Category: Women and Money

The last time I checked women comprised about 15% of my mailing list.  As a service to them, I often read articles on Women & Money and share the good ones that I find.  Many articles have the same premise claiming that “women tend to invest more conservatively than men.”  I just stumbled upon one that takes it a little farther. 

The article states that a “Financial Gender Gap” study conducted by Prudential Securities revealed significant differences in how men and women invest. The study places investors in one of the following three zones: Action, Comfort and Caution. Continue reading “Overcoming the Financial Gender Gap”

I see articles like this all of the time and just chuckle.  It may sound good, but people most often do what feels right.  So, in this case your mother or wife gets the flowers and the financial literacy is postponed for a date to be determined.

Source: The Buffalo News

Flowers are nice and chocolates are sweet, but if you really want to do something loving for your mother or wife this Mother’s Day, teach her how to invest — if she isn’t already savvy about investing.

And if you don’t know how to invest, learn with your mother or wife.

More …

Survey Finds Many Women Concerned About Retirement, But Not Taking Steps to Address Those Concerns

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 4 /PRNewswire/ — When it comes to personal finances, many women are worried about their financial future, but are either unwilling or unable to take action to improve their situation, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for ShareBuilder Securities Corp. The ShareBuilder 2007 Women & Investing survey reveals that this theme of “worry outweighing action” manifests itself in everything from women’s participation in retirement plans, to having a brokerage account, to whether or not they have a financial game plan in general. Continue reading “Women and Their Finances: ‘Worry’ Outweighs Action”

Barbara Boxer, a practicing attorney in Milwaukee, knows just how difficult it can be for women entrepreneurs to raise money. She ran her own mail-order medical supply company for 20 years before selling it in 1990, and now many of her clients are women who own businesses. After participating in a conference for women trying to raise funding, the 56-year-old decided to take matters into her own hands. Last summer, Boxer started Women Angels, a group of women investors that focuses on women-owned businesses in the Midwest. Now the group’s 22 members are getting ready to make their first investments. They will put $150,000 to $500,000 in each of two companies, one in biotech and one in transportation.

Boxer is part of a small but growing legion of women angel investors, who are using their own money to back young companies. Often, those are companies led by women.

More …

Source: Ms. Money

Over the course of the last several years, it has become obvious to me while teaching seminars and classes that many women believe that people who invest in the markets were “born knowing.” I am living testimony that it’s simply not the case! As you read more about my starting point, you’ll have a hard time believing that I am now a successful speaker, author, and owner of my own financial services firm. In fact, sometimes I find it hard to believe myself!

While it pains me, I must confess to being an aging Baby Boomer. Like many in my generation, I was reared to believe that men do the providing, and women are provided for. Remember, mine was hardly the Golden Age of strong female role models on television. While “I Love Lucy” was outrageously funny, Lucille Ball was hardly a model for women taking charge of their financial future. This was also the era of “Father Knows Best”–doesn’t the title say it all?

Continuing on the path into womanhood, my college experience fed right into my previous beliefs. I can still remember my college counselor asking if I would rather be a nurse, teacher, or social worker. There was one woman in the business program, and we all thought she must really be odd. Given my choices, I opted for social work.

After college, I met the man of my dreams. He was in the process of getting an MBA, and I was getting an MSW. He seemed to know everything about the mysterious world of finance, and I generally had no clue what he was talking about.

More …