How Women Can Gain Financial Literacy
Have you recently gained transparency into your family finances? Maybe you’ve convinced your husband to include you in financial planning after decades of allowing him to manage things himself. Having a complete picture of your bank and investment accounts, insurance coverage, and estate paperwork can leave you feeling more empowered and less vulnerable should something happen to your spouse.
So, what’s next now that you have a better sense of what’s going on with your investments and family finances? How can you participate in a smart discussion with your spouse and feel prepared to manage things should something happen to him?
The key is financial literacy. Like any other form of literacy, financial literacy gives you the knowledge and language to discuss your finances and make smart choices.
Why Financial Literacy Should Matter to You
After years — or even decades — of allowing your husband to handle the finances, you’ve made a big step by gaining transparency into them. This will allow you to have smart conversations with your husband and handle things should something happen to him.
To do these things effectively, you must build financial literacy. Much like you must build art literacy to discuss painting and sculpture, and food literacy to discuss food intelligently and prepare great meals, you must also gain financial literacy to have smart money conversations and handle investments and personal finances effectively.
Even if you’re not interested in banking, investing, insurance, and other aspects of managing money, it is critical to gain financial literacy so you can take responsibility for your finances, feel confident about them, and eventually gain some degree of peace of mind.
How to Increase Financial Literacy
Learning about various aspects of finance doesn’t have to be tedious or difficult. Here are some highly informative and engaging options for women like you.
- AARP has an in-depth library about all aspects of finance, including personal finances, retirement, and taxes. All the material, including blog posts, videos, and calculators, is tailored for people nearing retirement. While some of the content may be basic, it can be a great resource to begin learning about money.
- The Consumer Protection Bureau has an extensive library of content about all aspects of finance in English and other languages. The material is quite granular and can be helpful in addressing individual topics and issues as you encounter them.
- WISER (Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement) offers comprehensive information about all aspects of finance and how women can take steps to protect their interests.
- Savvy Ladies connects women with financial professionals to answer questions about all aspects of finance. More than 200 individuals per month turn to the help line for support.
- Udemy, a leading online learning resource, offers a range of educational options, including its three-hour Personal Finance course and its Finance Fundamentals training. The courses are comprehensive and affordable.
- Attend workshops. Many in-person and virtual workshops are available during Financial Literacy Month, which takes place in April of every year.
Resources are available to help you gain financial literacy when and how you prefer.
Making Financial Literacy Manageable
It can seem overwhelming to take on a big topic like financial literacy. Here are some things you can do to make it seem more manageable.
- Focus on key topics. Taking on all aspects of finance at once is too much for most people. Set priorities. In all likelihood, if your husband has been handling your investments, you will want to learn the basics of investment management. If you have concerns about how you and your family will be cared for after your husband passes away, you may want to brush up on estate planning. Also, if you are in or near retirement, learning about retirement income planning could help facilitate discussions about the topic. And while insurance is a critical component of financial literacy, it is often one of lower priority for most people.
- Don’t allow ageism or sexism to get in your way. Many people don’t take the needs of aging women seriously. Don’t let this be a barrier as you seek financial literacy. Confront anyone who talks down to you or seek out other sources that respect and value people like you.
- Don’t forget long-term care and estate planning. Ultimately, you are seeking security and peace of mind in the years ahead. Don’t forget these two key components.
If you find it challenging to master financial literacy on your own, why not seek out the help of a financial professional? The experts at Chase Investment Counsel have helped many women get up to speed on all aspects of finance. Now that you’ve gotten your husband to provide you with financial transparency, he may be open to meeting with one of our wealth managers. Leverage our conversation guide to begin a discussion with him. Then schedule an appointment to meet with a Chase Investment Counsel representative to discuss how you can get the financial literacy help you deserve.