My focus is Gen Z women- this is for them. They will be single a lot longer than their moms were, they should be a little scared. This article shows that single women ARE scared, but they are just sitting there scared. Why do they not do anything to alleviate this fear?
I also can see this article coming in handy when I am creating an expert interview plan, if needed.
WOMEN AND MAKING MONEY MOVES
“Fidelity Research Reveals that Despite Long-Term View, Many Single Women Are Not Taking Proactive Steps Today to Plan and Invest for the Future”. Okay, great.
What are the proactive steps young women should take today to invest in their future?
“while the overwhelming majority of single women (97 percent) believe it is
important to be engaged in managing their money, three factors may be holding them back from taking action: underestimating their knowledge and experience, neglecting to plan for their financial future and saving too heavily in cash.“
Let me repeat that so that I remember correctly. The three factors that may be holding women back from taking action in managing their money are:
- Underestimating their knowledge and experience (low confidence) ” Single women are less likely to consider themselves knowledgeable than other demographic groups when it comes to saving for retirement, creating a financial plan and investing.”
- Neglecting to plan for their financial future (retirement, emergency savings, other goals)
- Saving too heavily in cash (not investing)
How can we raise women’s confidence in their knowledge and experience of money management?
How can we motivate women to plan ahead for their financial future?
How can we get women interested in investing their money over saving?
WOMEN AND FINANCIAL ADVICE
A lot of this article was about women who were recently divorced. I am not studying divorced women specifically, but how they feel about getting help was interesting-
“Perhaps the most surprising finding from this group is that only five percent of women reached out to a financial professional for guidance as they were going through their divorce.”
Why are women averse to going to a financial advisor?
What are the benefits to going to a financial advisor?
How does one access a financial advisor?
WOMEN AND THE LONG TERM – WHAT specifically WOMEN NEED TO DO
This study also reaffirms the whole notion that women are more worried and anxious about their finances than men are, I have been seeing that everywhere. This study uses this fact to prove that women really are thinking ahead long-term- that’s why they are worried- but you wouldn’t know because they are not doing anything about it.
“While single women may be thinking about their long-term goals…, most still aren’t preparing to meet these challenges by taking steps to curb their spending, reduce their debt, and prepare for a job loss. In fact, when it comes to day-to-day budgeting, nearly half (48 percent) admit they tend to spend without thinking about the long term. Furthermore, single women are the least likely demographic (28 percent) to have a comprehensive financial plan in place to help them set savings goals and navigate paying down debt. And, while they worry about unexpected financial hurdles, nearly half (47 percent) have not put an emergency fund in place to cover three-to-six months of essential expenses.”
What is preventing women from taking steps to curb their spending, reduce their debt, and prepare for a job loss(emergency funding)?
What is preventing women from establishing a comprehensive financial plan to help them set savings goals and navigating paying down debt?
What is preventing women from putting an emergency fund in place? In the men v women article, they showed that men were saving more for emergencies.
WOMEN AND INVESTING THEIR MONEY
“Many singles report wanting to keep savings on hand in case of an emergency, but single women are also twice as likely as their male counterparts to say they keep their savings in cash simply because they don’t know where to invest it.
“While keeping some savings easily accessible in cash to prepare for the unexpected is important, not putting enough to work for you in the market may mean missing out on potential growth over the long term,” said Alexandra Taussig, senior vice president of women investors at Fidelity. “Today, stowing away funds in a checking or savings account is not enough to keep pace with inflation. If you’re not investing your savings, you may be losing money over time.”
I’m repeating this question so I remember how important this is –How can we educate women and interest them in investing?
Investing for women is a tricky topic – “Approximately one-in-five single women shies away from investing out of fear of putting her savings at risk. On the flip side, fear also motivates many single women to invest their money, with 38 percent citing fear of not having enough money in the future as a top motivator to invest compared to only 25 percent of single men.”
So fear is a motivator? Cool. So –
How do we make women confident that they can invest without putting their savings at risk?
and How can we use the fear of lacking money in the future as motivation to invest?
GETTING WOMEN INTO MONEY EARLY
“By making it a priority early to establish strong financial habits women in all life situations can be better prepared to reach their future goals” I love this.
Here’s fidelity’s advice
- Get into your financial front seat: know what you own, what you owe and what your goals are for your money to ensure that your investments are working toward the future you envision.
- Put financial safeguards into place, including a holistic plan that accounts for your individual situation and goals
- Take the next step from saver to an investor, making sure that you choose investments suited toward your tolerance for risk, and time horizon to save.
- Make it a priority to check-in on your finances at least annually. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a financial professional to answer your questions and help create a comprehensive plan to help keep you on track to meet your goals. Fidelity professionals are available 24 hours a day at 1-800-Fidelity, or online at Fidelity.com —whether you’re a current client or not.
How can we help women understand what they own and what they owe?
How can we help women set goals for the future they envision for themselves?
How do we help women plan around their own individual situations and goals?
How do we motivate women who are saving to start investing? How do we help them invest within their risk tolerance and time horizon to save?
How do we motivate women to regularly check in on their finances? (at least annually?)
How do we motivate women to reach out to a financial advisor? How is a woman’s experience with a financial advisor? Does meeting with a financial advisor mean that a woman will have her questions answered, a comprehensive individualized plan made?
and just so we remember how important this is-
