I never learned about money growing up, in fact, I was never really aware of finances at all until about 7 years ago. My idea of managing money was managing to have a little bit of money left after getting paid and paying bills to put gas in my car. I had gotten a job working for Voya Financial in Oregon and through that job I started to learn a little bit about retirement accounts and it also made me a lot more aware of the fact that my retirement account was basically nonexistent. Slowly I started to learn more and clean up my own finances.
Fast forward two years and my family and I moved to Tucson where I started working at SJI. I answered a phone call one day from a woman who said, “I want to meet with an advisor to see if this retirement thing is worth it.” I was taken aback, I wanted to ask “What do you mean is it worth it!? It’s your retirement!” That was when I knew this was the field I wanted to be in and I knew I wanted to be able to help everyone but especially women because overall, women earn $0.82 for ever $1 earned by men which means we have to work even harder to save for retirement. Not only that but statistically women are the caregivers to elderly family members and typically spend 34.7 hours a week on average caregiving in addition to their regular jobs and mothers earn $0.70 for every $1 fathers make.
I think a lot of women are unsure of where to start with getting their finances in order and like me, are probably anxious about not being where they would like to be with their retirement accounts so here are 5 tips to help you feel more confident with your finances.
- Knowledge: One of the most important things that can give women confidence with their finances is knowledge. Take the time to learn about personal finance, including budgeting, saving, and investing. As I mentioned, I joined a few personal finance groups on Facebook, there are tons of podcasts, online courses and of course books to help you make informed financial decisions.
- Goal Setting: Setting financial goals is another key to building financial confidence. Identify what you want to achieve financially, like saving for retirement, buying a house or paying off debt. Having clear goals can help you feel more in control.
- Find a professional: You might think you don’t have enough wealth to get a financial advisor but anyone can benefit from asking questions about their money no matter how much you have. By working with a professional you can gain more confidence and feel more secure in your financial decisions. They can walk you through different account types, help with decisions on investments and insurance.
- Find a support network: Building a network of other women who are also interested in improving their finances can help motivate you to stick to your goals. You can attend financial workshops or seminars, join an online group, or find networking events in your area.
- Act: Once you have gathered all your information, created a budget, defined your goals, put your plan into action! Meet with your financial advisor to take steps to achieve your goals such as saving a percentage of your income each month or investing in a retirement account. Remember it’s not going to be perfect. Prepare for financial challenges by having an emergency fund in place, monitor your progress and reach out to your network when you are feeling discouraged.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Sources:
https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/blog/financial-statistics-about-women/
https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Gender-Wage-Gap-Fact-Sheet-2.pdf
https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-work-and-caregiving/
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Moms-EPD-2020-v2.pdf
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