Hello ma’am. Yes you...yes, I’m talking to you. Here’s a question.

Would you call yourself a financially independent woman?

Think about it. Do you handle your own finances? Do you depend on someone to make your financial decisions? Or are you really doing everything you can to grow your wealth? Are you wondering what other way is there to grow your wealth apart from working for it? It’s to make your money work for it. I’m talking about investing.

If you have never made a financial investment in your life, are these 5 things stopping you?

• Other responsibilities: Call it conditioning or a choice, but women generally put familial responsibilities before everything else. Thinking that you won’t be left with enough money to invest is a common thought. Well, that stops now. Through Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) you can invest an amount as little as Rs 1000 every month.
• Lack of knowledge: This is a thought that most non-investors have – that they don’t know how to invest. Mutual Funds come to your rescue here. An experienced fund manager handles your money and invests it on your behalf so you are not required to be an expert yourself.
• No time: I understand you have work, household chores, and some of you might also have kids to take care of. Thinking this would not leave you with enough time to invest is understandable, but that’s the good thing about automated deductions. If you invest through SIP, the fixed amount will be deducted from your account automatically at regular intervals when standing instructions are given to auto debit your account.
• It’s a man’s world: “Investment is not for women” or “the man of the family should do it.” Have you been told this at some point in your life? Well, it’s incorrect! Making an investment has nothing to do with your gender. Women are just as capable of making investments and need it equally to plan for their futures. You just need to choose an option that is in line with your risk capacity and financial goals.
• No women-centric investment options: If you’ve been looking for investment avenues for women and a lack of the same is keeping you from investing; then it should not. As mentioned earlier, investment in stocks and mutual funds is gender agnostic. Along with these, you also have other investment options such as FDs, PFs, real estate, Gold ETFs etc.

So, don’t let anything stop you and aim to get a step closer to being financially independent with mutual fund investments.

Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.