The gender money gap is not only a women’s issue. For March’s Unlocking Financial Freedom, we held a session for our members to chat finances, and how the inequalities in money impact us all.
Here are 9 of our key takeaways from the event shared by speakers Vivien de Tusch-Lec, Co-founder of My Tomorrow and Karen Stenning of Absolute Alchemy:
Get a handle on the basics
To obtain financial wellbeing it’s important to follow basic steps first. If you don’t have a handle on your day to day budgeting, it’s difficult to know how much money you have left over for your pension pot or to invest.
Take charge of your debt
Similarly, if your debts are not manageable, do some research to see if you can pay them back in a more efficient way. It’s not about not having any debts, but about managing them; pay off the ones with the highest interest rates, or arrange an automatic payment plan.
Don’t squirrel it away
There’s an estimated £180 billion worth of money sitting in women’s savings accounts. Depositing money might seem like a safe strategy, but money erodes over time with the impact of inflation over a long term basis.
Have confidence in investing
Women tend to save more rather than invest their money. But, women that invest tend to perform on par or better than their male counterparts. Investing is not for one gender; confidence in investment performance should be fostered and nurtured in women.
Manage the risks
If you want to be in control of your finances, you need to work out how much you’re expected to earn and work to mitigate the potential risks in your life. Look for specific advice on the different stages of your life, the big moments that matter, such as maternity, divorce or retirement.
You’re already on the ladder
For many women, the biggest money gap barrier is getting started. But, know that if you have a private or workplace pension, you’re already an investor. That money is already being invested for you, into bonds, stocks and shares.
Donate to your future self
It’s never too early or too late to plan for your retirement. Start putting away small amounts, it can have a big impact in the long term.
Find some guidance
Looking for appropriate support, advice and guidance is essential to your financial wellbeing. There are some great budgeting apps out there that give you helpful tips, enable you to analyse your income, expenses and how much money left you have at the end of the month.
Let’s tackle the money gap together
There’s great potential in tackling the money gap – women could add up to £60 billion to the UK economy by 2030. Fighting this disparate inequality and empowering women’s finances would help not only women, but would benefit everyone.
If you want to check out the full event you can watch it here. To make sure you never miss out on our events again, take a look at our full programme here.
