Facing The Financial Shocks of Widowhood
After reviewing a new survey of widows from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, I’m worried about the wives of America, or more specifically the wives who, sadly, will likely one day experience the financial shocks of widowhood. Women are more than three times as likely as men to lose their spouse. But very few wives seem prepared […]
Financial Challenges Older Women Face
It’s hard not to get a little down about the financial challenges many women over 50 face. I heard a lot about them recently while moderating and attending panels at the American Society on Aging’s (ASA) 2018 Aging in America Conference and the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit in San Francisco. One session I sat in one, Fifty and Forgotten: […]
Money Confidence for Newly Single Women
Divorced? Widowed? Losing a partner is traumatic and taking charge of household finances is rarely top of mind. The immediate aftermath of loss is for grieving. However, with the passage of time the pressure to take control of personal finances increases. Managing money is critical to building a new life. Women are particularly vulnerable financially. […]
Four Ways Women Can Get Smarter About Money
News flash: Retired women and women nearing retirement have a financial literacy problem. In a survey released today, the 2017 RICP Retirement Income Literacy Gender Differences Report, from The American College of Financial Services, only 18 percent of women age 60 to 75 passed. By contrast, 35 percent of men did (also pretty shabby, if you ask me). “I would expect […]
Financial Worries for Women in Retirement
Many women find it an uphill battle to save for retirement. Across all age groups, women have considerably less income in retirement than men, according to a report from the National Institute on Retirement Security. For women age 65 and older, their income is typically 25 percent lower than that of men. As men and […]
5 Money-Smart Holiday Gift Ideas For Your Kids
I’m shopping for holiday gifts this week, as I suspect many of you are. Some of my favorite names on my list are my nieces and nephews, age 17 to 28. Since I frequently speak to audiences and write about the importance of financial security, I’ve realized that one of the best holiday gifts I […]
Should Women Manage Money Differently Than Men?
Men and women face different challenges when it comes to saving and investing. MONEY assembled a panel of experts to weigh in on how that should impact your planning. Saving, investing, budgeting, earning, and protecting assets are financial management tasks that have no gender. Yet men and women face different challenges when it comes to […]
7 Tips For Breadwinner Wives Feeling The Strain
This past weekend, two close friends visited my husband and me at our Virginia countryside cottage. This married couple is roughly our age – 50s – and, like us, don’t have kids. She has a senior-level government job and has been promoted twice in the past few years. He accepted a buyout package from a […]
Employers Penalizing Spouses For Health Insurance
Here’s a dose of medicine women might not want to swallow: It’s getting more expensive for a wife to get health insurance through her husband’s plan. Employers, it seems, are madly seeking ways to put a tourniquet on their escalating health care costs. “They’re well aware that in 2014, when the health reform law’s provisions […]
11 Essential Money Tips for New College Grads
When my nephew Michael walked across the graduation stage at Wake Forest University last week to pick up his bachelor of science diploma, I wasn’t worried about his financial future. Ever since he was a teenager he has always saved and invested the money earned from a potluck of summer jobs. (I put that down […]
