How to Manage Your Money for Women
With info from the book Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich by Lois Frankel, here’s how to manage your money for women (though I bet many men would find this helpful, too!).
“Many of the characteristics that make women uniquely feminine are the very same behaviors that prevent them from becoming financially independent,” writes Lois Frankel in Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make With Money. “In many ways the greatest gifts women bring to society are, ironically, the ones that cause them to act in ways counter to their own best interests.” (Click the book cover for more information about this book).
Not only does Frankel list 75 money mistakes women make, she lists about 175 solutions! Here’s a short list of tips to manage your money. They’ll increase your financial independence and raise your self-confidence.
7 Ways to Manage Your Money for Women
1. Separate money from friendship or love. If someone you care about is in need, find alternative ways to support him or her - other than giving away your money. Ways to help without offering financial support: help with resume writing, help with networking, cook dinner, babysit, help with paperwork. If you lend money, always write up a contract. An effective way to manage your money is to avoid sacrificing your own financial futures to take care of the needs or wants of others.
2. Learn how to negotiate effectively. Men think of negotiation as fun and exciting; women view it as scary. “Women don’t get as much as men because they don’t ask for it, and they don’t ask because negotiations make them nervous,” writes Frankel. Being uncomfortable with negotiation isn’t an effective way to manage your money. Prepare for every negotiation, whether it’s with a salesman for your car, a raise with your boss, or the amount you and your partner should spend on your next vacation.
3. Get everything in writing. Another common money mistake women make is failing to get a contract that stipulates the details of a sale, job offer, divorce settlement, family property division, or service contract. A smart way to manage your money is to make sure every financial transaction you make is in writing, signed by all parties.
4. Play to win. “If you’re not accumulating the amount of money you need to be financially independent, ask yourself why,” writes Frankel in Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich. “Are you better at playing the role of ‘nice girl’ than you are at playing the financial game?” Men are willing to win at all costs. “Playing like a girl” is a money mistake women make. There’s nothing wrong, illegal, or immoral about walking away a winner.
5. Choose a financial advisor carefully. Trusting the wrong person with your investments is a money mistake that affects your whole life. Don’t blindly trust anyone - a partner, husband, child, relative, or your best friend’s stock broker - to take care of your portfolio. When you’re interviewing potential investment brokers, ask for a free consultation, review their charges, and select someone with a broad base of knowledge. Another effective way to manage your money is to learn the difference between good debt and bad debt.
6. Let go of social pressure. “One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made around money is allowing myself to be bullied into contributing to group gifts at an expense greater than I wanted to spend,” writes Frankel in Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich. Social pressure can cause us to spend more than we have. For instance, buying a $100 gift because you know others will spend that amount of money can lead you to spend 10 times as much as you would have without the pressure.
7. Talk to people who took risks to achieve their dreams. A money mistake women make is striving to survive, not to be wealthy. Frankel encourages women to visualize being surrounded by money. An effective way to manage your money is to picture yourself not just paying off your Visa bill, but actually having money left over to invest in yourself, your portfolio, or your kids.
If you found 7 Ways to Manage Your Money for Women helpful, try:
