Women are not just nurturers, but providers as well. They play a vital role in shaping the society and are equal contributors towards driving the economic growth of a country.

As a woman, you are possibly a co-earner or even the sole breadwinner in your family. This makes it important for you to plan your finances well so that you can fulfil your dreams and, at the same time, stay financially prepared for any situation. In order to achieve your goals, celebrate your milestones in life, and be prepared for any financial emergency, here are some financial planning tips you must consider.

1. Define your financial goals

The first step to sound financial planning for women is to define their goals.

A goal gives you clarity on how much money you would require to achieve it. This can help you stay focused and spend accordingly. Your goals can be based on the various milestones, like:

• Your higher education
• Your marriage
• Vacation/travel
• Childbirth
• Child’s education/marriage
• Buying a house
• Supporting the dreams of your loved ones, and many more

2. Start investing

Once you have defined your goals, you can calculate how much amount you will need to achieve them. While calculating the amount, consider inflation as well. Invest in a financial plan that will provide you with good returns to help you achieve your goals.

You can consider investing in a ULIP like the ICICI Pru Signature that provides you with the dual benefit of the growth of your money and a life cover^`. It provides you with the option to invest in equity, debt, balanced or a mix of these funds^~ as per your risk appetite. You can switch between funds as per your choice. This enables you to take advantage of various market conditions for a higher return.

The plan also offers loyalty benefits^{^} where the insurer contributes to your investment as a reward for staying invested. It also provides more such benefits that further help to increase the returns from the investment.

3. Limit your borrowings

Borrowing money or taking loans may seem to be a convenient option when you need money. However, fulfilling your financial needs by borrowing money can tempt you to borrow more. This can create a huge financial burden on you. The interest charged on the borrowed money can further add to this burden.

Borrowing money should be a last resort. Instead of using a credit card for purchases, look for something that fits your budget and pay with a debit card or cash. Try to limit your expenses and clear off your loans as soon as possible.

4. Prepare a budget and stick to it

Preparing a budget helps you to be in control of your finances and keep track of your expenses. This tracking helps to identify unnecessary spending and limit them so that you can save enough for your long-term goals. It is important to stick to the budget so that you can manage your finances well.

5. Get a term insurance plan

Growing money is necessary, but it is also important to protect yourself and your loved ones. A term plan offers a payout to your loved ones in case of an unfortunate event, any time during the tenure of the policy. This ensures that your loved ones stay financially protected, no matter what.

ICICI Pru iProtect Smart term plan provides a large financial cover at affordable premium rates. It also offers other benefits such as:

• Critical illness benefit (optional) -

  The plan covers 34 critical illnesses^^ which include chronic diseases such as cancer, heart-related diseases, chronic liver disease, and more. On diagnosis of any of the illnesses covered by the plan, the benefit amount is paid upfront. Submitting hospital bills is not required. This amount can be used to pay the medical bills, diagnostics, recuperation, or any other purpose. The critical illness benefit is an optional benefit that can be availed at a very nominal cost

• Accidental death benefit (optional) -

  In case of an unfortunate eventuality with the policyholder due to an accident^##, in addition to the life cover^`, accidental death cover is also paid to the nominee. The accidental death benefit can be added to the plan at a very minimal cost

• Terminal illness benefit -

  On the first diagnosis of a terminal illness^~~, the entire claim amount provided by the policy is paid to the policyholder upfront. This helps to ease the financial burden during such times

• Waiver of premium benefit^# -

  All future premiums are waived off if the policyholder is diagnosed with a permanent disability^# due to an accident. This ensures that the policy remains active without having to pay any future premium

• Tax^$ benefit -

  The term plans also help to save tax in two ways:
  • The premiums paid towards a term plan are eligible for deduction from taxable income up to ₹ 1.5 lakh in a year, under Section 80C^$ of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The premiums paid towards the critical illness benefit are eligible for deduction from taxable income up to ₹ 25,000/- in a year, under section 80D^$
  • The claim amount received is tax-free^$ subject to conditions under Section 10(10D)^$

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