to educate herself about budgeting and even about investing in the stock market. “I should know how to take care of the fi - nances,” Anna says. “I just never learned.” She isn’t alone. Katie admits to knowing
very little about basic investment strategy. Nor does she have the time or the inclina- tion to change. It doesn’t hurt that her hus- band, Jeff , is a managing partner of a hedge fund and has the skills and know-how to manage their money. Katie’s knowledge gap might be extreme.
But according to a study by Prudential, “Fi- nancial Experience & Behaviors Among Women,” just 41 percent of women say they have an understanding of stocks and bonds compared with 56 percent of men. Helaine Olen, a columnist for Slate and the author of Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, says that sadly, this confi dence gap is pervasive. “Women believe they don’t know as
much about money as men,” Olen says. “And not a lot has changed over the years.” Another report confi rms this: Women
generally assign themselves a grade of C for their knowledge about saving and in- vesting for a child’s education, generating an income stream in retirement, investing and, in the case of single and divorced or widowed women, saving for retirement. Besides a lack of confi dence, there’s also a lack of conviction.
Lewit says his female clients reach out to him oſt en for all kinds of fi nancial advice—far more regularly than his male clients. But when it comes to making a fi nal decision, the women tend to be more hamstrung, oſt en to the point of being so fearful of making a mistake that they are unable to make a decision at all. “I’ll give my advice, and then many women say they have to
check with their husband or brother or father,” says Lewit, who add- ed that many advisors subconsciously disempower women by talk-
“NOW AMERICANS ARE ON THEIR OWN TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR RETIREMENT, PAY FOR SOME (OR ALL) OF THEIR HEALTH CARE, AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO COVER THE SOAR- ING COSTS OF THEIR CHILDREN’S COLLEGE EDUCATION.”
ing down to them and selling them prod- ucts that may not be in their best interests or that haven’t been thoroughly explained. Women are also in and out of the work-
force more oſt en, earn less than men (“T ere are few fi elds other than modeling where women earn more than men,” Olen says) and take fi nancial responsibility for more people, including children and aging parents. T e Prudential report found that for women, the biggest roadblocks to es- tablishing fi nancial plans are enough time and disposable income. For many women the focus is paying off debt, or their cir- cumstances are such that they make only enough money to get by and cover basic living expenses. T at leaves retirement planning dead last. Furthermore, according to Marianne
Cooper, a sociologist at Stanford Univer- sity, the shiſt from company-sponsored pensions to the 401(k) has pushed the re- sponsibility of saving for retirement onto individuals. For several reasons that’s prob- lematic for many people. “Now Americans are on their own to
provide for their retirement, pay for some (or all) of their health care and fi gure out
how to cover the soaring costs of their children’s college education,” Cooper writes in her book, Cut Adriſt , Families in Insecure Times. “And they are faced with these tasks amid big increases in the cost of living and great uncertainty in the job market.” Given such complex situations, it’s no wonder that choosing
whether to save for college, pay off debt or dabble in the stock market leaves folks perplexed and paralyzed. However, Olen doesn’t buy in to the idea that money decisions are male or female. “Money is just money,” Olen says. “Some people spend a lot, and others don’t.” But one thing’s clear, Olen says: “Everyone thinks they need more
money, and they are right. Gender aside, men and women don’t save enough money.”
CHANGING LIVES & BUDGETS
Jen Hatzung recently learned she was pregnant. T e joyous news sparked another serious discussion about the couple’s budget and a few lingering bills. So she and Scott turned off automatic invest- ments to put every extra dime toward paying off the bills. “I feel a little strapped, but I know it’s for all the right reasons,”
Jen says. Eventually they plan to resume saving for their retirement, and then they’ll have to have yet another big talk about money. “We’ll defi nitely start saving for college,” Scott says. “It’s a girl,” says Jen with a twinkle in her eye. “I can’t wait to take
her shopping.” Old habits, as they say, die hard.
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