your own spending money 

7. To gain self confidence 

8. To pay for higher education for yourself and your kids.

9. To have the freedom and the ability to make life decisions on your own terms 

Being financially independent will help you to make decisions for yourself without being influenced and controlled by anther. When you are financially independent you can take up a new job, change careers or launch your own business. You have the freedom to take a risk. You are not dependent on another person to take care of you (and your children) financially. You are only accountable to yourself on how you save and invest your money. 

10. To have a clear knowledge of the family's financial situation.

It is important for a woman to have a clear knowledge of financial assets and liabilities of her family. This includes knowing the amount of debts such as mortgages and vehicle leases, what assets are in her name, and  the various tax liabilities. It is important that she knows the bills which have to be paid in a monthly basis and online bill payment passwords. Therefore, in an emergency she is able to pay any bill without having the aid of her husband.

11. You have ability and the option of moving on 

Sadly, not all marriages and relationships work out. The situation will become much worse if such breakups involve emotional abuse  or domestic violence and  the abusive partner has complete control of the family's finances. If you have stable income you are capable of removing yourself from an abusive relationship or marriage. You can think of your safety and the safety of your children and take a decision to move out to a different place. If the woman has no source of income to support herself and her children, she might have no other choice than to stay in the abusive relationship. If you are  financially stable you can take yourself (and your children, if you have any) out of that abusive situation since you are not dependent on your spouse’s income. 

Therefore, it is very important that women become financially independent regardless of their age, their marital status or their occupation.