Interesting article on women and finances

**forHISglory** · 11-05-2010, 01:46 PM

I found this article at Yahoo to be interesting concerning women and finances and retirement. Given that 50% of marriages end in divorce, and that women on average make significantly less than men, women reallly need to think carefully and think ahead. What do you think?

financial-dangers-women-face: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

**shoiji** · 11-05-2010, 03:01 PM

I read the first part of the article. Stopped when it said she does not meet the $4000 a month to live in NYC. All I could think of was MOVE!

I think the article in general is informative and a good way to get people thinking, especially woman on financial security. But seriously, we usually know here at FV that you need to live within your means.

**frugal is fun** · 11-05-2010, 04:32 PM

I do agree with the fact that women sort of get the shaft with retirement. (mostly by their own doing) I belong to a mom's group where the majority of the women are stay at home moms who don't work at all and really have no intentions of ever going back to work.

Lets face it, Life happens, what if they get divorced, what if their spouse dies, there are so many what ifs and they will barely have social security to fall back on. if they divorce, they may get alimony, if spouse dies they may get his SS but is that enough? I seriously doubt it.

I have two friends wanting to leave there husbands and can't because neither of them have any money of their own and one of them has serious credit card debt.

I'm all for being happily married, with kids and living happily every after but much of the time, that just doesn't happen.

I am the only woman out of all of my friends that has a pension, has a 401K, has a Roth IRA and will receive Social Security from working a full career.

I am not the norm by any means.

**forHISglory** · 11-05-2010, 05:50 PM

I, too, found the woman in the beginning of the article to be unbelievable. I just kept thinking, "Get a hold on reality here, lady!" The rest of the article had some solid advice that many women will not want to hear. I know that for the most part, putting this article on FV is like preaching to the choir. But it's worth reviewing.

**Nishu** · 11-05-2010, 06:24 PM

Definitely a lot to think about. I had counted on my husband's military retirement for a long time, but I was pretty surprised to learn that if he retires at 41 and passes away at 42, his retirement pay goes with him. We can basically insure it to make sure that I wouldn't lose it, but it costs extra. I really had no idea.

**Russ** · 11-05-2010, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by frugal is fun

I am the only woman out of all of my friends that has a pension, has a 401K, has a Roth IRA and will receive Social Security from working a full career.

well, maybe.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 11-05-2010, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by frugal is fun

I do agree with the fact that women sort of get the shaft with retirement. (mostly by their own doing) I belong to a mom's group where the majority of the women are stay at home moms who don't work at all and really have no intentions of ever going back to work.

Lets face it, Life happens, what if they get divorced, what if their spouse dies, there are so many what ifs and they will barely have social security to fall back on. if they divorce, they may get alimony, if spouse dies they may get his SS but is that enough? I seriously doubt it.

I have two friends wanting to leave there husbands and can't because neither of them have any money of their own and one of them has serious credit card debt.

I'm all for being happily married, with kids and living happily every after but much of the time, that just doesn't happen.

I am the only woman out of all of my friends that has a pension, has a 401K, has a Roth IRA and will receive Social Security from working a full career.

I am not the norm by any means.

This is why I'm going back to school after we move and getting a degree. I need something in case something else happens. I've never been one to let someone support me anyways, and it feels really awkward that I stay at home while he's out making the dough. I know that some people are perfectly happy with this, but I certainly am not.

**annymoll** · 11-05-2010, 08:53 PM

I brought income into our marriage from a business holding. It generates income into our household, but I alone hold the interest in it.(along with my mother and sister. We bought brother out.)I also have worked as both a nurse and a realtor.I own an interest in my husbands business, and our farm business.I absolutely would not consider being a stay at home wife or mother without having an outside career or my own income or investments.I do not like the idea of being an adult woman that is totally dependant on a man for support.

**forHISglory** · 11-06-2010, 06:35 AM

The article asserts that women are more financially illiterate than men. Do you agree?

**Russ** · 11-06-2010, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by forHISglory

The article asserts that women are more financially illiterate than men. Do you agree?

On this forum, no. The women in my life, yes.

**monkeywrangler71** · 11-06-2010, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by forHISglory

The article asserts that women are more financially illiterate than men. Do you agree?

I don't know if it is a generational thing or just a coincidence with the people I know, but in my experience women in my parent's generation (growing up in the fifties) don't seem to have any interest in their finances. With my grandmother, and nearly every senior couple I served when I worked in the bank, the women were in complete charge of finances. The same for most people I know my own age.

I've met more financially illiterate men than women.

**Imarachne** · 11-06-2010, 09:46 AM

My "retirement" money is social security and given the way things are going, I guess the govt. will take that away too.

**suebeehoney** · 11-07-2010, 01:41 PM

I am, for the first time in my life, going to start contributing to my 401(k) at work. I have wanted to for years, but being a single parent and having too many buckets to drop pennies into every month (a few to the utilities, a few to the car payment, a few to the rent, a few to the doctor bills, a few to the gas tank for the car, oops-battery died on the car, ok, a few to that too...), I've always found an excuse not to contribute.

Even if it's just $10 a week, SOMETHING is going into that darn thing starting in January. I am 40 years old. Retirement is a mere (if I'm lucky) 22 to 25 years away. Sound like a long time to save? It's not. I have been in the "working world" for over 20 years now, and have managed to save nothing in the way of retirement - time to open my eyes and start socking it away.

**LuLuBleen** · 11-10-2010, 02:09 PM

The article asserts that women are more financially illiterate than men. Do you agree?

Yes, unfortunately. Most of the women I know IRL, even twentysomethings, allow themselves to go brain-dead about finances once they start having children. Very, VERY different from the women here on FV.

**Telephus44** · 11-11-2010, 11:53 AM

I just wanted to comment on the financial literacy. I think that in the general population, there probably are more financially illiterate women than men. But there are also different types of financial literacy.

People point out that "my mother ran the household and balanced the checkbook" - having women do that was the norm - but clipping coupons and paying bills is a lot different from understanding retirement. You may know how interest rates work for credit cards and how to read the amortization schedule for your mortgage, but how many know that difference between stocks and bonds? Or that you can have a mutual fund that is either? Or how taxes affect your retirement? I think that there are many aspects to "financial literacy" and saying "I take care of the money in the household" isn't a golden ticket to total financial literacy.

Overall, I think women do need to think and learn more about retirement. You may have a pension, but do you know how it works? Like Nishu learning that her husband's pension would die with him. Or your 401K or Social Security? People need to be better educated on the topic, and I think women especially since they tend to live longer.