Financial independence isn’t just about how much money you have. It’s about having the knowledge you need in order to be confident in making your own financial decisions. Female or male, single or married, we all need to be in control of our financial lives. But women especially seem to be lacking in this area and this needs to be corrected. By doing so, we can each be part of the drive for a gender-equal world—for ourselves and for future generations.
In this blog, we are using some very stereotypical language and some of this may not resonate with you, but from our experience and statistically, this is a huge problem that we need to discuss more openly.
At Magenta we believe that women deserve special attention when it comes to matters related to money, finance, and planning. Many women are deferring to their (usually male) partners and consequently have little or no knowledge about their financial position.
Why is this happening still in modern society?
Men and women have many similar qualities but stereotypically women are more empathetic and nurturing whereas men are more business-driven. There’s also lots of research that shows men tend to use the right side of their brain more, the side that likes systems and order, logic, analysis and maths, when women tend to engage their right-side brain more, being more creative, intuitive, applying better holistic thinking and emotion.
These potentially built-in qualities, and natural state of play is what fundamentally has led to this problem occurring.
Women feel the desire to stay at home and raise a family and then later on in life want to look after older relatives, potentially taking them out of employment for a considerable amount of time and certainly curtailing progress in work. Whereas men typically don’t do this and so build up their wealth much faster.
Statistically, men are much more likely to die from a heart attack or other illness at a younger age and women are outliving their partners by a considerable time. Women are also living longer in retirement and therefore they should have the bigger pension to fund this, and the financial awareness to deal with the finances – right?
You can see why leaving your finances to be controlled and ONLY understood by your partner can cause issues. Not to mention, the harrowing statistics with divorces as well… Further emphasising the purpose of this blog; that women need to understand their financial position.
What can you do?
We believe this can change. Women can understand money, finances, maths and take control, if they are willing to learn, apply basic steps and are given the opportunity.
Firstly, start the dialog. Speak with your partner about your concerns and start taking an interest in your finance as a household. We understand that each relationship works differently and finding your balance is vital. Why not have a money date? The idea being you set time aside each month to discuss finance and money, your aspirations and practical stuff too.
Work through all of your arrangements together so that nothing is a surprise and you may even find ways to make your financial plan better in the process!
Keep an independent fund. There is no better way to feel in control than having your own personal fund. Not only will this give you an idea of how to save, budget or even invest, but this will also give you the confidence that you will be ok if things go wrong.
Understand your different money habits and attitudes. Are you security-driven? Are you spontaneous?
Don’t let this new knowledge slip away from you, keep monitoring how you are getting on and build your understanding over time.
And if you are single, managing your money will be more natural, but can also be daunting and scary.
Often we find that people on their own either procrastinate and don’t make any financial decisions, leading to much inefficiency in their finances, or they make sudden spontaneous purchases that make their financial situation potentially precarious. Sometimes it is as simple as setting some time aside each month to consider your finances and your objectives, trying and be more mindful of money choices – giving yourself confidence in your own money behaviour.
How can Magenta help?
Many women feel intimidated and overwhelmed by the responsibility that they feel for managing their money properly.
At Magenta, our mission is to help all our clients to feel happy and secure while allowing them the financial freedom to pursue their passions in life.
For women specifically, we want to make talking about money less daunting – and we do this by using less jargon and by avoiding unnecessary complexities.
This means that we don’t just talk about money and investments, but more about what gives our clients a sense of fulfilment and joy. We talk about things that are important to them – their families, their careers, their hopes and dreams for the future.
Women have different life goals which need to be catered for and often in their later years, think differently about the legacy they want to leave.
No matter where you are financially, the most important thing is to start working with a financial planner that recognises and plans for these differences.
We are in the process of finalising a new guide for women – so watch this space!
If this blog resonates with you and you are feeling empowered but a little unsure what to do next, give us a call. You don’t need to figure it all out by yourself and we are here to help.