3 small financial goals to start with for every woman

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate the women who have contributed to society in ways that have changed our world. We have also reflected on the achievements of women in the past several decades, which are exceptional, and acknowledge that we still have a long way to go.

For example, women still lag far behind men in financial terms. Women earn an average of 73 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to the Women’s Institute for Safe Retirement. This means that women earn more than 25% less than men.

Discrimination, childrearing, and caring for elderly parents cause women to move into and out of the workforce and, as a result, lose an average of 11 and a half years of working time in their lifetime, compared to less than a year and a half for men.

This leaves women with much smaller retirement savings accounts, and since women are expected to live six to eight years longer than men, this significantly reduced amount of money should last longer than men’s retirement savings. Women of color are affected the most by the gender wage gap. Black, Native American, and Latino women earn 58 cents, 50 cents, and 49 cents for every dollar a white man earns.

Having spent more than 20 years advising women about their finances, I still find that, on average, women are still less intelligent than their male counterparts. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many women are in more vulnerable financial situations than they were two years ago.

Controlling your finances can be stressful, but it can get you started if you focus on a few areas. Here are three essential tips to get you closer to a secure financial future that our pioneering ancestors would be proud of:

Use the budget

The need for a budget is global. It’s wise for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds to fully understand how much they are spending – and on what – to make sure they know where their hard-earned dollars are going!

If you can find ways to cut some extra expenses (do you really need a seven-day latte or subscribe to seven movie channels?) you can put that money into saving for retirement, building an emergency fund, or buying a property.

There are applications to this: try out Mint or need a budget to get started, and remember that these will be practical; You’ll need to think seriously about what you’re spending and what you might need to spend in the future — including unexpected or unplanned expenses. Which leads me to the following “must have”:

Save for an emergency fund

If you don’t have any cash savings, this should be the first thing you do.

You can never tell if you have a pause in income, an expensive home repair, or – in a more serious scenario – an environment of domestic violence that you need to escape.

Create a savings plan that you can achieve and stick to it. Even if you put $100 per month (in $20 increments) into a savings account, you’ll be surprised how quickly that amount increases. Ideally, try to save at least 5%-10% of your salary each month.

The goal is to save three to six months of living expenses in a bank account that you can easily access. I always recommend a high yield savings account, if you can find one. This way, your money also gets interest because it is right there. It’s an important insurance that gives you peace of mind as well.

Don’t let “perfection” be the enemy of “goodness”

In many issues related to finance, women sometimes wait to fully understand the issues before making choices or taking action. If you are saving or investing, waiting can cost you money.

Some people delay focusing on their finances, and even saving, because they don’t know how much they need to save yet. Or, if they are a little further along the financial comfort spectrum, people make the mistake of doing nothing by sitting on the sidelines investing or investing with extreme caution. The Simple Dollar explains that women often wait to invest, or not invest at all, thinking they need to know more to make any investment. However, you do not need to be an expert, and you can always ask for help.

If you devote a little time and energy to focus on your money, and take one simple step at a time, you’ll soon find that this financially intelligent mindset becomes a natural part of the way you think about work and life. And I’m sure of this: you’ll be glad you did!