Here are three areas women should focus on to further their investment prowess:

Women are more cautious
Women tend to be more risk-averse than men when it comes to investing. Women tend to be cautious and hold their investments longer than men who look for higher returns in more frequent trades.
Given that one can afford to be more aggressive with their investments over a longer time horizon a cautious strategy is likely to lose out on higher compounding over time.

Financial knowledge
It is accepted that women generally have less financial knowledge than men. This probably stems from the traditions of the past where the male was the breadwinner and the wife focussed on the needs of the family.
Financial independence is for everyone and the more knowledge one has the better the investment decisions will be. Financial information is available everywhere from advisors and consultants to the Internet. All it takes is the will to seek and find the information required to develop a meaningful financial plan.

Women need to be more selfish
Sacrificing everything for the family is admirable to say the least but without setting enough aside for the future the struggle will never improve. Living from hand to mouth gets more difficult as the cost of living rises at a faster pace than salary increases over time.
Women need to find ways to save more for the future. Not only for their family needs but for themselves. They need to work towards their own financial independence to attain financial freedom in the future.
This can only be achieved by saving and investing more effectively over time.

Insure the more expensive vehicle in your name instead of your spouse as you are more likely to get better rates on the car. Many households have two cars and Dad generally has the expensive 4×4 and Mom the runner. Insurance companies recognise that women drivers are safer than men when it comes to the probability of having an accident. Their lower risk leads to lower rates on the insurance policy. To insure the car with Dad as the second driver. You’ll save on running costs too…

Separate accounts not joint – there is a serious estate problem having one account with signing powers only for the wife as a joint account in the will be frozen in the estate in the event of death. This could leave the surviving spouse in a position where there is no access to cash. Estates can take ages to wind up and the last thing you need is to battle with cash to get through the months it takes before the proceeds from the estate are released.

Have your own contingency fund for emergencies and unforeseen expenses. Not only your own banking account but also a savings account in your own name which you can access for emergencies. This amount should cover between 3 to 6 times your monthly expenses. The funds should be reinvested in a money market account with your local bank so that you earn some interest. Ideally, the account should be linked to your Internet banking profile alongside your own personal account. This will enable you to transfer the required funds at a click of your mouse giving you complete control of your funds.

Here are 4 important financial aspects that women should be aware of when constructing a financial plan.
Death
If the worst happened to Mom then how does this affect the family? Who looks after the children and the home? The cost of finding a childminder and keeper of the home needs to be factored into a life assurance policy. If mom earns an income this to needs to be replaced.

Disability
The same applies should Mom become disabled. The provisions also need to include Mom and the cost of her disability as well.

Dependency
Build your own portfolio alongside your spouse to create financial interdependence and tax efficiencies. Instead of relying on your husband to provide in the event of death retirement or disability, you should balance the family portfolio between yourselves. This allows for interdependence as should a death, disability or even a divorce occur, the spouses will each have their own provisions in place to maintain their lifestyles.

Divorce
In the case of a divorce, make sure that there is a policy in place covering the maintenance in the event of death and disability of the ex. Also, ensure the policy is owned by you so that you are notified by the assurance company of any default on the payments. You should also ensure that you are the nominated beneficiary so that the proceeds of the policy are paid directly to you outside the estate.