How often do women worry about money?

If you find yourself frequently thinking about money, you are not alone – 42% of women worry about money either every day or at least weekly which is a lot more than men.

More than half (52%) of women don’t think or don’t know if they are on track to achieve their financial goals, according to a survey by Fidelity International, carried out by Core Data.

It found more women are typically worried about financial risk preferring to invest in a bank account with low returns than put money into the share market. Half of the women surveyed (49.4%) felt that they would put their money into typical savings account better than investing it elsewhere.

Clearly, women are more risk-averse and prefer the perceived safety of cash, and feel that the investment industry is not tailored to them.

Fidelity found that almost half of women (46.2%) say minimising risk is their priority when it comes to investing, compared to just over a quarter of men (26.8%).

Double the numbers of women than men (33.8% versus 15.7%) describe their appetite for financial risk as “very low risk”.

But the problem with taking a low-risk approach is that not enough women are investing in the stock market, which over the long term provides higher returns that outstrip the inflation rate than putting their money in a bank account.

Why does this matter? 

The difference between investing in the share market and cash over the long term is profound. Someone who invested $10,000 in the ASX200 in January 2000 would have seen their savings grow to over $45,151 by the end of February 2019. However, if they invested in cash, they would only have $21,780.

This matters as women are still earning less and taking career breaks and there are fewer of them in senior positions, which has resulted in a superannuation gap.

If women’s ability to earn and then save during their working lives is less than men’s, then it’s more important than ever that they have access to the tools to make their money work hard for them.

A lack of time and confidence, and fears about the risks, are all obstacles that are stopping women from believing that investing is for them. I have found that women tend to focus more on goals rather than a financial gain; having enough money to provide for their families, paying off their mortgage, and having enough money for the lifestyle they want in retirement are all ranked as top priorities in every discussion I have.

Also, the survey found that women feel they do not have enough money with 50.5% saying that they didn’t have any spare money to invest (compared to 35.2% of men). Perhaps this is because almost 46.3% believe they need a lot of money to invest in the stock market.

It found that less than a third of women (28.3%) describe themselves as “very” or “somewhat” confident when it comes to investing, compared to 50.8% of men

Where do you sit in comparison to the stats I have just shared with you?

I’m Tracey Sofra and I believe women should take control of their money and create the financial independence they deserve to live a life of choice.

If you are ready to take the next step in your journey to living a life of choice take the Financial Confidence Quiz and find out how you score to move forward in your financial life.