Women and Money

Women and money.  Yet another relationship we complicate with our emotions.  According to statistics

• we women earn 30 percent less than our male counterparts between the ages of 45 and 54
• we earn 77 cents on the dollar compared with men
• we have less women sitting in corner offices
• we are not getting our fair share the the world’s wealth

I still hear a lot of static and complaining about women not earning as much as men and have a strong feeling it’s due to our own doing.  The way we process and assimilate money with our emotions is the cause. Whether we like it or not we may be treated differently in the workplace but it’s about time we suck it up and realize we have a lot to do with that.  It is abundantly clear after research that many of the characteristics and behaviors of women that make us unique also contribute to our lack of financial independence.

Our greatest gifts we offer to society actually become our greatest weaknesses when our own best interest come in to play.  Just like with anything a belief system is a standard that sets the stage for our behaviors.  How we earn money and manage it is no different.  We are taught differently with societal messages that imply our well-being is contingent upon acting polite and other stereo-typical ways when we are young girls.

Being relationship oriented and soft-spoken are just a couple of behaviors that we are taught and than struggle with when we later apply them to the management of income earned or inherited wealth.  The expectations of

• being a mom
• dutiful wife
• caretaker of her elderly parents
• AND independent

are a juggling act that conflicts with the logic of the risk-reward mentality that it often takes to manage money successfully.

As Independent Ambitious Career Woman meets head on with Nurturing Caretaker Mother and Wife we truly are BLESSED with the impossible sounding feat,  if we take on the right attitude and use it to our advantage.  We are asked to sharpen our skills in so many areas that we cannot help but succeed if we learn how to apply all of these acquired skills in the area of money-management and income negotiation in the workplace.

There appears to be a paradigm shift that needs to take place in many of our female minds.  That shift may require taking on a new mantra that empowers you to realize you have been given a job that seems daunting but in actuality have been given the opportunity to have it all.  The ability to give life and nurture it can be applied to making money and growing it.

So, being a mother of three with an independent minded attitude I  have had to change my mantra to fit my vision of a successful retirement.  It sounds a little like Nasa Mission Control’s famous line mixed with Helen Keller’s insight and Eleanor Roosevelt’s amazing logic.  It goes like this….

“Failure is not an option, I continue to build character through trial and suffering (error) and will not let fear prevent me from doing something because it will only result in unaquired achievement and wealth.  I will continue to search for knowledge and put my emotions on the back burner when it comes to money…so that my children can reap the benefits of what is left when I die and recall my perseverance when in need of their own.”

Much of why I live by this mantra is because I believe that how you think determines  how you act.  Our actions stem from our belief system.  Our belief systems were most likely formed at a very young age.  We have to understand that we can change our belief systems by attaining correct knowledge and watching our actions.  Some of the actions we can take as women are:

1. Keep track of how you are using and losing your money..not just your check book but your investments too
2. Budget!  Do your bill paying using a system like Microsoft money or Quicken
3. Always put 10% away in an investment or savings…even if you have debt!
4. Schedule a yearly tune-up at least with a financial adviser and preferrably one that charges by the hour
5. Consider joining an investment club or starting one to learn from other women check out www.chickslayingnesteggs.com
6. Take advantage of compounding interest!  check out www.kiplinger.com

There are so many ways to start learning and never an easier time to acquire knowledge.  I will be writing a blog coming up this week on how to start an investment club.  Stay posted.  The world wide web is full of ideas and what better way to use google!