Why Women Need to Be a Partner in All Financial Decisions

In a recent survey, two hundred and forty-six women, age seventy and younger, who became widowed within the past five years were interviewed.

These women owned assets of $50,000 to $1 million. This survey was completed for the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) and funded by the American Council of Life Insurers .

Among its findings:

50% lost at least 50% of their income when their husbands died.

45% of widows with $50,000 to $99,999 in savings and investments did not have an emergency fund prior to their spouse’s death.

26% of the widows whose husbands were responsible for financial planning had to move to less expensive housing.

Just because you’re married doesn’t mean you have to let your husband handle all of the financial decisions without your valuable input. You don’t have to be one of these statistics.

Related: How to Discover the Root Cause of Money Behaviors

Why not make it a priority to have at least a basic knowledge of your financial affairs, and what would happen if your husband pre-deceased you. A big-picture financial plan can help you make plans to accommodate your short term, temporary, and long-term needs. Sound planning takes all three into consideration.

The bottom line is that wives simply cannot afford to let their husbands make all the financial decisions.