Women and Money: The Fairy Tale

It always seems to surprise me that even in 2022 where women are making more money than previous years, obtaining corporate management positions, creating businesses and in some cases earning more than than their partner, we still struggle with the concept of "understanding our financial superpower."

I listen to so many of my clients who have no idea where important documents are, how much they owe on their home or where their pertinent financial information is stored. 

I see the same behavior today, where women are making very good incomes, yet they have nothing to show for it but a nice wardrobe and car. They often are not maximising contributions to their retirement plans at work or building a savings nest. They save all these "money decisions" for their "prince charming" to take care of and they simply don't make money a priority in their busy lives. 

Let's bring some reality into this picture, shall we? "Prince Charming" is a Disney character! 

Most often than not your partner wants someone to have some sort of financial goals and independence. 

Also what about the 50% divorce rate? If something does happen, where does that leave you? 

Understanding your net worth, credit scores, and living expenses makes you a powerful and intelligent woman. 

Why would you not invest time into securing a success financial future? 

In addition to the reason of divorce, we know that women out live men, so why would you continue down the path of being financially crippled when you will be left to take care of yourself if he dies first? 

The answer should be "learn how to manage your money now, before you find yourself broke and taken advantage of later." 

Ask yourself these questions. 

Do we have adequate life insurance coverage? 

Am I on the title to our home? 

Is there a living trust in place and a will? 

What are the assets we own? 

How much do we owe on the house? 

If you know the answers to all of these questions, then you are on top of your finances. 

However, if you don't know the answers to these questions, you need to get to work. 

Believe me when I tell you that men understand the value of money management and they stay in control of financial decisions. 

We as women must take the time to learn just as much as our male counterparts as well as teach our daughters how to take care of their financial future.

Financial Success for Women

Truth Bomb Ladies- what we earn is mostly what we spend! 

Many of us spend our money without a budget and then complain when our finances begin to dwindle. The habits that we have created within ourselves with regards to how we spend our money can break or make us. The issue we have created is that we have the problem of spending within our means. Many find ourselves in a tight corner just because we couldn't say no to that flashy car or the expensive handbag we know we should not even be looking at, never mind talk of buying. 

Just like many bury ourselves deep into debt just to satisfy that yearn that has nothing to add to our personal finance or to our life for that matter. Many calculate what they spend at the end of each month and wonder where our money had gone and even what we had done with that thing we should not have bought but bought anyway and is not lying unused in a box in our room. 

Casual spending is not a friend to anyone and it can easily put you into trouble. It is something that can land you in bankruptcy left with nothing but the useless purchase of a life time that has no value to add to our life. There are a few things we need to check when determining our spending habit. 

These are: We need to see the wrong in what we are doing. We need not hide behind ignorance of our actions. We should know that it is not going to help us if we do not find solution to it. If you are in debt already, we need to pay it all off and then develop another healthier way of dealing with your finances. 

We need to know how much we spend at any particular time. Be conscious of the amount of money that is being paid for any thing you are buying so as to help you determine if that amount is worth it or if that thing is worth having. You need to map out ways to evaluate what you are spending each month and why you are over spending if you are. Know what you need and calculate what you can get when you turn away from that thing that you want but do not really need. 

Re-evaluate your lifestyle now. Invent new ways of handling your finances. This is something that will give you a new meaning into why and how you are spending what you are not supposed to. Get a new lifestyle that is healthier for your pocket. Design some kind of specification on the spending decision you make. Be careful with how you dish out your credit card and what you use it to buy. It is super easy to over spend when you know you can get it on credit. 

We as women have problems with how we spend out money, now is the time to learn to put a spending plan together, this can help in our day to day purchases so that we can see the error of what we do as clear as possible and this will be the first step towards a better habit.

We can support you with creating a spending plan and other financial success habits so you too can become financially fabulous. 

Check out www.femvestorsglobal.com for more information

Relationships and Our Finances - Why New Couples Fight and Solutions to Solve

It is common for new couples to fight over money. In fact, research has proved that one of the most common sources of misunderstanding among couples stems from financial problems. There is no such thing as easy money. Individuals work hard to earn enough for their daily expenses, to pay out bills and to survive day to day living. Before tying the knot or moving in with your partner, it is important that couples understand some of the reasons why partners may come to fight over finance and more importantly why budgeting needs to become an essential part of the relationship. 

Spending too much. In every couple, one will always spend more than the other. Stereotypically it's the women. However, there are also men who love to splurge on cars, tools, sports and so on. The difference is, one wants to spend this much and the other doesn't. Now of course neither want to compromise their wants or needs. This can quickly cause an argument. So before settling down, couples should be ready to make major adjustments with their spending. Both need to realise that in marriage compromise is a must, especially when there are more important bills to pay like the mortgage, car, and possibly even baby preparations. 

