I got scammed of $3000!

Well. Not me. But a lady friend. The headline was to just get your attention.

When I picked my daughter from daycare on Friday, her educator, who is also a dear friend of mine said to me “Tribly, I got scammed!" I was shocked “ How did that happen?” I asked. Then she went on practically breathlessly, (read the next few lined nonstop)."Some person called me from an unknown number and I answered it thinking my husband's calling from overseas and they said they are from the tax office saying I have unpaid tax and they would be arresting me if not paid immediately. They were very threatening and I got scared. I asked them to let me call my husband but they would not let me keep my phone down. Said the cops are on their way and they can track my location etc. and I ended up paying $3000!" (Take a breath now.)...

As she rambled I kept wondering 'How did 'SHE' get scammed? 

She is an extremely intelligent, educated woman, mother of 2 young adult daughters, who are doing well for themselves. It just did not make sense to me. 

Her narration was close to a similar experience from another colleague of mine. Fortunately for her, her husband came home while the call was on and realized that her wife was on a call with scammers and disconnected the call. 

This could not happen for the educator friend of mine as her husband has been stuck overseas due to the pandemic 

A third incident (not a scam) happened recently, when another lady acquaintance of mine, mompreneur, social media influencer mentioned that she had no idea about her tax identification number or all these ‘money matters’ as she put it, as her husband managed it. 

You see where I am going with this right?

These extremely intelligent, educated, working women had distributed household responsibilities with their partners/husbands. The house, kitchen, cleaning, and child-rearing responsibilities were the woman's and the finance-related responsibilities belonged to the man. 

It’s a typical distribution of responsibility that happens world over in most households, most likely unknowingly, and in most cases, the 'finance management' is the man’s responsibility. 

Yes, Math at school sucked. The algebra geometry, trigonometry, matrices, algorithms, etc. were hard and math teachers did not make it easier either. Most people are terrible at it. Even if they are engineers! 

But real-life money management is Way Way Way easier. 

I have met uneducated women, who would not be able to tell the difference between the addition and multiplication symbol but have sharp finance acumen and a stronghold over their earnings and the money they spend.

It amazes me that so many educated and working women cannot decipher their own payslips!

Trust me. It is not that hard. This may sound harsh but, You CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT hand over all responsibility about money matters especially when IT IS YOUR money. There is increasing data that most women find themselves separated from their partners by the age of 50 and are clueless on how to manage their money or how they ended up homeless and penniless!

Don’t get me wrong. This is not about why men should not have control over your money or plant seeds of doubt against your partner.

I get it. Women manage a lot more household responsibilities than men. The mental load to orchestrate every element of your house is in top order including change of the hand towels near the washbasin (which probably no one would notice if you did not change it) is all on women. It is easier to hand over money matters to your partner/husband.

But money management is easier than you think. Yes, it is. 

1. Understanding the interest on your bank account is easy!
2. Understanding your provident fund/ gratuity/ superannuation is easy!
3. Understanding your tax liability is easy!
4. Investing in mutual funds and stocks is easy! 
5. Planning your life insurance and health care is easy!
6. Having assets and bank accounts in your own /solo name is easy!

I repeat. It is extremely easier than you think. Start with your Payslip!

Had any of these women had an understanding of how the money they earned was being managed they could have probably told the person on call in a calm and firm voice. "I know this is a scam. F@^! Off!" and hang up. 

There are zillion resources on youtube that can help you understand your financials in a language you understand. Else leverage the resource who is managing your money for you a.ka. your husband. Some resources that simplify things are the books "The Barefoot Investor' by Scott Pape and Kelly Ashbrook's book ' A life reinvented'. 

If for nothing else, manage your hard-earned money as sheer back up planning.

Consider this, If you (who manages the kitchen department) dies, then your husband, who never stepped a foot in the kitchen, will still be able to order takeaway. But if your husband/partner who manages the 'money matters' dies then a finance helper is off the menu! (Pun intended.) 

#money #bankingindustry #bestadvice #storytelling #selfhelp