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Financial confusion holds women back
As a Personal coach I quickly realised that money was a recurring obstacle standing between women and their goals. Whether someone wanted to retrain for a new career, start a business, meet someone new, or distress their lives, money always figured in the equation.
A combination of taking time off to have a family, spiralling lifestyle costs, a higher cost of working (think clothes and grooming), lower earnings, working in lower income industries and most importantly having lower earning expectation and lower financial confidence have all contributed to financial circumstances that do not support our dreams and desires.
Having been at the receiving end of these latent (and blatant) circumstances and prejudices myself at one time or another, I was determined to do something about it. Working with my Chartered Accountant/Coach husband, I developed a programme specifically designed to bridge the gap between the financial confidence that men exude (including some notable women) and the financial confusion that holds women back.
Turns out the gap is like one of those mirrors in the fairground; the one that makes tiny things look huge. It only looks large until you turn round and face it. Bridging the gap can be so easy. It can be fast, effective and even fun!
Money problems - a private shame
Recently the national papers have been bringing lots of financial bogeymen to light...spiralling consumer debt, the collapse of pension funds and under performing endowment plans, an ageing population, increased taxes and a failing national health system needing to be propped up by private medical care to mention a few. It might all sound scary but I for one am pleased that these subjects are being brought to public attention. We talk about the detail of our sex lives more readily that we discuss our money problems.
This private shame is keeping so many people locked in ever worsening financial circumstances, keeping up appearances while fear eats away at their future. Women across the UK are struggling in silence to keep up appearances.
It's an unhealthy combination; a financial system of increasing complexity and an uninformed individual scared to say they are out of their depth. Here's the best kept secret of all time.
Women are better with money than men.
Not my opinion but that of Charles Mellon, multi-millionaire investor, author and lecturer on stock market trading. We owe it to ourselves (and our daughters) to learn to use our innate financial skills.
Meanwhile read my top 5 tips for money management and start putting them into practice today!
How do you feel about money?
When it comes to money, it seems no-one wants to be the first to publicly declare they are in trouble. I recently received a request from a leading newspaper looking for help to find someone they could interview about a piece they want to write on debt. No-one will talk. So I've added a mosaic of unidentifiable snippets of comments from clients at various stages of the Finance for Women programme instead to protect the innocent!
Read what women say about money
