Housewives are expected to portray multiple roles- they are a chef, care for your household, teach children, nurse when you are sick and do other odd
jobs in between. Are they paid? Not exactly! How many of us give the homemaker her dues? Not money, but financial independence is the right remuneration.
- Housewives and finances
Housewives have a good sense of finances. You give them a set amount of money for meeting the everyday expense of your household. Do you know what they do? They run the household on that set budget and even manage to pinch and save few hundreds or thousands along the way. They know where to bargain and have a good eye for deals and discounts. No wonder they love shopping! So, while you are busy earning, your wife, being a homemaker is busy running your household on your earnings, whether big or small.
- Housewives and savings
I remember asking my mother for some extra money once a while (my pocket money always had a tendency to run out!). I was amazed every time she pulled out her secret stash of cash. It was either under the pile of clothes in the cupboard or in some odd container in the kitchen. Have you ever seen your mother or your wife having these secret cash hideouts?
Endless bargaining and that eye for deals create savings for homemakers. Every housewife has some or the other form of saving to her credit. It’s just a matter of finding out where!
- Housewives and investments
Though they are not thought to be but homemakers are usually investment savvy. A study conducted by DSP BlackRock Investment Managers depicts the relationship of working and non-working women with financial investments. According to their study, 92% of the working women and 84% of the non-working women made financial investment decisions. Among these 84% of homemakers, 10% were the sole decision-makers when it came to making a decision about a financial investment while the remaining 74% were joint decision makers. What does this study depict?
Gone are the days when homemakers were solely tasked with the running and maintenance of the household. Today, they are equally involved in the investment-making decisions of the household.
Some of the common investment choices preferable to homemakers include:
- Gold – who can resist the temptation of the yellow metal, especially if it is a woman? Homemakers find gold to be their most favorite investment tool
and usually indulge in gold jewelry for themselves or their children. - Fixed deposits – women are more cautious and risk-averse compared to their male counterparts. Since it takes a lot of effort on their part to scrimp on the monthly budget, a fixed interest bearing investment is more preferred. Fixed deposits are thus popular among housewives.
- Recurring deposits – another popular investment channel is the recurring deposit scheme. This scheme lets homemakers save small amounts every month towards building a good corpus. Since they get a monthly budget, saving monthly is more convenient.
The bottom line
Just because they are not involved in the actual earning process, it does not mean that housewives are financially illiterate. They, in fact, have the most acute sense of saving compared to men. They know how to handle their finances and can run their homes even on the strictest of budgets. You, as her son or husband should educate your mother or wife on finances if she not educated herself. Though, today, most homemakers are involved in the financial decisions, you should make an effort to involve your wife or mother in every financial decision you make. She would be the person who would be taking care of your home when you are no longer around. As such, she should have the knowledge of your investments and savings so as to utilize them as and when required.
The modern housewife is a multi-tasker and being financially savvy is one of her many avatars. So, if you thought that a homemaker’s job is only running your home, think again. They are financially independent and investment savvy too.
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