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Financial Planning
Why Get Started? |
There are a number of reasons why women
need to get their financial lives into shape:
1) Financial Security. Achieving
financial security is one of the biggest hurdles facing women today. Women need to
consider the financial challenges they may one day have to face. Women can no longer rely
on a husband's retirement check or even Social Security. They must rely on their ability
to make the right financial decisions. They must accept the reality that sooner or later
they will be responsible for managing their own finances.
2) Preparing for Retirement. Women statistically live longer than men. Yet they
continue to invest less and are not adequately preparing for retirement. At the same time,
women work less, earn less, and often stay home to raise children. This results in
significantly reduced Social Security and pension benefits down the road when they are
ready to retire.
3) Financial Education. Many
women are afraid to admit they don't have a thorough understanding of personal finance.
Their knowledge base often doesn't extend beyond the basics of money management (paying
the bills, balancing the checkbook, etc.). They don't focus on the long-term goals that
need to be addressed such as investing for retirement or estate planning.
4) Too Conservative. While
women have made some stride in closing the salary gap, that alone will not not help them
meet their financial goals. Women tend to be more cautious in their investment choices.
They save less and are less apt to take advantage of company-sponsored retirement plans. A
longer life span means women will be required to save more for retirement.
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