When we talk about women in investing, we tend to focus on women as investors: how to encourage more women to enter financial markets, build portfolios and accumulate wealth.
But there is another role that deserves attention: the household CFO.
In many families, women are not simply earning an income. They are managing an extraordinarily complex operation called the household. They are also mothers, carers, procurement officers and supply-chain managers.
They remember which child needs new school shoes, when the dentist appointment is, and whether there is enough food in the fridge. They also know what needs to be bought for the birthday party — and whether the domestic worker or nanny has been paid.
They organise holidays, co-ordinate lifts and manage school drop-offs and pickups. And they often keep track of the family’s longer-term financial needs.
And this is all happening alongside the demands of a career.
The result is a workload that is not only large, but fragmented. Being the household CFO means making dozens of decisions every day, many of them small but consequential. Some are financial; many have financial implications. The problem is that good financial decisions require time and mental bandwidth that is often in short supply.
Investing R2,000 a month into a retirement fund is relatively simple. Deciding whether that money should instead go towards the children’s education, an emergency fund, paying off debt, a holiday or a long-term investment requires thought. Comparing investment products, understanding fees, assessing risk and deciding how much to save for the future can require hours of research.
When you’re already juggling a career, children, ageing parents, and the logistics of family life, it is understandable that financial decisions often become another task to get through. And when we are busy, we tend to choose the default.
We leave the money in the bank because moving it requires effort. We accept the investment product suggested by someone we know because researching alternatives takes time. We renew the same insurance policy because comparing options is a hassle. We put off increasing retirement contributions because there is always something more immediate to deal with.
None of this is a failure of financial literacy or discipline. It is often a consequence of being busy. That is why one of the most useful things a household CFO can do is not necessarily to become an expert investor. It is to design a financial system that requires fewer decisions.
Think of it as putting the household finances on autopilot.
The first trick is automatic budgeting. Rather than deciding every month how much can be saved, establish a household budget that automatically allocates money when income arrives. Fixed expenses, discretionary spending and savings can each have their own allocation.
The second is to define and prioritise the household’s savings goals. Every family will have different priorities. It might be an emergency fund, children’s education, a deposit on a home, retirement, a holiday or simply creating greater financial resilience.
Write those goals down. Put them in order. Decide what each one requires. A goal that exists only in your head is easily displaced by today’s expenses; a goal with a number and a deadline is much harder to ignore. Then revisit these goals every few months to make sure they are still working for you.
Third, automate the contributions. Set up debit orders or recurring transfers so that money moves into savings and investments shortly after payday. Don’t rely on what is left over at the end of the month. In most households, there won’t be much left over. Automation turns good intentions into habits.
There’s one more job for the household CFO: teaching the next generation how to manage money of their own. Children learn about money primarily by watching us. They notice whether we plan before we spend, whether we distinguish between things we need and things we want, whether we save for something or simply buy it immediately. They should also be included in appropriate household financial decisions.
That doesn’t mean burdening children with adult financial worries. It means allowing them to see how decisions are made. Let them help plan the family holiday budget. Give them a savings goal. Discuss why the family might choose one purchase over another. Explain that money is finite and that choosing one thing often means giving up another.
These conversations can be powerful. The household CFO’s most valuable investment may ultimately not be the portfolio she builds, but the financial capability she passes on.
Women already carry real responsibility for the financial well-being of their families. The answer is not to add another burden by telling them they need to become professional investors. It is to make the job easier.
Automate what can be automated. Prioritise what matters. Invest consistently. And bring the next generation into the conversation.
The best household CFO isn’t the person who makes every financial decision manually. She is the person who builds a household where good financial decisions happen almost automatically — and teaches her children how to do the same.
Thomas Brennan is a co-founder of Franc, a South African fintech company that helps people invest easily and affordably
