Women disciplined about savings; taking charge of their money: Survey

New Delhi: Indian women are actively saving and taking charge of their money, with a whopping 68 percent either managing their own finances or having an equal say in their families’ financial decisions, according to a survey.

Only less than 10 percent of women leave the financial decisions to male members of the family, said the survey by Scripbox, a provider of online financial services.

The majority of the women surveyed were disciplined with monthly savings but only 30 percent invested their money in inflation-beating financial instruments mutual funds.

Scripbox undertook this survey in February 2020 with over 600 women respondents across India. Of these, nearly 70 percent were millennials, 24 percent were GenX, while the remaining were in the over-50 years age bracket.

Interestingly, women emerged as savvy investors too, challenging the common misconception of ‘women save, men invest’, it said.

Breaking other commonly-held misconceptions and stereotypes, the survey found that women are actively embracing independence in personal finance matters, aided by the ease of access to such information through digital channels.

“A whopping 68 percent (women) confirmed that they either manage their own finances or had an equal say in family financial decisions,” the survey said

As per the survey, 47 percent of respondents said they rely on digital channels to educate themselves and seek advice on personal finance.

“A majority 80 percent of the women respondents are disciplined with monthly savings, with more than 20 percent saving nearly half their monthly income,” it said.

Common stereotypes such as ‘women are spenders’ or ‘women do not understand numbers’ were cited as the top irritants by a majority of the respondents.

Further, 43 percent of respondents cited their dislike for such stereotypes and confirmed that these discourage them from having proactive and confident conversations about money and investing.

“From our experience, women are just as keen on finding out about how to make their money work as hard. The survey to reiterates that, said Prateek Mehta, co-founder of Scripbox.

“As an industry, it is our responsibility too to ensure that we make resources and tools that aid financial wellness and empowerment available to all,” he added.

With a growing and active appreciation for ‘owning their money’, a majority 64 percent of respondents said they would like to advise their younger self to start investing early and make it their business to understand personal finance and investing.

Further, 31 percent of women said money management should be part of the school curriculum; nearly 20 percent cited the importance of having open conversations in the home, while 18 percent said workplaces should actively promote financial education.