The Good News and the Bad News: Women and Financial Literacy Month

Want the good news or the bad news first? 

The good news: April is National Financial Literacy Month (Hurray!) and it gives all women a great opportunity to learn more about financial literacy. Whether you’re at the peak or the foot of the mountain in your financial journey, this month offers a great excuse to boost your financial literacy. You can do so through Purse Strings.

The bad news: Research shows working women have very low financial literacy. In 2015, less than one-third of women demonstrated a basic level of financial literacy knowledge. Naturally, this can lead to debt, financial fragility and lack of retirement planning. 

Curious about how Financial Literacy Month got started? Financial Literacy Month began through the National Endowment for Financial Education as Youth Financial Literacy Day in 2000 and evolved into a national financial literacy month. Both the House and Senate created joint resolutions to fully support National Financial Literacy Month

The Gaps in Financial Literacy: Explained

In a time when more female CEOs exist in Fortune 500 companies, we have a woman vice president in office and more women pursue entrepreneurship — why do women still struggle with financial literacy? One major reason: Women don’t have economic equality. 

What is Financial Literacy?

Financial literacy is more than just about using Mint or spreadsheets to track money. Everyone should be taught that financial literacy is synchronous with your life plan. Money and goal-setting are the tools you can use to fulfill your dreams and values.

So, it goes like this:

Values →Goals → Spreadsheets

In other words, pinpoint your values, figure out your goals (which will support those values), and then use a spreadsheet to track them! 

A Few Steps to Take to Achieve Financial Literacy

So, how does one achieve financial literacy? Truthfully, it’s a lifelong journey, but you can still tap into tools and knowledge to help you achieve financial literacy:

Let’s Get Financially Literate Together!

So many stumbling blocks exist on the way to financial literacy — and some, like caring for aging parents or taking care of young children — can hardly be thought of as “stumbling blocks” — those privileges feel like quite the opposite!

However, especially during peak earning years, women can struggle to earn enough money, much less plan for retirement.

It’s up to you to learn about complex financial decisions to help you achieve your dreams. Let Purse Strings walk with you. Every informed financial decision you make gets you closer to achieving your goals.

Join us as we empower women to say “No way!” to: 

• Saying we can’t afford to save for retirement. 
• That we don’t “understand” investing.
• Saving less.
• Not facing up to long-term and overall health care expenses.
• Overcoming fear of planning.
• Not making use of available resources to the fullest potential.

Financial literacy is all about ensuring you get what you want out of life. You’ve only got one life to live, so channel your money toward your dreams.

Financial literacy month just gives you a good excuse — and a launchpad — to get there.

— Dr. Barb Provost and Maggie Nielsen, April 22, 2021

Women Who Have Changed the World

As I sat down to write this post, I kept glancing at a poster I’ve had in my office for years. It’s called “Women Who Have Changed the World.” It lists women’s names at the bottom — some you may have never heard of! Of course, Amelia Earhart and Harriet Tubman made the list, but Kreeta Haapasalo did, too. And that’s what I love about it. You can’t discount every single woman who has made contributions to the world during her time in history. 

I love how these women made their own unique impact in their area of specialization or their own unique mission. These women have been commemorated on stamps for their work.

I had the poster professionally framed, and every time I sit at my desk, it’s a reminder to me that we have come so far and we still have so far to go. Needless to say, it serves as my constant inspiration. 

At the bottom of the poster it says: “Profits from this poster will benefit women through training and development opportunities.” That’s exactly what Purse Strings does, and on International Women’s Day, our mission becomes even more clear.

What is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, dedicates itself to shouting the words “gender parity” from the rooftops. 

International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century with the first gathering held in 1911. Learn more about the day’s timeline if you have questions about how IWD came about.

One of the neatest things about IWD: No government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women’s network or media hub can claim credit or ownership of International Women’s Day. It belongs to everyone. 

That’s why you should do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women in a way that makes sense for you!

What Can You Do for Yourself and Other Women on International Women’s Day?

That’s a great question, and it’s one I’ve always thought of carefully every year. I definitely send my partner at Purse Strings, Maggie, a giant bottle of champagne and we talk about how we can do more to celebrate women’s achievements every year. 

