Financial Independence and Women (+ 5 Tips To Get Started NOW!)

This is the manuscript of my Shine To Impact Podcast episode – Why Women Must Strive to Become Financially Independent (+ 5 Tips To Get Started)?

In today’s episode, I want to talk about something that is very close to my heart.

And the topic is why women must strive to become financially independent.

If you’d like to see my YouTube audiobook version, please click HERE.

If you’d like to listen to the audio on my Podcast, please click HERE.

SCARY STATS

Now, to begin, let me give you some statistics. Studies have shown that…

Women are poorer in retirement than men. In the USA, an alarming 87% of the elderly living in poverty are women.
Women are poorer in divorce than men. Divorced women with children are 4 times more likely than married women to have an income that is under the poverty line.
Women, on average, are financially less prepared than men. 58% of female baby boomers have less than US$10,000 in retirement plans and 33% of the women investors admitted that they would avoid making financial decisions out of fear of making a mistake.

Hm… so as you can see, women are often in more financial chaos compared to men.

But, why are women in such a position?

Now, after speaking with a lot of women, I think it all comes down to our mindset.

WHAT ARE WE THINKING?!

Perhaps it’s the way we are brought up, or the way we are conditioned in the society, most women have one of the below beliefs… see if any of this sounds familiar to you?

I’m NOT good with money
I’m NOT good with numbers
My spouse or partner is taking care of the finances already
Money and finances are just too confusing and overwhelming
I am not interested in finances
My family has never been rich, so I probably won’t be rich
I’m busy working or I’m busy taking care of the children so I have no time
My spouse or partner will take care of me and my children so I don’t have to worry
The government will look after me
I have a job already, so I don’t have to worry about money
Money is not that important to me
You can either only be rich OR happy, so I would rather be happy

Hey, so if you are thinking about any of the above. You are NOT alone.

However, I have got to be honest, these mindsets are exactly what keep us poor.

THESE MINDSETS KEEP US POOR

You see… I’m sorry to say but a man is NOT your financial Plan B, your government is NOT your financial plan B, and your job is also NOT your financial plan B!

MARRIAGE?

Have you heard of stories of women who are not financially independent and then something happens to their marriage and they end up penny-less? I certainly have heard many stories like that.

Now, I am NOT a feminist, and I am NOT bitter against men.

What I am saying is that as women, we need to take control of our finances, we need to strive to become financially independent so that if anything happens, we are able to stand on our own 2 feet.

GOVERNMENT?

And if you think your government will always take care of you, please think again.

What if there are any policy changes? Do you really want to rely on that?

JOB?

Plus, if you think your job is safe and secured, I’m sorry to say that that is not always the case neither.

You see, companies’ main focus is to need to watch their bottom line, so during economic tough times, no employee is invincible.

One of my girlfriends has been working in her job for more than 20 years. She loved her job and she worked hard.

So last year, as covid hit, it was a rude awakening for her when she received a big envelope from her company saying that she would be let go off.

Yup, so your job is not secured. And working there for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, doesn’t guarantee anything.

THE CULTURAL TABOO

Now… In our Asian culture, sometimes money is a taboo subject.

I mean how often do you hear parents talk about money at the dinner table? How often do you hear financial education in school?

For me, growing up in an Asian family and went to school, even gotten my bachelor and master degrees, I still haven’t had any proper financial education or training out of school.

And yet, financial education is such an important topic.

MONEY AFFECTS EVERYTHING AROUND YOU

Let’s face it.

Money affects everything around you.

Your lifestyle, your education, your health care, and whether or not, you have the flexibility to spend time with your children and your loved ones.

Yes sure…. Money CANNOT buy everything. But, without money, life will be much more difficult.

MONEY GIVES YOU CHOICES

Money gives you choices.

Money buys you freedom OR slavery. Slavery to your job, your debts, or even to your relationships.

Have you seen women stuck in unhappy and unhealthy relationships and unable to leave because they don’t know how they can survive financially on their own?

I have definitely seen that.

You see, when you are able to make your own money, take care of your own finances, and become financially independent, your relationship with yourself, with your partner, and with people around you will also improve.

