The Value of a Dollar
Women and Men: Thinking Differently about Money
I found the above via Meryl's website. It was one of the featured blogs on the left hand side of the screen. I usually find gender differences discussions interesting so I thought I'd take a look.
The results are nothing shocking. In fact, they fairly well represent my life.
The study found:
Confidence = 58% men vs. 44% women
Anxiety = 18% men vs. 33% women
Apprehension = 15% men vs. 26% women
Confusion = 8% men vs. 14% women
All except the confusion part ... I don't find money all that confusing. But money and balancing budgets and making ends meet does cause those feelings above. I'm very fortunate to have a good job and my husband has a good job and we've never been hungry. But I can relate to the feelings the study found most women have.
The interesting part was the different attitudes and risks men and women take with their money. I see this in living color at my house all the time. Lewis wants to invest, invest, invest. I want to horde. He wants to make more money with his money, I want to buy furniture and nest.
But the point I see, that the article does not make (though I don't think it's a malicious oversight, I think they are trying to get dialogue going), is that these differences balance each other out.
To my eyes it's another division of labor. Two objectives that have to be meet in the household. Someone has to find a way to plan ahead, and someone has to plan for right now.
Friends of ours have invested in Real Estate. They did this after they first got married. They own a selection of properties that they maintain and yada yada. The thought is, the rental income on these properties (in 30 years) will be a nice side income to offset their retirement.
When they told me this plan I went - "I can not think 30 years in advance." Even if it's a great plan for 30 years from now, my brain just does not allow for that type of thing. It's a flaw and a positive.
Anyway, my point is that I think women should perhaps acknowledge the differences between themselves and their male counterparts. And rather than try and change or be "more like men," they should play to their own strong suits, understand their own weaknesses, and understand the strengths of men.
I guess I think women are their own worst enemies. Why do we want to use money the way men do? Why do we think the way men view money is better than how we view money? Of course, the feelings above (apprehension, confusion, etc) have negative connotations. But that's the fault of the study. And I hate to generalize, but don't we think the study was probably conducted by women?
I'm not trying to hold anyone back in the 50s when only men could call the bank and take out money (that soooo would not work in my household today!). Neither am I saying women can't be "fearless investors." But if you're going to speak in generalities, about all women, and the differences between us and them ... in general I would say that those differences probably serve a greater societal purpose, and someone has to be more conservative, whether it's a man or a woman.
If we were all large risk takers ... well maybe it's the fiscal conservative in me, should the market crumble, we would sure miss all that money stuffed in the mattress.
I found the above via Meryl's website. It was one of the featured blogs on the left hand side of the screen. I usually find gender differences discussions interesting so I thought I'd take a look.
The results are nothing shocking. In fact, they fairly well represent my life.
The study found:
Confidence = 58% men vs. 44% women
Anxiety = 18% men vs. 33% women
Apprehension = 15% men vs. 26% women
Confusion = 8% men vs. 14% women
All except the confusion part ... I don't find money all that confusing. But money and balancing budgets and making ends meet does cause those feelings above. I'm very fortunate to have a good job and my husband has a good job and we've never been hungry. But I can relate to the feelings the study found most women have.
The interesting part was the different attitudes and risks men and women take with their money. I see this in living color at my house all the time. Lewis wants to invest, invest, invest. I want to horde. He wants to make more money with his money, I want to buy furniture and nest.
But the point I see, that the article does not make (though I don't think it's a malicious oversight, I think they are trying to get dialogue going), is that these differences balance each other out.
To my eyes it's another division of labor. Two objectives that have to be meet in the household. Someone has to find a way to plan ahead, and someone has to plan for right now.
Friends of ours have invested in Real Estate. They did this after they first got married. They own a selection of properties that they maintain and yada yada. The thought is, the rental income on these properties (in 30 years) will be a nice side income to offset their retirement.
When they told me this plan I went - "I can not think 30 years in advance." Even if it's a great plan for 30 years from now, my brain just does not allow for that type of thing. It's a flaw and a positive.
Anyway, my point is that I think women should perhaps acknowledge the differences between themselves and their male counterparts. And rather than try and change or be "more like men," they should play to their own strong suits, understand their own weaknesses, and understand the strengths of men.
I guess I think women are their own worst enemies. Why do we want to use money the way men do? Why do we think the way men view money is better than how we view money? Of course, the feelings above (apprehension, confusion, etc) have negative connotations. But that's the fault of the study. And I hate to generalize, but don't we think the study was probably conducted by women?
I'm not trying to hold anyone back in the 50s when only men could call the bank and take out money (that soooo would not work in my household today!). Neither am I saying women can't be "fearless investors." But if you're going to speak in generalities, about all women, and the differences between us and them ... in general I would say that those differences probably serve a greater societal purpose, and someone has to be more conservative, whether it's a man or a woman.
If we were all large risk takers ... well maybe it's the fiscal conservative in me, should the market crumble, we would sure miss all that money stuffed in the mattress.
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