However some ideas come to mind of things that you can do yourself: 

• Raise awareness about women’s equality through social media, through your company, through whatever means you have a platform!
• Lobby for accelerated gender parity. Don’t forget that your elected officials deserve to hear your stance!
• Fundraise for female-focused charities. You can do this at any time, not just in March!
   

We bet if you put your thinking cap on, you can come up with some other ways to honor the women you work with, the warriors in your family and your best friends. Challenge yourself to take it up a notch, though. How can you take this to a next-level platform?

The purpose of the International Women’s Day website is to support the supporters, and in doing so it provides a platform to help forge positive change for women. 

So, back to my poster. Take a look at some of the women listed. I did some digging into their bios, just so you could feel in awe and as inspired as I do every time I look at my wall. 

Emily Bissell 

Emily was a lifelong activist and social worker, best known for her groundbreaking work in fundraising for tuberculosis (TB). TB was the leading cause of death in the U.S. at the turn of the century. 

Bissell and a team of volunteers designed the holiday stamp and raised money by collecting a high volume of small donations. They successfully raised $3,000 for the fight against TB in the first year alone. By 1916, Christmas Seals had raised more than $1 million, all through donations of $1 or less.

The disease switched to No. 7 leading cause of death in North America and Europe instead of No. 1 due in part to her efforts.

Juliette Gordon Low 

In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of the USA, an organization that serves millions of girls and alumni today.

Low, a believer in girls’ potential and the importance of fostering their individual growth and self-sufficiency, established a global movement that changed girls’ and women’s lives all over the world.

Put a Focus on Financial Health

I believe these women have advanced all of our lives. They may be women we know, or some we are not familiar with, but they have made an impact on the lives of many. 

We must all come together to put a focus on women’s financial health to honor all that women have been and can become. Women still only earn an average of 80 percent of men’s salary. Women still say they don’t have enough money for health care and other costs (women typically spend five to seven years aging alone). 

Due to these reasons and more, I believe we have more work to do.

How We Can Help You at Purse Strings

We all have our own special and unique gifts — different from one another — but nonetheless each one is special. When we attend to these gifts in alignment with our mission, then we can make a ripping affect that impacts many.

Women need financial professionals who can help them plan for a wonderful financial future.

I created Purse Strings to help women become financially fearless by learning what they need to know to make the right financial decisions for themselves and their families. I also want to partner women with the right financial provider who can deliver the right products and the unique services women want.

The Purse Strings model demonstrates how we provide tools and resources for women, online and at their fingertips 24/7. 

We have seen a huge void in the lives of women through training and development. As we provide excellent financial professionals who know how to serve the female market, we can all make great strides for women and create our own ripple.

— Barb Provost, March 10, 2021

Go Red for Women’s Heart Health

(and Financial Health!) in February

Did you know that the same inequalities exist in women’s finances and in a heart attack misdiagnosis?

For real. Let’s explain. First of all, did you know that women’s heart attack symptoms don’t present the same way as men’s heart attack symptoms? Did you know that doctors sometimes even brush off women’s concerns? They say, “Go on vacation, drink a glass of wine, here’s a prescription for an antidepressant.” (When the culprit is actually a heart attack, waiting to pounce.)

Did you ever think about how the financial industry doesn’t treat women the same as men — and women pay for it in much the same way as a misdiagnosis? (They suffer, big time.)

It’s easy to let heart month (and our finances) slip by when we don’t advocate for ourselves, but this year, let’s do something about it! 

Who’s with me? Let’s goooo!

The Most Prevalent Information Skews Toward Men 

Did you know that women tend to have heart attack symptoms more often when resting or even when asleep (yikes!) than they do in men?

Did you know that the most common heart attack symptom in women is the same as in men? Chest pain, pressure, or discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes or comes and goes. But guess what? Chest pain is not always severe, or even the first symptom women notice. It might feel more like pressure or tightness — and no chest pain might present itself at all. 

Unfortunately, due to these reasons, women don’t always recognize their symptoms as a heart attack because many materials, education, and news articles describe an elephant on the chest. How unsettling is that? Puts women squarely at a disadvantage, right? 

Did you ever think about how the financial industry does the same thing? Some examples: Information skews toward men, and the financial industry also gears toward men’s products.

What would happen if you lost your job? What if your spouse died? 

