Let’s discuss on Career Break for women & importance of Financial Planning.
Be it kids or family responsibilities, change in job location of the spouse or some other personal reasons, its often found that many women need to take a career break for at least few years of their life!
They may get financial support from their spouse & family, but what they miss the most is their ‘Financial independence’ during this period.
Once a woman starts earning & become financially independent, it creates ‘anxiety’ in their minds when they think of a career break.
To feel more confident & at peace in this phase, you need to plan your finances well.
Here are some simple things you can follow when you need to take a career break!
Acceptance is the key:
When you accept the fact that for some period in life, you will not work full time but you will dedicate this phase towards other important aspects of life, then this acceptance becomes a key for your peaceful career break.
When you accept this fact, you will be more focused on spending this phase peacefully.
This acceptance will teach you to be more focused, driven & dedicated to fulfill your duties.
Keep your own emergency fund ready:
Women often feel anxious because for some period, the house will run on the single income of their spouse.
But in any given moment of time, you may face with emergencies which may put you in a financial stress. You need to face the situation with financial independence.
I so ask you to be ready with one emergency fund of your own.
It should be minimum 12 times of your monthly household expenses.
e.g if your monthly expenses are Rs 50,000 then Rs 6 lakhs should be the minimum amount of your emergency fund.
This emergency fund, you can keep in one dedicated savings a/c, can invest in bank Fixed deposits or opt for suitable debt liquid fund.
Kindly note that this fund you can make for our own self too apart from the one for the family.
This will always give you a sense of financial security as you will have your own money with you.
Build on your skill sets & hobbies:
Career break is not a ‘free time’. Yet, you can build up on your own hobbies, can build your own skill sets too.
This skill set can be in line with your own career path or you can learn something new for future.
Also, you can cash on your own hobbies. You can give some dedicated time towards your hobby like an art, or writing or painting. You can learn something into those hobbies.
These hobbies can also turn out to be your alternative source of income.
Look for ways earning you a passive income:
Today, it feels a necessity for an individual to have alternative or passive source of income along with the one main source of income.
So, this career break can be an opportunity for you to look for any passive source of income. This can be any business activity or commercializing any of your own hobby like writing or singing.
Look for these passive sources of income for you so that even if can not join a full time workforce, you can surely work in our own activity set up to earn money.
Right & suitable insurance policies:
Its important to have right & suitable Life & Health insurance policy for you & family.
During a break , your spouse will be a single earning member of the family. So he should have a suitable life insurance cover for his own.
For this, he should opt for a suitable ‘Term life insurance cover’ only.
Along with this, ‘health insurance’ for you & family is important. When you take a career break, then ‘Group health insurance cover’ provided by your employer seizes. It is thus important to have a personal health insurance cover for you & family.
For an medical emergencies & expenses, this cover will be helpful.
Today, though we have many career opportunities & paths yet many women need to take a break in the career. Right & suitable financial planning can surely help them & family to navigate though this phase!
Contact ARTHA FinPlan for more details.
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