Women have more financial power than ever, and it continues to grow. What they don’t have is the confidence to use that money to better their lives and the lives of thier families.
It is important that women develop the skills and competencies to be good money managers. When women have money to use, good things happen.
Women are living longer and getting married later. That means that they are more responsible for their financial wellbeing. 8 out of 10 women will be soley responsible for managing their money at some point in their lives.
Many women did not receive a financial education at home or at school. As adults they are looking for trusted sources of information and guidance. They want to work with someone who understands their concerns and goals.
The truth is, women (often) look at money differently than men and in some ways live far differnt lives. For example, women need to be planning for a longer life, higher health care costs, and more time off work for caregiving. The wage gap also negatively affects the total lifetime earnings
There are lot of things that affect what is important to women when it comes to their money. Background, age, and economic status are just a few. However, there are some trends that jump out:
- Women tend to make financial decisions based on their values and how they can best care for their loved ones
- Financial Freedom means having career flexibilty
- Low confidence in investing, but feel confident otherwise
- Longer lives, less money saved
- Regret not investing more when they were younger
- Feel financial services designed to appeal to men
- When they know better, they do better
So what is a women to do?
The first step is to get a basic financial education. There are classes and books available to teach the basics of investing. Using and advisor is a great idea, but you want to be able to understand the advice.
Determine your own values are money. Do you value safety and security or having nice things? Do you want charitable giving or helping family to be part of your financial plan? Lining your values up with your investments will help you use your money in a meaningful way.
Consider working with female advisors. They might be more intuned to the nuances that affect women’s financial lives. Women tend to invest differently (an often more effectively) than men.
Not sure if you are on the right path?
Take the Wealth Potential Assessment in the link below. It shows you how to build and sustain wealth based on spending, savings, and investing behaviors.
Yes, I geek out. Here is the link: https://measure.datapoints.com/survey/e/n20IARGHqEsJ9cf54gfg
Want to talk about it? I would love to chat!