You’d burn through your savings, have to wait on a life insurance policy or garner an inheritance from your wealthy parents. 

Women who don’t invest actually take on more risk than if you do invest. Does it make you feel better to realize that it’s not your fault — that you just didn’t know? That’s where Purse Strings comes in. We will guide you on the things you just don’t know because you were never taught to navigate your finances in a very man-oriented world. You’ll only experience gentle guidance from us. We’re here to help you get pointed in the right direction.

The Financial Industry Gears Toward Men

Take a look at any stock tool and it looks like a video game. Trading simulators look like the command center of the Battlestar Galactica. They’re intimidating, most platforms are black with arrays of ticker symbols, red and green candlesticks and involve a very unfriendly interface. Every single app or desktop trading station you see looks like it’s made for men — by men. 

Where’s the friendly helping hand? How do relationships remain a factor? Heck, where are the pretty colors? 

The point is, women, get shut out of the technology of finance, the trading floor, the very conversations that revolve around finance, investing, and trading. They aren’t approached well in financial advisors’ offices (“Talk to me, not my husband!”) and a million other slights and challenges.

And women — you! — suffer financially because of it.

These Disadvantages Add Up

Your life and health also matter in the context of how much it costs when you have heart disease — even if you have insurance. Consider the cost of prescription medications, co-pays,  physical therapy, and on and on. 

Heart disease cost the United States about $219 billion from 2014 to 2015. This includes the cost of health care services, medicines and lost productivity. Very similarly, when financial plans or decisions don’t focus on the unique needs of women, you could become financially insolvent when it comes to your financial future.

Don’t Forget About Retirement Implications.

You may need up to 80 percent of your pre-retirement income once you stop working. In other words, if your annual income was $80,000 when you were working, you will need up to $64,000 per year in order to maintain that same lifestyle when you stop working. What’s the alternative if you don’t have savings or a pension plan? You either must continue earning money or cut way back on your spending.

Women earn less on average over the course of a lifetime than men, and lower lifetime earnings make it harder for women to save for retirement. Unfortunately, women also have longer lifespans and higher health care costs. 

The bottom line: Is the financial industry set up to take care of these unique concerns? 

No. 

That’s why Purse Strings brings women to the table in only the way a women-run business can, with a focus on relationships, listening, understanding and encouragement.

You Can Reduce Your Risk in Both Areas and Live Your Best Life

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, and now’s the time to do as much as you can to make heart-healthy decisions. 

Just don’t neglect making your best financial decisions possible as well, because women face major disadvantages on both counts — health and finances. Take the next step: Embark on an exercise plan, call your doctor, start a new, healthy diet today. 

Finally, join the membership at Purse Strings right away. Your best life is right around the corner. You don’t need to take the financial disadvantages that face women lying down — and frankly, we won’t let you! Don’t miss out on what we can offer you. Join Purse Strings and do what you can to make February the best month ever!

Why it’s Best to Have More than a Friend Help You Through Your New Year’s Financial Resolutions

It’s best to have a friend to help you weather anything — and that includes New Year’s resolutions. But beyond “I’m ready to lose XX pounds — will you work out with me?” (dang it, Quarantine 15!) you may need more than a friend to help you through your finances.

Let Purse Strings help you tackle those financial goals. Join Purse Strings’ Facebook Live events, which offer relevant topics to our community of women. Here’s why you should join a community that cares about you. (Let’s face it! It’s time to stop handing over important money decisions to others who may not have your best financial interests at heart.)

Purse Strings is your go-to resource as you navigate life events that impact your financial decisions over your lifetime. 

Here’s why you should join our Facebook Live events at 12 p.m. CT.

Why it’s Better to Have a Mentor or Expert at Your Side

It’s always easier when you have a friend to help you achieve your goals. However, if you want to achieve your goals, it’s an even better idea to take them a step further. Go beyond the BFF and get a coach, a sounding board — someone who will lend an actual hand.

Reason 2: It’s easy to join. 

Women who use online social tools are slightly more likely than men to say that staying in touch with current friends is a major reason for using those online social tools (70% vs. 63%), according to Pew Research Center.

Social media, Zoom, Facebook Live, and other electronic connections can help you if you’re looking for a way to connect, create relationships, and look for referrals. If you’re looking for help and solutions to common problems, it’s easier than ever to connect online — and Purse Strings has the solutions you’re looking for. 

