Abiola Adediran 
Life has a way of changing its rhythm when we least expect it. One day, you’re following a familiar routine—balancing work, family, and personal dreams—and the next, everything feels different. For women, transitions like divorce, widowhood, or retirement can feel overwhelming, not just emotionally, but financially and practically. Yet, with intention, planning, and self-awareness, these periods of change can also become opportunities for empowerment, growth, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Take Funke, for example. She had spent over a decade in her marriage, building a home, raising children, and supporting her husband’s career. When the marriage ended, she suddenly found herself navigating life alone, financially responsible for herself and her kids in ways she hadn’t fully anticipated. At first, it was daunting—she had bills, mortgages, and limited savings earmarked for family expenses. But Funke knew she had to take action. She began by assessing her current financial situation: understanding her assets, liabilities, and income streams.
She created a new budget, separating what was essential from what was discretionary, and prioritised building an emergency fund to cushion unexpected expenses.
Funke also made a conscious choice to educate herself about investments and retirement planning. She explored personal finance resources, attended workshops, and consulted with a trusted financial advisor. Within a year, Funke was not only managing her finances independently but also investing in herself—her skills, her business ideas, and her long-term security. Divorce had been painful, yes, but it became the catalyst for Funke to step fully into her financial independence.
Then there’s Chidera, a widow who lost her husband unexpectedly after 25 years of marriage. The grief was profound, and on top of that, she faced the immediate responsibility of managing finances that she had never fully overseen. She realised she needed to take control of her family’s financial future. Chidera started by gathering all legal documents—wills, insurance policies, property deeds, and pension statements—to get a clear picture of what was available. She sought professional advice to manage inheritance taxes, understand pension benefits, and ensure the family estate was secure.
Beyond the immediate financial tasks, Chidera also focused on planning for the long term. She began to set realistic goals: building a diversified investment portfolio, establishing a savings plan for her children’s education, and exploring life insurance policies to protect against future uncertainties. Importantly, she also prioritised her well-being. She joined support groups, connected with mentors who had navigated similar experiences, and learnt to make decisions that honoured both her emotional and financial needs. Widowhood had shifted her world, but it also revealed her strength and resilience. By taking deliberate steps, she transformed a painful transition into a journey of empowerment.
Retirement, too, can be a major transition, though often anticipated rather than sudden. Yet, even planned transitions come with uncertainty. Take Yetunde, a corporate executive who had spent decades climbing the ladder. When retirement approached, she was excited about freedom but anxious about sustaining her lifestyle, managing investments, and planning for the next chapter of life. To navigate this transition, Yetunde began by assessing her retirement readiness: reviewing pensions, investment accounts, and expected income streams. She worked with a financial planner to calculate her future expenses and identify gaps, creating a strategy to bridge them.
Yetunde also embraced the personal side of retirement. She explored passions she had long set aside, from volunteering to traveling, and ensured her retirement planning reflected her desired lifestyle, not just financial targets. By combining financial preparation with intentional life planning, retirement became not an ending, but a beginning—a chance to live on her own terms, with security, joy, and purpose.
What unites Funke, Chidera, and Yetunde is the understanding that transitions require both financial clarity and emotional resilience. Taking control of your finances is empowering, but so is taking care of your well-being. For women navigating divorce, widowhood, or retirement, the key is to approach each stage with intention. Assess your current situation, understand your assets and liabilities, seek professional guidance when needed, and align your financial decisions with your life goals.
Rebuilding finances after divorce might involve creating new budgets, consolidating debts, understanding spousal and child support agreements, and starting fresh investment strategies. Managing inheritance or pensions after widowhood requires gathering legal and financial documents, understanding tax implications, creating long-term savings plans, and protecting family wealth. Planning for retirement is about forecasting your expenses, creating income strategies that support your desired lifestyle, and investing in experiences and personal growth that bring fulfillment beyond money.
Transitions are never easy, but they are transformative. They force reflection, growth, and intentional action. They are opportunities to reclaim your power, redefine your goals, and design a life where wealth serves well-being, not just survival. Whether it’s Funke learning to stand financially on her own, Chidera taking control after loss, or Yetunde planning a fulfilling retirement, the journey is the same: integrating financial security with emotional and personal fulfillment.
When women approach life’s transitions with courage, planning, and self-compassion, they don’t just navigate change—they thrive through it. And in doing so, they create a blueprint for others to follow, leaving a legacy of resilience, empowerment, and holistic wealth.
Abiola Adediran is a Family Business Advisor, corporate finance and business strategy expert with nearly 2 decades of work experience that cuts across investment banking, consulting, private equity, wealth and family office management. She is the Founder/Managing Consultant of Midridge International, a pan-African strategy consulting and financial advisory firm. She is also currently a Partner at Genea Family Office.