You’ve spent decades building a life filled with love, purpose, and responsibility ... so why does financial planning still feel like someone else’s job? You’ve managed (almost) everything the world has thrown at you. Yet, somehow you find yourself side-stepping the personal financial and estate planning conversations.
Here’s the thing: You’re already making most of the financial decisions in your household. You’re making most of the household purchases. You make future plans, and you help ensure your family follows through on those plans. You’re quietly tweaking budgets, allocating resources where they’re needed, setting/balancing priorities and generally keeping it all together.
Yet, when it comes to the big question of “financial planning,” you step back. Maybe you’ve thought, “I don’t know enough about investing,” or “That’s his department; I don’t handle our finances.”
Yes. Yes, you do.
Even if you really don’t feel like you know enough about financial planning or investing, here are three critical reasons that it doesn’t really matter:
Neither does he. In fact, data from Fidelity’s Women and Investing Study (2021) shows that women outperform men by .4%, yet women still report feeling less confident than men when it comes to investing.
You have tons of information that is needed to inform your financial plans. Whether it’s a realistic view of monthly expenses or the thoughtful consideration of future needs to care for a parent or child, your voice will help your family build a better plan.
You can learn and you will. You’ll ask questions, you’ll put your family’s values first and you’ll follow the plan.
It’s true. Historically, women haven’t been warmly welcomed into the financial services world, whether as advisors, investors or even at the client table. So we’ve held back, opted out.
Let’s consider just a few of the many reasons you shouldn’t hold back any longer.
First, the numbers alone speak to the strength of women as future financial leaders. McKinsey & Co. shared a recent study that projects female-controlled assets in the U.S. will double to $34 trillion by 2030.
This wealth transition is due in part, of course, to the fact that we have longer life expectancies than our male partners. So, we’re going to be managing family wealth whether we want to or not when our partners are no longer with us.
Additionally, we are still working to overcome the income inequality that persists in the U.S. today. Income and earning limitations, combined with longer life expectancy, demand that we play an active part in designing the financial future we want for ourselves and our families.
So, let’s commit together to moving past historic barriers to create a new era of financially savvy and confident women!
How? To get started, I’d suggest the following three priorities for women like you to help you achieve a greater level of confidence in your financial life.
- Ditch the shame.First, let’s ditch the shame around a perceived lack of awareness or understanding of “finance.” Like so many other examples of baggage or “head trash” we’ve carried for generations, this one has got to go. No one knows everything about all categories of “finance.” Not even the professionals. If they tell you they do, find a new one. There is so much to learn and keep track of, and we all have our unique gifts and talents. You don’t need to feel any more embarrassed about a lack of financial acumen than you do about your lack of expertise with any other niche skill set. The only critical difference is that financial planning does affect us all.
- Ask for help. The second priority would be to ask for help. We hire nutritionists, personal trainers, doctors, accountants, builders, attorneys and so many more professionals to help us do what we need to do for a healthy, productive life. A financial advisor can be a key strategic partner in your journey. Have you tried to meet with a financial advisor and been met with condescension, overwhelmed with meaningless charts and baffled by the endless use of jargon? This still happens, but it doesn’t mean you’re stuck with “that guy!” There are many local advisors who are much more evolved. Meet with a few until you find the right fit.
- Make a plan.And, once you do, you’ll be ready to tackle the third priority item – to make a plan. A good advisor will help pull together the countless puzzle pieces of your financial life and your personal goals to create your financial plan. This should include investment management, tax planning, estate plans, business plans and multi-generational considerations. It should evolve with you over time as your priorities may shift from retirement planning to education funding to family and charitable gifting, or whatever your life demands.
The key throughout all these pieces is that you’re involved. Or even more likely, you’re leading; leaning into the crucial conversations required to create a strong plan you can truly be invested in. By buildingyourteam andyourplan, you will undoubtedly feel a greater sense of confidence in your financial future. Does this mean that by the time you create your financial plan, you’re going to be an expert in stock picking and tax law?
Nope. And you don’t need to be, because you’ve got a team of people around you who are keeping tabs on those elements. It does mean that if (when) you have a question, you’ve got someone you can call and ask ... without feeling embarrassed.
When women show up and truly engage at the planning table, the outcomes are better for yourself, for your family and for your community. I hope this helps you take the first step toward the meaningful financial planning conversations you deserve, and to creating the financial future you envision.
Sources:
www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/the-new-face-of-wealth-the-rise-of-the-female-investor
www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/about-fidelity/FidelityInvestmentsWomen&InvestingStudy2021.pdf