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If you’re a woman, statistics like this should rattle your cage:
“Most Americans, particularly women, are woefully underprepared for retirement, with four out of ten women having less than $10,000 saved, and only twenty-one percent having more than $100,000 in all of their investment accounts.” (Source)
Or how about article headlines like this:
“Women Over 65 Are Twice As Likely to Live In Poverty.” (Source)
Disturbing, right?
Yet, headlines like this abound in today’s reality, pointing to the plight that awaits women in their retirement years.
Women are more financially vulnerable, and therefore prone to poverty in retirement.
Study after study shows that one of the main challenges women face with money is their lack of financial literacy. That seems completely absurd when you consider the fact that we live in a world of lightning-speed access to any, and all information, you could possibly want.
Why, then, are women sorely lacking in the skills necessary to safe-guard this all-important area of their wellbeing?
According to Wider Opportunities for Women, a nonprofit group dedicated to female empowerment, “41 percent of the female population struggle financially.” (Source)
The U.S. Department of Education reports that 3.8 million American adult women possess literacy skills below a “basic” level. The basic level refers to reading, writing and math skills at a third-grade level. (Source)
A Resource for Women’s Financial Literacy
Here’s a great resource to help you improve your level of financial literacy. There are many helpful pages on this site that I believe would be helpful to women, especially. But this page particularly covers many great topics such as the challenges women face after divorce, how to plan for a comfortable retirement and improving your overall financial literacy and money skills.
To learn more, visit Financial Literacy for Women at the Annuity.org website.
My Advice to Women
I highly recommend setting aside the time to educate yourself with helpful (and free) resources such as these. Commit to reading and applying the information you learn. This is exactly how you begin to create confidence with money, so you can learn how to properly plan for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.
Ladies, don’t depend on someone else to take care of your finances. Not even your husband.
In today’s world of hyper-speed access to valuable resources to help women get a handle on their finances, there is absolutely no excuse to be in the dark where your financial wellbeing is concerned.
Your level of financial literacy is your responsibility.
Take a stand for your wellbeing, your money, and your dignity. Do it now. One day, you’ll be glad you did. You can thank me then.