Managing Money

While neither gender has an exclusive lock on money management skills, the odds could be stacked against women. Busey Bank Executive Vice President Susan Abbott offers smart moves to take to help even the odds: Q: why would the deck be stacked against women? A. On average, women earn 76 cents for every dollar men earn in the marketplace, spend time out of the work force to have and raise children, and are generally left with smaller retirement portfolios, lower pension benefits and lower social security benefits than men. And despite earning less money than men, women generally need a larger retirement balance, since women typically live longer than men and must finance more years in retirement. Though she may share in her husband`s savings, assets can quickly be depleted due to illness in later years. It`s said 50% of marriages end in divorce, and the average age of widowhood is as young as 58 years. Therefore most women are solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives. Q: what steps can a woman take to improve her financial future? A. Take control and set a financial goal. Most women can tell you what they want the scale to read when they step on it, but can`t articulate how much they want to save each year and where they stand toward achieving that goal. Train yourself to be financial independent. Unfortunately, women are the ones most often left behind when a marriage ends, either through divorce or death. Even though women may handle the majority of day-to-day finances, the majority leave long-term financial planning to their husbands. Be aware of the finances; go to the meetings with the financial planner, read through the statements that come in. get an idea of how much is coming in, where it`s going and what the two of you are saving or investing for specific future goals. Invest more and know your risk tolerance. make up for discrepancies in retirement benefits by investing more than men. Consider saving 12% of gross income for retirement, rather than 10%. opt for long-term planning over crisis management. It`s common for women to not get serious about money until a crisis occurs, like losing a job, death of a spouse or nearing retirement. Consider how much risk you are willing to take in exchange for the potential for higher returns. Resolve to learn one new financial fact every day, and keep in mind this rule of thumb, one rule of investing is never put money into something you don`t understand. Q: Is it ever too late? A. Never and don`t be afraid to ask for help! Even though women have made impressive strides toward financial independence, many report having only half as much for retirement as men. Women with the highest net worth and the most financially secure work with financial professionals to manage their personal economy.