It’s easy to join on Facebook Live — just hop on and start joining the conversation!

Reason 3: You can use your desire for connection to your advantage. 

Ladies, you know how often you meet friends or colleagues for coffee — just to chat. Men usually meet to fulfill an objective: to watch a game, play a round of golf. However, they rarely meet to chat and check in. Women have the ability to connect in ways that are different from men, so why not use that desire for connection and camaraderie with Purse Strings?

Reason 4: Women are more successful investors than men. It’s a matter of learning how to harness your investing prowess!

Women investing offer a powerful stronghold. A Fidelity survey showed that on average, women’s investments amounted to a 0.40% higher return compared to men. The U.K.-based Warwick Business School, through Smarter Investor, found that women’s returns were approximately 1.8 percentage points higher than men’s.

Why not harness that success and get going with your Purse Strings mentor?

What Purse Strings Will Do to Help You Get Where You Want to Go

If you struggle with money questions and constantly look for answers, Purse Strings is for you. It’s a safe place where you won’t get pushed toward a product. Instead, you’ll get information and tools from vetted financial professionals you can work with to help create your own financial future.

Here’s how Purse Strings’ Facebook Lives will help you in your financial life.

2. Purse Strings’ Live Facebook events offer up-to-date        resources.

You’ll come away with quick wins and actionable advice to your most pertinent questions. For example, maybe you’re struggling to answer the question, “Should I set more money aside for retirement?” 

Purse Strings experts will give you 2021 advice and can show you how to tap into an IRA, your company’s 401(k), a 403(b). Experts will offer tips and tricks to save more in the future based on current knowledge.

(Pssst… by the way, if you haven’t started putting any money away, now’s the time to start, especially if you have a company 401(k) at your disposal. We’ll show you why the magic word is “automate” and help you pinpoint an amount to sock away, starting now. We’ll make it as effortless as possible.)

3. Purse Strings offers experts specifically trained and vetted to work with women.

Lots of financial resolutions take a hit because you might have a goal but no plan to achieve it. Purse Strings will nip that in the bud. You want to make those goals as specific as possible. Experts can help you create tangible goals, such as helping you spend less on a category you need to reduce — entertainment, car payment, house, etc.

So, start thinking about your goals — whether you want to get a college savings quick win, save for a down payment for a house (or vacation home), and more. You may want to buy stocks to fund your goal or invest in mutual funds. Whatever you choose, Purse Strings will help you nail down your goals and pave the way for you to get there successfully.

4. Help You Stay Accountable.

The hardest part about goals is staying accountable to them. After a month of trying to work on your goals, do they peter out? That’s why telling someone (not your best friend) about them, such as a mentor or money coach, can help you get there. 

Purse Strings will help you make a plan but can also help you navigate roadblocks you might hit as you navigate your financial journey. Let Purse Strings partner with you and help you every step of the way. 

Join Purse Strings Live

Women build relationship webs, not hierarchies — and they also reach up and down, out and across to help others. The power of a female relationship as a best friend, a trusted source, a sounding board, is what women have turned to and continue to turn to for help, answers and conversations.

Ditch the New Year’s resolutions (yes, that’s exactly what we mean!) and join a trusted community that has your back and which supports you every week. Dr. Barbara Provost, consultant and educator and founder of Purse Strings, and her partner, Maggie Nielsen, MBA will host Purse Strings’ Facebook Live events. We’ll incorporate a new financial topic each week for our community of women. 

• Facebook Live events are Thursdays at noon Central time.
• Join our FB group. Can’t wait to see you there!

7 Steps to Deflate Holiday Stress and Look Foward to 2021

Kicking up your heels or heaving a huge sigh over the holidays?

Why not throw in the biggest holiday of the year on top of running a household, taking on the teacher role for your children, trying to hold down a job (or all of the above)… and try not to catch an invisible airborne illness.

You’re entitled to feel a bit tired. But we encourage you to look on the bright side: You can minimize financial stress during the holidays, and we’ll give you some tips so you can breathe just a little bit easier. Here’s how!

How to Deflate Holiday Financial Stress

What’s the best way to put the plug in holiday financial stress? Try these seven things.

