As noted by a financial columnist, it’s a “phenomenon,” and one certainly worth studying.
“It” is the discomfort with money matters that many women confess to, for reasons that vary widely.
Any statement along the lines that men innately have more financial savvy and investment acumen than women do is surely sexist, patently offensive and without empirical proof.
That is not what researchers from a study carried out by the Fidelity investment company are saying, though. What the results from their survey administered to women across a broad age spectrum readily reveal is that many women simply balk at close involvement with finances and investment decisions.
Why is that?
Survey results point to a number of reasons. Some respondents stated that they just weren’t raised to talk about money. Many women find it an overly personal matter to discuss. Some women simply defer to their husbands.
The implications of such reluctance to engage with financial matters can clearly be dire for some divorcing women. The above-cited columnist states that divorcing women uneducated about money matters are “more likely to be taken advantage of.”
Fortunately, and as is similarly true with virtually any other topic, gaining important knowledge about financial concepts and applications is a doable endeavor. Moreover, there are myriad ways for any person seeking a bit of personal education on finances to comfortably access the subject.
Like school for example, which offers opportunities from venues ranging from community college to workshops and seminars.
And, of course, financial topics can be easily explored — and at all levels — in comfort and privacy online.
Soliciting advice from an established family law attorney or other professional is another idea that many women might wish to pursue.
“And the sooner you can do it, the better,” says the writer noted above, given statistics showing that the majority of women across the country will take sole control of their personal finances at some future point.
That complete autonomy can come through divorce. Alternatively, of course, it can owe to the fact that wives generally outlive their husbands in long-tenured marriages.
