Managing our Financial Future

Many highly intelligent women find managing their finances a challenge:  cheque books do not balance, investments are not scrutinized, and savings are a myth.  While waiting for someone to come along and rescue them, they never come to the reality of the present, and the possibility of a future where they are responsible for their own financial wellbeing. 

The biggest challenge with money is gaining a sense of responsibility for our own welfare, a concept missed by many people.  It is an idea for which no bridge has been built.  Many women are living in the chaos of putting themselves on the edge, often hanging on by their fingernails and continuing to do so until they can no longer handle it; some make a change and some never do.  These women often live in fear of not having enough for next month’s rent.  They love the idea of being on their own, but at night they dream about bag ladies.  We might not have to admit it while the sun is shining but in our deepest being we are scared. 

Women spend a great deal of time worrying about their future. A woman today earns her own money, sometimes a great deal of it, but nothing in her psychology or cultural history has equipped her to imagine taking care of herself for the rest of her life.  Financial independence has nothing to do with working.  If it did, then women would not plow through double shift days and still dream of becoming bag ladies. They are earnest, committed and they care for others, but not about themselves.

We need to get committed about taking care of ourselves and that includes our finances.  Women need to embrace their financial future and focus on it now.  Tax time is usually a time of financial reflection for many Canadians. We gather together all of our T 4’s to see how much we have made, and then we wonder where it all goes.  Why are we not getting ahead?  The answer can be found by examining our basic values and looking at our spending behaviours.  When we know what we value, when we see how we spend, we can discover the contradictions and make the changes.  If we allow ourselves to see these things and make the desired and needed changes, we can stop dreaming about the bag lady. 

If you would like some help exploring where you are financially and learning about your behaviours around money, contact me at womenswealth@live.com.