Step 1: Open a separate account just for the holidays. 

Whatever you do, don’t hit the shops or Amazon without a plan. Figure out what’s affordable for you and how much you can spend based on your budget. 

If your typical holiday spend on gifts, food and everything else totals about $800, that equates to about $67 per month. Deposit that $67 into a separate account from your regular savings or checking account every month. Better yet, set up an automatic transfer to a Christmas account and it’s done!

You might notice that this practice requires you to rewind back to January 2020. However, you can tackle this very idea starting next month and start getting yourself prepared for the 2021 holidays.

Note: You can still funnel some money into that account starting now, every week until the end of December and use it to plan for a New Year’s party!

Step 2: Write out a list, just like Santa. 

Who do you want to buy gifts for and what causes do you want to donate to? Don’t forget those outside the family you want to recognize — a babysitter, your mail carrier, your favorite hairdresser, etc. You want to give gifts to people who serve you throughout the year. Whatever you do, don’t leave them out, then “suddenly remember” them when you’re down to your last $50.

Keep that list handy next year so you can remember these people year to year and add to the list as new people enter your life. 

Step 3: Allocate a dollar amount toward every person on your list.

Once you list everyone out, put an exact dollar amount next to each person so you can budget your spend. You probably want to spend more on your grandchild compared to your mail carrier, but it’s still important to write down each amount so you can visualize how much you’ll actually spend. Part of the problem with the holidays is that it’s easy to spend willy-nilly until you receive your credit card bill and then wonder, “Hmmm… How’d I spend that much money?”

Allocating a dollar amount for every person also ensures that you spend the same amount on similar relatives, like spending the same amount on each of your kids, parents and grandkids. 

Step 4: Think beyond toys for the kids. 

The last thing the kids need is another toy for the toy box. Consider needs versus wants and invest in opportunities for the future. Saving for college with a 529 plan or considering other ways to get college paid for is a great way to prepare for the future.

Consider other things kids need — soon-to-graduate college kids need professional clothing, kids who will start a new sport need cleats, baseball gloves, etc. 

Kids who need practice reading need books! Think beyond toys, toys and more toys. Most kids have way more than they’ll ever play with, anyway.

Step 5: Tally your list and consider any adjustments, if needed.

Don’t forget to add additional holiday items you may want — Christmas cookie ingredients, candles, a fresh tree, wreaths and more. Don’t forget to budget in your holiday mani/pedi, hairdo or massage.

These “little” things may surprise you, so don’t forget that you still need the extras to make the holidays great, even if you’ll entertain a smaller crowd at your house this year.

If you need to juggle the spending a little bit, reexamine where you’ve allocated money. Can you take a little bit away from one person and funnel the money back toward another? Get creative!

Step 6: Stick to your list.

When you assess, plan and budget for high-spend situations (holidays, birthday parties, weddings) it provides a sense of control and minimizes the stress. You want to stick to your list to minimize as much stress as possible.

Our best advice: Don’t deviate from the dollars you’ve written on your list.

Step 7: Prep for after the holidays.

The best time to plan for the holidays is the year prior. Hit the sales after the holidays disappear. Instead of gobbling leftover sugar cookies, go shopping for next year with your newfound holiday money. You can find sales on wrapping paper, tape, serving items, cookie tins, ornaments and more! Even better, you can buy all this stuff for practically nothing after the season. Tis the season to stock up!

(You’ll thank yourself next year.)

Finally, Get Purse Strings’ Course

Though the holidays are a time of wonder, beautiful evergreens, snow (for some!), delicious holiday cookies and more, it can be extremely stressful. For some, the holidays bring joy and laughter, and for others, it’s easy to get mired down in tasks and the dread of spending so much money. (Does anyone else ever feel like you’re never done spending?)

Ultimately, what you don’t want is to slap everything on a credit card and decide you’ll figure it out later.

Tap into Purse Strings’ latest course, which can help you get your financial foundations in order. Start the new year with a resolution to get in front of your money. This year, vow to control your money instead of letting your money control you.

Bio: Melissa Brock is a 12-year veteran of college admission, founder of College Money Tips and Money editor at Benzinga. She loves helping families navigate their finances and the college search process. Check out her essential timeline and checklist for the college search!