3 Mistakes Smart Women Don’t Make With Money

The number of wealthy women in the U.S. is growing rapidly. In fact, in a  two-year period, the number of wealthy women in the U.S. grew 68%, compared to  the number of men… which was only 36%.

Women will control over 2/3 of consumer wealth over the next decade and an  estimated $12-40 trillion dollars is expected to be transferred to women. We can  no longer be afraid of numbers, it’s time to be money smart so our influence  will last a lifetime and impact our communities well into future  generations.

But in order to do so, you can’t afford to make mistakes that allow your  wealth to dwindle. Here are a few secrets that smart women do with their money  to stay wealthy and continue to build wealth for a sustainable future.

Smart women DON’T spend based on emotion

Guilt is probably a woman’s biggest enemy. Doesn’t guilt tend to come when  you do something you know you shouldn’t do, but you do it anyway? For  example, have you ever felt guilty for buying something for yourself? Or  spending too much on something for someone else?

Oftentimes women have a hard time buying anything for themselves, so the  smallest purchase can trigger guilt. At other times, some women spend out of  control and feel guilty that they’ve overspent, or overbuy for their children  because they feel guilty about their parenting.

Whether guilt, sadness, jealously, loneliness, love, insecurity, or  self-loathing… any emotional based decision could be costly.

Either way, wouldn’t you feel more confident if you were working objectively  toward your goals with a solid financial plan? You can build into your plan ways  to spend on things that make you feel good, but with proper planning it can be  done in moderation so you don’t neglect yourself, over-spend, or put your future  at risk.

SMART WOMEN learn to be objective in their decision making and not let  emotions be the primary decision factor.

Smart women DON’T spend blindly without a plan

Because women are better shoppers and have a better handle on what it takes  to run a household, when tend to spend based on what’s needed right now. They  are much more involved in the day-to-day spending and bill-paying and are  usually good with juggling all the various pulls on the family finances.

Where women tend to lack however, is on the long-term planning. Without  understanding where you want to be in the future and what it will cost to get  there, it’s impossible to know how the impact o f today’s decisions will affect  your future. Learning how to plan gives you a tool to be more objective with  your decisions. Without, you’re left with using your emotions and your current  needs to drive your spending choices.

SMART WOMEN know where they want to be, create a plan to get there, and stick  with it in the day-to-day decisions.

Smart women DON’T ignore the numbers

I know, I know, number-crunching probably isn’t your favorite subject.

Often when I meet with women they are very unaware of the family finances,  and get overwhelmed very easily. This is common because it can be a new and  foreign topic for them, but I can see they feel a little embarrassed or don’t  want to feel stupid. But when we break it down into components and take it  step-by-step they leave feeling confident and relieved. It is much harder for  men to have the patience to do this, and men tend to machine-gun through the  technical terms and find a point they can ‘fix’!

But there must be a balance. Women need to learn more of the technical terms  and the numbers, while men need to understand there’s more to it than numbers.  Women tend to need a plan where security and safety are a high priority, and  understanding our fears and emotions that are tied to these are critical.

SMART WOMEN learn to understand their cash flow, net worth, investments and  liabilities and how to use them as a tool to make smart choices.

Don’t make mistakes with your money that will cost you your future. Become a  SMART WOMAN by taking control of your finances and creating a plan that gives  you security, peace and happiness.

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