Feeling Empowered about your Finances
Sudden life changes
When it comes to women and money, fewer women than men feel empowered about their finances. That’s equally true when it comes to managing debt. Yet, with more women than ever working and helping to take charge of family finances, women need to develop good financial literacy. According to the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement and National Center for Women’s Retirement Research, the average woman spends 15% of her working years outside the workforce caring for children and elderly parents compared to the average man’s 1.6%. In other words, women have much less time to build up their savings. This is an important consideration as women are more likely than men to become single parents. In addition, 80-90% of women will have sole responsibility for their finances at some point in their lives – usually due to divorce and the fact that on average women outlive men by about seven years. When you add it all up, women need to do all they can to educate themselves so they are prepared to handle sudden life changes.
Higher burden of debt
While women may be lagging behind when it comes to proactively managing their own finances, they tend take on more of the responsibility in terms of debt repayment. Often its women leading the charge when tackling the family debt load.
There are a lot of issues holding women back from achieving true financial well-being. That why it’s so important that women hit the ground running to get the earliest possible start in managing their finances. For women and money, the key is starting in your teens or early twenties. Starting early makes all the difference for a women hitting her forties, fifties or sixties. It’s never too late to start.
Knowing where to begin
Many women in debt aren’t sure where to start. Or where to get help. As a result, women can drift from year to year without a solid financial plan for the future. The best thing you can if you’re in this situation is to pick up the phone and call a non-profit credit counsellor. This goes double if you find yourself drowning in debt. An accredited and certified non-profit credit counsellors will help you develop a plan so you can get started. Here’s more on how to find a counsellor near you.
