![]() “Without a conscious effort to maintain and level up finances to recognise non-financial contributions like caring for children, these gaps start to build,” she says. Jane Portas, a financial expert and creator of the Six Moments that Matter website, asks women if they know what their gender pension gap is - the value of their pension pot relative to their partner’s. Talking more about money has now become a bigger part of their daily lives. “I just came out with it and said, ‘if you were to die of Covid tomorrow, where is our money, the passwords, the financial records for our business and the deeds for our house?’” she says. The pandemic has prompted one member of my own book club to tackle her (older) partner about their financial affairs. We need to have these conversations now.” “In the UK, 42 per cent of marriages end in divorce and, even if you stay married, women live for longer than men. “Plenty knew little, or confessed they left these kinds of things to their partners,” she says. She recently did so with five friends, and they went around the table sharing what they knew about pensions, life insurance and wills. “In a similar way to a book club, why not meet your friends over dinner to start a conversation about financial topics?” suggests Patricia Astley, managing director at Julius Baer, a wealth manager. But before having a conversation with your partner, try having one with your peers. What does your partner earn - and where is the money?Įvery woman should know the answer to this question, but a surprising number do not. “Ignorance in finance is not bliss,” says Annamaria Lusardi, founder of the global financial literacy centre at George Washington University “Take some small steps to invest in financial knowledge, by setting aside as little as 10 to 15 minutes each week or month to read and learn about money.”ģ. “Investing is one of the hottest topics, yet don’t want to talk about pensions,” notes Margot from Your Juno, urging women not to overlook the “free money” of pension matching offered by their employer, and to educate themselves about investment choices.Įven so, studies show that a lack of money, rather than a lack of confidence, is a major reason more women don’t invest. Nearly every hand went up - but the “default” nature of money invested in company schemes meant most had failed to make this connection. Next, I asked people to put their hands up if they had a company pension. How might you get closer to your money? At an International Women’s Day event years ago, I asked women to raise their hands if they had money invested in the stock market (a few were raised). “Once women understand how their investments can line up against their goals, they generally show themselves to be very savvy investors,” she says. ![]() She argues that setting tangible long-term goals - such as a target income to aim for in retirement - is a much more powerful motivator for women than being pushed to buy a product. She is convinced that one reason women tend to hold so much cash is because “they find it harder to engage with the personal finance industry”. “Women tend to have much higher cash holdings, so rising inflation is going to hit them harder,” she says. ![]() Unusually for a wealth manager, half of Netwealth’s clients are female. “For me, the challenge is all about getting people closer to their money.” “We spend so much time working hard earning the money, but not enough nurturing our wealth,” says Charlotte Ransom, founder of Netwealth. As markets turn choppy, thinking about your investment strategy and understanding how tax breaks can boost your investments can help newer investors hang on for the ride. More women are investing - and so can youĭuring the pandemic, investment platforms and trading apps reported a new wave of female customers. Viewed by over 2mn people, her tweet prompted thousands to confess they had only achieved this milestone by coming into an inheritance, receiving gifts or loans from their parents, or having a higher earning partner - as opposed to cancelling Netflix and their gym membership.Ģ. Lynn Beattie, who blogs as Mrs Moneypenny, started a viral thread on Twitter last month called “Can we all be a bit more honest about how we paid for our first homes?” It is also a reminder that we shouldn’t confuse financial independence with financial privilege. Knowing that others are experiencing the same challenges can be a source of strength and inspiration, as the huge growth of the online debt-free community has shown. ![]() While these personal interactions cannot replace regulated financial advice, real-life stories remind us that nobody is perfect. From Reddit threads to “FinTok” and social media “finfluencers”, women can recognise themselves, finding role models that the traditional financial world fails to offer. ![]() During the pandemic, many more of us shared our financial fears and experiences online. ![]()
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