Before I post a few “Sweet deals” to brighten your Monday, there’s something we have to talk about.
Take a look at a few of the findings from a global survey about women and money:
- Women are responsible for a large percentage of global income, controlling over $12 trillion dollars in consumer spending globally
- Almost 71% of women in the U.S. workforce are mothers, and over half have children under the age of one. They also do most of the work at home: 88% say they do the grocery shopping; 85% do all the meal prep; 84% are responsible for the laundry and cleaning; and 77% handle the “household administration”
- 48% of women say that managing household finances is a major source of stress in their lives, while 81% are concerned about not having enough money for retirement.
- 47% say that time demands represent the “big stress in their lives,” with 45% expressing that they don’t have enough time for themselves
Do you see yourself in those results? Women are still doing most (or all) of the housework, but they’re also in control of the world’s money — and they’re stressed out about it. Which brings us to an interesting point, made by Blogher:
One of the most disturbing finding deals with women’s expectations of themselves. In fact 44% say that they rarely or never feel powerful. Hmmm, why is this? Why is it that we feel powerless when we control such a significant portion of the global economy and virtually run our world, both inside and outside the home? And where is the true source of a woman’s power?
The research also suggests that what makes women happy is love, health, honesty and emotional well-being. In fact, when asked what they wanted most, the respondents said: love and connections, freedom to pursue happiness and satisfaction, more balance (Amen!) and enough money to feel secure, along with the counsel to save and spend wisely.
So, what do you think? Do you feel overworked, overextended, etc., etc.? What about powerless? And is it money that makes you happy, or does love and honesty rank above that? I’d love to hear what you think of the study.
(Psst, did you read this confession, from Vanessa, a copy editor at Chatelaine: “My boyfriend locked up my credit card.” Have you ever resorted to desperate measures to deal with money stress?)
May
13
I’ve marched in some rallies in my time, but offhand, I can’t think of any pricing protests that have actually worked. So news that a group of women in the United Kingdom have forced department store chain Marks & Spencer to eliminate their surcharge on larger-sized bras had me, well, busting with pride. A Facebook group, Busts 4 Justice, (honorary icon: Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman) took on the store last summer for having the temerity to charge around an extra $4 for bras with cup sizes larger than DD. U.K. newspaper The Guardian reported on last week that Marks & Spencer had backed down, officially apologized for its boob job and offered a 25 percent discount on all bras for two weeks.
Now, if only we could do something about getting rid of the tax on feminine hygiene products.
Feb
03
I recently had the pleasure of having a phone conversation with Alison Griffiths, the host of the highly addictive TV-show Maxed Out, featuring hapless real people confounded by their finances until Griffiths offers them her advice. She has just launched a new phone-in show, Dollars & Sense (Monday nights at 10 p.m. on the W Network and VIVA), where she’ll answer callers’ money questions. I had some questions of my own for Griffiths …
Q: You have a long and illustrious career as a journalist and as an award-winning fiction author, but today you’re best known for your financial smarts because of your work on Maxed Out. How did you get into personal finance?
A: I’ve always been interested in money and business. I have a background in economics, and both my husband, David Cruise, who I’ve co-written a number of books with, and I have always felt that if you follow the paper trail, you will figure things out. A lot of investigative journalists in the seventies, eighties and nineties, their expertise often stopped as soon as they dollar signs happened, and that’s where ours began.
At first, I was mostly was interested in the global or macro level as opposed to personal finance, but then I ran into trouble financially myself – we’ve had a couple financial disasters that we suffered through in the past 15 years – and I did what any good freelancer does: You find someone to pay you to figure out how to get out of trouble [laughs].
Q: Is it just me, or does there seem to be a huge interest in money nowadays? Has it finally become part of the pop culture, rather than just stuck in the business pages?
A: Well, when you think of it, money is really our closest companion, from birth to death. Nothing stays with us longer: not lovers, not family, not friends. Even when you’re young, how you’re raised, whether or not your parents had money, affects how you grow up. Later in life, how you handle money will often determine the success of your career, the success of your love life. And, of course, in old age, how you’ve handled your money will have a huge impact on whether or not you will live in poverty or go off gently into that good night.
Q: What is the most important thing for women to be aware of when it comes to their finances? Is there something we do wrong most of the time?
A: The most important thing that women need to understand is that financial management is not like taking the garbage out or doing the laundry. In a relationship, those tasks can be assigned to one partner or another and it doesn’t really matter. But financial management in a relationship has to be a joint effort. It’s too difficult and complex a task right now for one person. You don’t need to be on the same page financially, but couples need to understand where their money is going. Financial discord is the leading cause of marital breakup in the North America, so the health of the relationship depends on financial management. So that’s my key piece of advice: Make sure that money management is a joint effort in your relationship.
Q: This one is a reader question, and it’s about credit cards. Are points- or rewards-related credit cards really worth the fees you need to pay to have them?
A: That depends. Reward cards can be absolutely worthwhile if, number one, you can take advantage of the rewards, and, number two, if you have the discipline to pay off your balance every month. I pay $120 a year for an Aeroplan points card with an interest rate of 19.5 percent. I charge everything – I’ll charge a bill for five bucks — but I pay my balance off in full every month, and I find at the end of the year I have the equivalent of two or three cross-continent air tickets.
Where the points cards don’t make a lot of sense is where you use the points for their non-primary purpose. For example, you’ll get maximum usage if you use your Aeroplan points to fly, less if use them to buy baseball tickets. The other kind of card that I am less in love with is a cash-back card, the kind that provides you with a percentage of your purchase. I think they tempt you to spend more, and they don’t offer you the same kinds of tangible rewards. Basically you’re paying a fee just to get a percentage off your purchases, and dollar for dollar, they don’t give you as much advantage as travel reward cards.
Q: Finally, what are your hopes for Dollars & Sense?
A: I’m hoping that the show will get people talking about money, and to let them understand that there are no stupid questions, that everyone gets confused about money. It has nothing to do with education or station in life. There are a few things that are absolute in life — like you shouldn’t cross highway 401 on foot. But there is no black and white when it comes to money. I think we’ll start to bring money out front and create an interesting dialogue.
