When we hear about smart women protecting their money, we often think about the way they protect them from ex-husbands.

The truth is that women need to be smarter with their money and one of the ways to be smart is by protecting their money from many areas and situations  in their lives. Women need to be protective in slightly different ways than men when it comes to money.

Smart women know how to say ‘no’ to protect their money from various areas.

1) Relationships

As women, most of us are givers. We like to take care of people and help in difficult situations. Unfortunately, one of those areas is being giving with money in relationships. If a family members really needs a little financial help, we usually find it difficult to say ‘no’.

When it comes to romantic relationships, it’s easy for to find ourselves in situations where some men need us financially. They may need us to help with a few bills here and there and it’s easy to be blinded by love. It may start of with a few bills but it can end up being financially devastating.  “When things aren’t going well in a relationship, the extra stress of thinking about money makes a hard time harder,” says top UK family law practice Barristers Stobart.

Let’s get real, most of us aren’t going to watch our boyfriends, husbands or partners struggle financially. We can and will mostly likely help, but the key is to understand and communicate our limits.

We need to be clear on the level of help we can give without putting ourselves over the edge. We can’t possible help someone when we’re putting ourselves in compromising situations.

2) Needy or high roller friends

We all know about friends that are in need. I’ve discussed the pitfalls of lending friends money or going into business with friends. One area I haven’t discussed is high roller friends. You know, the friends who can easily spend $500 in one night without batting an eyelash.

Those are the friends who will get you closer to bankruptcy.

Yes, it’s fun at first. It may even be exhilarating and you may feel like you need to splurge on yourself sometimes, but if you’re not making the type of money where spending $500 a night without affecting your savings on a regular basis is okay, the best way to remedy this situation is to distance yourself from those types of friends.

They may be lots of fun, but at the end of the day, you have to protect your money.

3) Emotional Spending

Like people who eat to calm their emotions, there is such a thing as ’emotional spending’ – people who calm themselves in stressful situations or because they are upset, hurt, angry or nervous by spending money.  Even buying gifts for others out of guilt for not spending enough time with them or hurting them is a form of emotional spending.

My opinion on emotional spending is this – it’s a form of avoidance.

Because you’re desperate not to feel something unpleasant, your bank account is suffering the consequences. At the end of the day, the situation isn’t resolved, but you’ve lost a portion of your savings in an attempt to make you feel better. The sad reality is that the feel is temporary because the original issue hasn’t been resolved.

The bottom line

Be smart with your money. Don’t be ruled by external forces, whether they are people, family or feelings. The best thing to do is face those things head on and manage those situation rather than use your hard-earned money or savings as a pacifier.

 How have you protected your money?