The 5 Top Financial Mistakes That Women Often Make!

Women are working now more than ever before.

Juggling life as a professional business women, wife and mother.

Women are living longer than their male counterparts and therefore need to be more financially savvy about how their money is going to last them throughout their lifetime.

Unfortunately however women are still not allowing themselves the valuable time that they need, to get themselves educated when it comes to their finances.

Here are the 5 top financial mistakes that women are still making;

Allowing others to make the financial decisions.

Allowing our spouses or parents to make financial decisions may seem like the right thing to do but this is actually hindering us more than helping us.  Finances are something that we need to take charge of for ourselves; because chances are sooner or later we are going to have to do it on our own.  Make sure you get the education that you need before you are faced with a financial transition in your life.  In the same way that you need to be responsible for your own health you also need to be educated to ensure a healthy financial future.

Always the caregivers.

This of course is something that we cannot change, it is ‘women’s instinct’ and no it is not a bad thing.  However we should not risk our own financial security to help someone that we love.  Make sure that while taking care of others financially that you continue to save for your own retirement.

Failing to get financially educated.

Just assuming we don’t know enough about finances, is often enough to make us avoid ever investing in our own financial future.  Or if we do invest, due to lack of education and confidence we often make the wrong decisions and invest in investments that are just not suitable.

Avoiding talking finances with our loved ones.

This is the age old emotional and uncomfortable conversation that we work harder on avoiding than ever actually having.  But in order to avoid any nasty surprises later on it is vital that we have the conversations around money issues, wills, trusts and health care surrogates.  Avoidance can lead to nobody knowing what your wishes actually are later in life and then family division when it comes to families having to make decisions on your behalf.

Failing to seek professional advice.

It is not easy to find the right financial advisor.  After all you are looking for someone to build a long-term relationship with, someone that is going to know almost everything about you, this is not the type of relationship that is built in an hour.  Take the time to seek out the right person that you feel comfortable with and that you feel you could build a trusting relationship with.  It is important to invest the time and find the right fit for you; that person that you would feel comfortable talking to about your financial situation and desires.  

Karla White specializes in giving financial advice to recently widowed persons, those facing terminal illness, as well as developing plans for a healthy financial future. As a widow, she fully understands the importance of having someone help those recently widowed walk through all the financial changes that they will face. Karla focuses on both immediate and long-term financial issues, helping people navigate through a most difficult journey. For more information visit: Karla White - Waterstone Financial