Women and Men both make Financial Planning mistakes. Here are a few mistakes that I've observed as peculiar to Women in my experience. If you catch yourself saying "this sounds like something I do!" it might be worthwhile to take a pause and retrace your steps.
Letting your husband manage the money without your involvementIt's both your right and duty to be involved in your family's financial nitty-gritties, irrespective of whether you're contributing to the inflows. Very few Women assume that they'll ever encounter a divorce (or the death of a spouse) but this would be a mistake. The last thing you'd want is for financial shocks to aggravate an already terrible life situation.
Not taking your potentially higher lifespan into accountWhile working out your family's Financial Plan, did you consider that you'll likely outlive your husband by 6-8 years? Most women fail to do so. To make matters worse, the money requirement in those remaining years is likely to be unimaginably high high, what with long term inflation averaging 6.5 per cent and medical costs escalating at nearly 11 per cent per annum in urban India. What costs 50,000 per month today will quite possibly cost 380,000 per month or so after 30 years. Don't miss factoring in those extra years.
Being too risk averse… or not understanding riskIt's a fact that women investors tend towards being more risk averse than men. This is ironic when you consider that the average woman will outlive the average man, and the longer time horizon may make a case for a higher exposure to more volatile growth assets (such as equity mutual funds). I've observed many women investors shutting themselves off from risky assets altogether in the name of being 'conservative', and winding up with greatly compromised returns in the long term thus. It would instead be wise to try to understand risk and how it can lead to significantly higher growth - if controlled and managed prudently.
Being frightened by jargonI've observed many Women being so 'jargon averse' that the mere sight of those complex sounding phrases jumping at them from policy documents, investment proposals and mutual fund forms propels them into 'avoidance' mode. Truthfully speaking, nothing related to personal finance is quite as complex as it seems. When confronted by the jargon monster the next time, breathe deeply at first! Then, politely ask your Investment Advisor to explain the matter at hand in laypersons terms. Studies have shown that women "shy away from asking questions related to financial terms", and end up not investing their money thus. Don't be shy of asking questions till you have 100 per cent clarity.
Procrastinating investment decisionsProcrastination - or putting off important financial decisions until the penultimate moment, might just be the No. 1 enemy of your Financial Goals. In my observation, many Women tend to put off money decisions for a later date due to the fear of making a mistake. Working with a trustworthy advisor or taking time out to self-educate on matters related to personal finance will go a long way in helping you nip this pernicious tendency in the bud.