Divorce can be emotionally and financially overwhelming. That's why I'm teaming up with Sunny Wishart, president and founder of A la Carte Financial and a certified financial planner. We will show you how to understand all things money without feeling ashamed, overwhelmed, or embarrassed. You will learn. Learn more. Ask questions. No question is a dumb question.
Today, we're going to talk to you about three societal issues around money and women that are still prevalent.
Number one:
The husband handles the big decisions, which include the money and the woman handles all the smaller decisions, which often include the children.
Number two:
Women are less confident than men when it comes to money.
Number three:
The investment industry is still predominantly made up of men.
Women need to be more present with the big decisions and be more confident in making investment decisions. Many women simply say that their husbands created an investment and they handle it. It's their investment. It's a bit of a brain drain, but on the other hand, a woman often leans on a man so heavily in financial situations and it's time for us to blaze our trail and get out there.
The finance world is quite male-dominated. Articles after articles are written by men. Women are rarely ever seen and we need some diversification and some women's voices in the financial industry. Women have to be more present and more engaged. In our day-to-day lives, you don’t have to become financial experts but be present when important documents are signed, speaking up when you are sitting in a room and are being neglected or someone's going over your head.
Asking questions is important, especially when you don’t understand something. You have to overcome the stress of staying quiet out of fear of embarrassment. Asking questions is important because you won’t make a poor decision in the end. Ask follow-up questions even if people don’t know the answers. With each uncomfortable situation you overcome, you gain the confidence to ask questions without getting embarrassed. This confidence also comes from stepping into understanding who you are, knowing what you want, and being prepared.
It is always intimidating entering a room where it seems like everyone else knows the lingo and the topic of conversation while you know nothing about it. This is normal. A great way to navigate through situations like this is being clear from the start, accepting that you don’t understand anything, vocalizing it but promising yourself to learn by starting at point A and diligently going through to point Z.
So how can you comfortably and confidently ask questions, despite some of the judging looks you may receive?
A great way is to do it conversationally. Start a conversation and draw all those concerns and thoughts out. Sunny and I have emphasized this in the past as well, going prepared is key. This preparation can include all sorts of questions, even questions asking about what a particular word or term means. No question is a dumb question. This preparation is important because it also helps you pick the right professional to work with whether you are looking to start with understanding finances from scratch or already know a bit and are looking for guidance on setting up a good plan. When you go prepared, you must keep in mind if the professional you are interviewing is hearing you, and listening to you. Of course, you do not need to have the exact questions prepared, but knowing your situation and having some questions prepared can aid the professional in guiding the conversation better and getting the information they need to help you.
We only know what we know. We don't know what we don't know. So if you want to become financially independent, you want to understand your finances, you don't know much about it right now, if you're not feeling the confidence that you think you should be feeling when you meet with an expert such as Sunny to have that first conversation, you're wrong. Make the call, have the conversation, and you will move one step at a time forward. And you will create the financial freedom that you deserve in your life.
Furthermore, I've created a free mini-course to help you get the clarity you need in this process.
So remember, you are worthy, you are loved, and you belong.
Wendy
xoxo
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