Credit Card Bills. Credit card bills can sometimes seem like the end of the world in a relationship. Avoid them all together and use cash instead. Fights are generally a given when a credit card bill arrives. That whopping figure - the night when the husband took his friends out for rounds of drinks, the new kitchen appliances she bought, the new suit, a collector's toy, etc. They all add up and it can be very hard to work out who purchased what and when at the end of every month. New couples tend to think that just because they are married, the better half will tolerate the shopping splurges and shouted rounds of drinks at the bar. But this is not the case and more often than not, they end up fighting. So avoid the fight all together and pay in cash instead that way you will avoid the monthly credit card bill you both dread. 

The other option is to have your own credit cards and agree collectively how to align on spending and making payments, outside of a joint card for household bills and expenses.

Envy. Money and Envy tend to go hand in hand and when your married this situation can be even more intense. Some couples get jealous when they find out that their neighbour has just bought a new luxury car. They feel that they need to have one or else, their marriage won't be as good as the neighbours. So they order one out of impulse. The results are destructive. Shopping for luxury items on an impulse can result to financial turmoil. This ruins a couple's chance to enjoy a wonderful future. They end up paying for something that they do not really need. Throwing away money they could have used the to save up for their kids' education or a magnificent holiday getaway to rekindle the love. 

Conjugal debt. Some couples fail to discuss individual debts before settling down. These could be student loans, car loans, etc. When the issues arise, whether it be early or later in the relationship expect a major argument among couples. This stems solely from a lack of communication. So it is essential that couples, even before they are married, learn that open communication amongst each other is the sole key to a happy long lasting relationship. 

It is very important for couples to discuss their individual financial statuses before they get into living together/married. People work hard for their money, and with every couple one will always work harder than the other, the same way that one will always be a bigger spender than the other. But there's no such thing as easy money or an easy marriage/relationship. So to avoid heated discussions and arguments over finances, couples are advised to lay their cards on the table before tying the knot. Going into a joint spousal relationship unaware of circumstances, confused or scared to communicate is a recipe for disaster. 

Do You Have the Right to More Energy & More Money?

Thoreau said, "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." 

What if you came to the realisation that you are, indeed, exchanging your energy for your life? Would that change some of how you spend your time, i.e., your energy? I think it might. So, wouldn't it be wise to make sure that as often as possible, any energy that you're expending on an activity or expending on a person, you make into a positive exchange rather than a negative exchange? 

Let me ask you a question: 

Do you believe you have a right to more positive energy? 

If you don't believe you have a right to positive things, which includes positive energy, then I'm not sure you're going to find much value in this article. 

Let's flip for a moment to thinking about finances. Your sense of whether you have a right to positive energy is related to your sense that you have a right to ask for certain amounts of money when you are negotiating. The reason I'm bringing this up here is because when you value yourself (and the energy of your life), you will be better able to charge appropriately for your time, services, and products.

I recommend reading Suze Orman's book, entitled Women and Money, Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. When I first got this book a couple of years ago, I read almost the whole thing in one evening. The title of chapter 4 is, "You Are Not on Sale." In this chapter she discusses how women in particular devalue themselves. She states,

If you under-value what you do, the world under-values who you are, and when you under-value who you are the world under-values what you do.  

This is a big message for all of us. There is extensive research available about how women continue to under-value what we have to offer much more so than men do. For example, a very interesting book was published a while back, titled Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation and Positive Strategies for Change (Princeton University Press, 2003), was so influential that Fortune Magazine named it as one of the 75 smartest business books of all time. The book also was a Finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Two academic women examined women professors and how they start out with the same amount of education and the same amount of experience as men, yet over time the women are always paid less and always ask for less. Apparently, men keep asking for more and they get more. The authors also looked at what it ends up costing women over their lifetime. It is not costing you $10,000 over your lifetime; it is costing you closer to half a million dollars. So, not only do you need to know how to ask...but you have to recognise your VALUE. 

Now, the second question I'd like to ask you in this article is: 

Whose responsibility is it for you to have more positive energy? 

This is clearly tied to the valuing of who you are and what you do. Again, as women, we tend to think people will notice what a good job we do and they will, of course, reward us with money and promotions and all kinds of things. And I will bet if I took a little poll here among the readers of this article, we might all find out that's not exactly how it works. We must truly value what we do and then know how to ask for the appropriate compensation for that. 

You do have some control over your time, energy, and compensation and I believe it's your responsibility to exert that control. You have to know what you have that is of value and you have to let other people know that as well. 

In all ways, you want to explore the ways you can maximise your positive energy - and the return on that energy. When you do, you're maximising your life.

Article source: Meggin Mckintosh