It has been said for years now that women usually tend to outlive their male counterpart. With the U.S markets standing on shaky ground and global markets starting to stutter, it becomes apparent that rough times are ahead. It’s generally worth the time to take note that 9 out of 10 women will be ultimately responsible for their finances at some point in their lives. Surprisingly, research shows women continue to show a surprising lack of faith in themselves when it comes to managing money.
This results in a lack of motivation to learn about things like finances and investing. Studies also show that women answer financial literacy questions incorrectly, according to a report published last year by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center. The report shows that only about 38% of women compared to 55% of men can correctly answer a simple question about interest rates and inflation rates. Unfortunately, even women who have a more sound financial background tended to undervalue the skills they already had, granting themselves a lower score then males. Obviously on the other end of the spectrum, those who did have a more firm financial literacy were also more likely to trade on the market, make a plan for retirement, pay attention to fees, and borrow at low costs. These are all basic principles the average investor should have an understanding of. In a recent survey by Fidelity.com it’s noted that about 92% of women surveyed are eager to learn something about financial planning; however, 8 out of 10 confess to having refrained from having financial conversations.
