Professional women, for all of their accomplishments, are much less likely than men to oversee their own financial futures.
Carol Khouri of Lexington, Mass.-based Wingate Wealth Advisors, said that this lack of personal financial oversight is a common problem with far-reaching consequences.
"Women are playing with fire when they leave their financial futures to others," said Khouri. "No matter how successful or accomplished we are, women often seem stuck in traditional gender roles when it comes to finance. All too often, women are content to leave our financial planning to our husbands or outside financial planners. The problem is, when life changing surprises like divorce or the death of a spouse occur, women tend not to be prepared to take control of their financial futures."
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She recommends that women begin taking control of their financial lives by following five steps:
- Educate yourself about personal finance issues. Khouri recommends that women be proactive about educating themselves on investing and personal budgeting by attending seminars on personal finance, estate planning and budgeting from professional investment advisors.
- Invest. Women tend to be savers rather than investors. Every woman should have a personal plan revolving around her future lifestyle plans and needs and to have an investment plan that will help her achieve her financial goals.
- Hire the right planner. Khouri recommends working with a Certified Financial Planner to help them develop their plan. Look for advisors who don't have a financial stake in the sale of an investment, have many years of expertise and have experienced both up and down markets.
- Know your advisor. Meet regularly with them so they know your plan and you can assure yourself that your plan is being properly implemented.
- Have a goal and plan investment strategies around meeting that goal. Women need to ask themselves the tough questions: When do I want to retire? What do I want to do with the rest of my life? How much will it cost me to live the retirement lifestyle I want and how do I get there?
"People cannot count on Social Security to carry them through an active and rewarding retirement," said Khouri. "It is time for more women to take personal control of their finances to assure that they are making crucial decisions about their financial futures."
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