Despite more women entering the workforce than ever before, more often than not, the household investment portfolio is still handled by men. This is partly due to deeply entrenched societal mores, but largely this can be attributed to lack of financial knowledge amongst women.
In order to educate women financially, we invited Sheetal Gurung, Debt-Free Expert at Women On Wealth, to host an Ask Me Anything session on Girl Tribe By MissMalini and answer some of the most common questions the Tribe has about creating wealth and living debt-free.
Ways to get rid of debt as soon as possible, how to stay off debt, how to control credit card debt, how to start investing when you have a debt, how to start on the wealth creation journey as a beginner, how to create wealth if you don’t come from a wealthy background, is there a “good” kind of debt—Sheetal answered all these questions and more! Scroll down to read her advise on 3 of the most common questions we all have about living debt-free!
Q. How can one get started on creating wealth, especially when they have minimal savings?
Here are a couple of things to do if you are serious about wealth creation:
1. Become financially educated because educated and skilled investors are able to make quicker investment decisions.
2. Build your financial security first which means have an emergency fund, health insurance, life insurance and you are debt-free.
3. As a knowledgeable investor you will pick good quality investments so as to see your money growing
4. Build your financial consciousness – track your income and expenses which can give you access to areas from where you could save more money. More you save, more money you have to invest.
Q. Is it true that we should use a credit card for all our expenses and then pay the bill off in full to build up our credit score as opposed to using a debit card?
If you have the discipline to do that, then it is the most efficient way of making the most of a credit card. Your disciplined payments will definitely show your ability to repay, which is what credit score is all about.
Q. Would you recommend investing in crypto for wealth creation? Also what are your thoughts on options of investing other than mutual funds, fixed deposits, recurring deposits and stocks?
First up, if you already have a well-diversified investment portfolio consisting of mutual funds, FD, RD and stocks which is built around a well-thought out financial plan where each investment is aligned to your goals, and you are clear on how much money will be allocated to the various assets, then you really don’t have much to do here. Just continue investing in a disciplined manner.
Crypto is not regulated at the moment unlike stocks and mutual funds, which is what makes me wary of investing in it myself. There is extreme volatility and hence it is not something I’d recommend for any new investors especially if someone has no excess money to just while away. I’d say wait, watch and build your understanding of the same.
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