When you are not constantly stressed out about your finances, you will be more relaxed, enjoy your life more and love yourself more.

When you and your partner are not constantly arguing for more money, and you don’t have to always ask for money, you will feel better about yourself and your relationship.

You stay in your relationship because you want to, not because you have to.

Now, that is a huge difference.

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MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVILS?

Now, some people think that money is envy. Have you heard of the phrase, Money is the root of all evil? I disagree.

To me, money is just a vehicle.

Money doesn’t have to change you. It only magnifies who you are.

If you are greedy, having more money will make you more greedy.

If you are generous, having more money will actually give you the opportunity to become more generous.

You get to decide how you want to use that money, if you have extra – you can donate to those who need money the most, you can help to build schools, you can sponsor children in developing countries, and you can support other women entrepreneurs who have fewer resources than you.

Money doesn’t define you, but it gives you the choices to become who you really want to be.

So what’s your mindset about money right now? Are you having some self-limiting beliefs such as I’m not good with numbers, it’s too complicated, I just don’t have that DNA in me?

If you think that way, I want you to stop.

Listen, my dear… You are capable, you can learn, you have got to give yourself more credit!

Money management and investing are learnable skills.

No one was born knowing stuff like that. Everyone started somewhere and learned.

You just have to make a decision, learn and apply. Take baby steps forward.

You will make mistakes along the way, but making the mistakes is exactly how to become better.

5 TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED!

So, if you want to strive to become financially independent, here are 5 quick tips to get you started on your financial freedom journey:

Tip # 1 – Read the Book Rich Dad Poor Dad!

Read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

If you haven’t already read this book, I highly recommend it. This was one of the first books I read about financial literacy, and it changed my life.

You will learn simple but important concepts about finances from this # 1 international bestselling book.

You can get this book from the library or the bookstore, or you can grab a kindle version from online stores. Get educated.

TO DIG DEEPER

TIP # 2 – REVIEW YOUR FINANCES

Take a look at how much you are earning each month, how much you are spending each month, take inventory of all your assets and liabilities.

I know, this could be a scary step especially if you have never really looked at your finances before.

But it is an essential step, because if you don’t know where you are today, how can you come up with action plans that work?

Take a pen and paper, or better yet, use an excel spreadsheet, dig up all the numbers from your bank account, from your bills, and from your investments, so that you can know what is really going on with your finances.

Tip # 3 – SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE

Haha… this seems to be such common sense, isn’t it?

However, I have got to tell you, common sense isn’t always common.

So look at how much you are spending and make sure you are spending less than you are making!

See if there are ways to reduce your spending. Those Jimmy Choo heels? Yes, think twice if you really need them before buying.

Start paying down your credit card debts from all those shopping!

TIP # 4 – MAKE MORE MONEY

Make more money.

Now, there will come a point that you can no longer reduce your spending, or reducing your spending further will start to crush your spirit.

Meaning if you are cutting your expenses so much that you are no longer having fun in life, like no shopping, no dining out, no movies, no friends gathering, no favorite foods, then life would be no fun and pretty miserable, right?

Then, in that case, you really should think about how you can make more money.

Learn a new skill, start a side hassle, discover where your passion and zone of genius are and turn into a business from home.

Take courses, find a mentor, get some coaching to guide you along.

Nowadays with the internet, it is no longer difficult to build a thriving business from home.

If you want to have more resources, head over to my website www.Millieleung.com/gift and grab a free copy of my ebook Passion to Profit playbook, the secrets of turning your passions into a profitable and impactful business.

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TIP # 5 – LEARN TO MAKE MONEY WITH MONEY

Learn to make money with money. Meaning learn how to invest.

If you are interested in real estate, start taking some real estate classes. If you are interested in stocks, then start learning about stock investing. The key is to learn and start small.

OK, my dear, it’s time for us to rise up and become financially independent.

And once you’re able to do that, I want you to share with other women how you did it, so more women can become financially independent.

I believe that when a woman changes her life, her entire community benefits.

Dream big, start small, act now.

And let’s shine to impact! And I’ll see you at the next episode! Have a beautiful day and bye for now!

Financial Independence and Women (+ 5 Tips To Get Started NOW!)