Page 5 - Wealth Building for Women
P. 5
Chapter 3
We know that we lead very different lives than your mothers did, but you may be
surprised at just how different. Here are six reasons why women need to get into
this game called wealth-building.
1. The Statistics – The statistics about women and money are startling. The following
are U.S. statistics, yet for other countries throughout the world, the statistics are
very similar or are trending in the same direction: 47 percent of women over the
age of 50 are single; in other words, they are financially responsible for themselves;
Women’s retirement income is less than that of men because as the primary
caretaker for the home, a woman is away from the work force an average of 14.7
years, as compared to 1.6 years for men. Add this fact to the lower salaries women
still receive, and you have retirement benefits that are only about ¼ those of men.
(National Center for Women and Retirement Research-NCWRR); Women are
expected to live an average of seven to ten years longer than men, which means
they must provide for those extra years. However, married women who are baby
boomers can expect to outlive their husbands by 15 to 20 years, on average; Of the
elderly living in poverty, 3 out of 4 are women; Approximately 7 out of 10 women will
at some time live in poverty. What do these statistics tell us? That more and more
women are not educated or prepared to take care of themselves financially,
especially as they grow older. You have spent your entire lives taking care of your
families, but have no ability to care for yourself in this vital way.
2. Avoiding Dependency – You don’t get into a marriage expecting a divorce. You
don’t begin a new job expecting to be laid off. But it
happens, and today with more and more frequency.
Ladies, if you are depending on a husband, a boss, or
anyone else for your financial future, think twice. They
simply may not be there. Too often, we may not even
realize just how dependent we are until we’re faced with our own personal wake-up
call.
