We partnered with the brilliant minds at the finance site Investopedia to determine what’s holding women back in the money department. The findings? We’re on our way! But we’ve got some work to do.
BY MELISSA MATTHEWS
MANY OF US, especially women, are taught not to talk about money. We’re told it’s rude, or crass, some kind of top-secret matter. But experts agree that discussing finances helps normalize the topic, gives us ideas, motivates us to save, and makes complex situations less confusing. Always down to discuss all things cheddar, we teamed up with our friends at Investopedia and built the Her Money Mindset Survey. We posed questions to more than 2,000 women about how they think about money, what they do with it, what they’d like to learn to do with it, and more. Then we analyzed their answers. Here’s what we found, plus some advice for our survey takers—and you!
3 Resources to Build Confidence
INVESTOPEDIA SIMULATOR
Attkisson recommends this free platform, which starts you off with $100,000 of play money to invest so you can get an idea of how trading works without risking real dollars. Find it at investopedia.com/simulator.
YOUR BANK OR CREDIT UNION
Financial experts are at your disposal (for free!) to explain products such as home and auto loans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and savings accounts. Of course, it’s in their interest to sell you something, Attkisson says, so do more research before taking any action.
JUMPSTART
The JumpStart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy, a nonprofit that brings financial tools to educators, offers free courses for everyone at jumpstartclearinghouse.org. “The site is super easy to use, and you can find all sorts of tutorials,” Attkisson says.
SOME ADVICE
How to Get More Money Confident
Financial literacy—i.e., being informed about saving, investing, budgeting, managing debt, and spending wisely—is the key to feeling secure in your money decisions, says Anna Attkisson, senior editorial director at Investopedia. “The biggest barrier everyone faces to becoming more financially literate is not knowing where to start,” she adds. And if you weren’t taught about money, taking that first step can feel especially overwhelming. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” Attkisson says. Her advice? “Pick one thing you think you don’t understand and read a bit about it. Doing one Google search or watching a couple of TikTok videos can only take you so far, but these can be baby steps toward financial confidence.”
If you’re like the nearly 25% of respondents who said they want to learn more about it, follow these steps from Kathy Longo, a certified financial planner and the author of Flourish Financially.
1 Understand your money emotions. Longo says to pay attention to the feelings that arise when you think about investing. Why have you hesitated? Are you intimidated, or worried that you’re not good with money? “We have the ability to change the dialogue with ourselves, but we have to figure out what’s coming up for us personally,” Longo says. Maybe you can find a way to reframe your situation. For example, you’re not bad with money—you just weren’t taught about investing. But you’re capable of learning!
2 Clarify your goals. They can be anything, like saving for retirement or buying a house, Longo says. “This way, you attach meaning to why you’re investing in the first place, rather than just saying, I’m going to save 10% of my salary,” Longo says. “It’s much more powerful if we can connect to the purpose.”
3 Commit to learning. “Take some of the mystery out,” Longo says. Do online research about the type of investing you want to do, or look for podcasts or books on the topic. Heck, ask your friends for their insights. “Start to normalize the conversation and say, ‘Hey, how do you think about investing in your family?’” Longo advises. (More on talking to friends about money later.)
4 Set up a system. The last step is to make a plan to ensure you meet your goals, Longo says. For many people with retirement aspirations, putting money in a company-sponsored 401(k) plan is a smart move if it’s available to you, she says. You’ll invest pretax dollars, which are automatically taken from your paycheck, and employers often match your contributions. Taxable accounts (things like brokerage and money market accounts) don’t offer tax benefits but have other pluses, Longo explains. There’s no limit to how much you can add, and withdrawals can be made without penalties or fees for any type of goal: buying a home, paying for school, planning a big trip, etc.
3 Ways to Put Your Money Where the Growth Is
RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS
IRAs are a good option for people who don’t have access to 401(k) plans. There are traditional and Roth IRAs. The main difference between the two is when you pay taxes for the money you contribute (either when you withdraw it or contribute it, respectively).
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS (ETFS)
Want to get a little more hands-on with investing? Consider an ETF, says Stella Osoba, a senior editor at Investopedia. “ETFs trade like individual stocks, but they’re a bundle of stocks of different companies, so they can be less volatile than individual ones,” she says. Osoba recommends figuring out which industry interests you most—for example, real estate, crypto, or tech— and researching that area.
STOCKS
“The only way to master the stock market is to stay in it,” Osoba says. To do that, you need to be OK riding the wave and seeing your money dwindle during a downswing. (Don’t invest cash you’ll need in the short term!) Bonus tip: Put your money in blue-chip companies, meaning companies that are well established and trade on the S&P 500.
Alexandria Brown, a human resources consultant and the founder of the site The HR Hacker, shares how to get paid.
1 Do your research. Find out what people who do your job at comparable companies (based on employee size and revenue) are making in your city. Unless you live in a very rural area, it’s generally easy to find salary information on Glassdoor. LinkedIn job postings often include a compensation range too, Brown says. Next, decide whether you want to ask for a percentage or a specific amount— and why. Then make a list of your achievements and cite positive feedback from colleagues. If you’re asking for a promotion, get or make a job description for the role and write down how you’re already doing the work. “Flood your boss with data and evidence so it’s harder for them to say no,” Brown says.
2 Prepare your boss. If it’s not your company’s official review time, when discussions about career growth and compensation are expected, give your boss a heads-up. “Managers are more reluctant to support what you’re asking for when they feel blindsided,” Brown says. Send a casual email asking to meet to talk about your career progression. “You want to make sure they’re in the right headspace,” Brown says. “I’ve definitely caught a CEO at the wrong time.”
3 Hype yourself up. “Women show up to the table with impostor syndrome. They feel like they’re lucky to have a seat. It’s not about being lucky,” Brown says. Anytime she needs a confidence boost, Brown listens to her “walk-up song” (the tune that stadiums play when a baseball player steps up to bat), “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled. “Honestly, confidence is key, and I really think having your walk-up song changes everything.”
4 Don’t hide your mistakes. Pobody’s Nerfect (get it?). Acknowledge your past challenges, describe what they’ve taught you, and explain why you won’t repeat them.
5 Put it in writing. After the verbal ask, follow up and put the details in an email so your boss has something to refer to or forward along.
6 Don’t take no for an answer. But you may have to accept “Not now,” Brown says. If your request is denied, ask your manager to lay out what needs to happen to get what you’re asking for.
Many of our survey respondents said working with an adviser was their best decision. If you don’t already have one, we’ve got some tips for you.
LOOK FOR THE CFP CREDENTIAL That stands for “certified financial planner,” the top designation in the financial-planning world, Longo says. You can visit cfp.net to search for licensed professionals in your area.
DO SOME ONLINE RESEARCH Browse the planners’ websites. Consider what they tout most about themselves and whether their approach and language resonate with you.
SCHEDULE INTRODUCTORY CALLS Once you find some that seem like a good fit, ask them lots of questions. How will you work together in the first year and in future years? How are they paid? Do they earn commissions or get kickbacks from investment companies? Transparency with fees is important, Longo says. Ideally, they charge a flat rate or annual fee.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP Your planner may use jargon you don’t know. “It’s OK to say,‘ What does that mean? Can you say it differently?’” Longo says.
Women Are Generous!
More than two-thirds of the women surveyed have covered a significant expense for others. And 92% said they’d pay for a friend’s meal on an ordinary day. (The sweet spot where most women would treat: $24 for a casual meal.)
FIND NATURAL INS
There are many opportunities to broach the topic, says Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a licensed master social worker and certified financial therapist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Let’s say you’re at brunch. You can very organically say, ‘The eggs Benedict are three times as much as they were last time!’” That can lead to a deeper conversation about dealing with financial strain.
ASK OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
According to our survey, few women talk about career-related topics, like salaries and promotions, with their friends. But we can learn a lot from the women in our lives! If you know someone who recently got a new job or promotion, ask what the process was like. “That gives the other person the opportunity to answer in a way that feels comfortable to them,” Bryan-Podvin says. Be curious and know you’re in good company.