THE SUPER WOMAN

 Years ago, the face of family finance was majorly the man’s business even though some women took the responsibilities of solely providing for the family like paying for the accommodation, feeding and footing all bills.  This was the case of women married to lazy men, widows and those whose husbands could not work due to sicknesses and sort.

The prevailing trend now is more men leave the responsibilities of family finance solely to the woman, I have seen able bodied men who are laid backs, lazy and are comfortable in such situation since they have a woman to provide the basics for them. The fact is situation could make the man earn less, I am not talking about men who are giving it a shot and earning something.  The fact that you are putting in efforts is good enough and I encourage you that if you keep at it, you will break through, for this type of men, it’s good to have a supportive woman who will step in and cover the few lapses. Family finances should be the responsibility of both the man and the woman in my opinion but it is best that it’s well defined in the family.

So many women are going through depression induced financially and are stressed from bearing the financial burden of the home alone and its worse off if they are not even appreciated for all the efforts they put in making the home a better place.

What can be done to reduce the financial stress on this Super woman?

Caught down unnecessary purchases and Expenses: I will stress that you need to identify what is unnecessary expenses and be realistic as much as possible. As an example, if your TV cable subscription is NGN20, 000.00 reduce it to the lowest range. Another example is ‘Aso Ebi’ please do not buy if you do not have excess cash. ‘I will say do not do more than yourself’

Reduce Competition with Friends and Family: When you are the sole provider, it’s not the time to be competitive, I will rather say be competitive with yourself, never compare yourself with anybody, it adds to your stress. This could be relative in the choice of school your children attends, or luxury materials.

Use Smart Financial Tools: The super woman need to use Financial tools likes Budgeting (Read more Here). You need to do things on a budget and be strict to the set budget always, the second tool is price Haggling. You have to be the bargain master ‘price things well’, Bulk purchasing is also useful as this will reduce the unit price of what you eventually pay. I will also advice you join a genuine Thrift society (Read more Here). You can search on the blog for more topics as can help you.

Avoid self-blame or bitterness: The truth is what has happened has happened, we can only move on from where we are, no one can boast of never making a wrong decision in life, playing the blame game or being bitter will only make you to be stagnant, and as you know a stagnant water smells and it is a breeding ground for all kinds of insects, fungi, bacteria’s, ETC. I know occasionally (or in some cases often) the feeling will come, you should learn to find your joy in the midst of all the financial stress, this can be done in a number of way, focus on the little victories, sing a song, avoid being lonely, write a poem, learn something new and so much more.   

The list of things to do is in- exhaustive, I have only pointed out a few. I will like to say a big thank you to all the SUPER WOMEN out there making ends meet, and say that ‘Though times never last but though people do’  be encouraged better days are just a step ahead of you.

I remain your friend and Personal Finance Coach Babatunde Ayorinde, follow me on twitter @pistis03, on Instagram @personalfinancebabat

And if you like to engage us to speak in your program or for adverts send us a mail at babat09@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, invite you Family, Friends, and Foes to read the blog, as we move ahead to our financial freedom.