Whether you’re managing the household full-time or somehow balancing it as your second job, the role of the family’s CFO can range from navigating vacation planning to reviewing asset allocations of your retirement savings. All this can provide vast fulfillment and/or vast exhaustion.
Women as household CFO is nothing new, but it has evolved spectacularly. Episodes of I Love Lucy often show Ricky and Lucy’s conversations about her role in maintaining the budget and her monthly allowance. These days, just over half—51% of women–say they control the family’s finances. Even more (53%) are responsible for saving and investing. Breadwinner women —around 37% of women in the US—are also taking on a larger role in making sure their household runs smoothly on all fronts. That includes making significant inroads into the stock market.
Harnessing Your Confidence
Generally speaking, women approach investing much differently than men, starting from their outlook. Women tend to look at investing as a way to produce a certain desired result – like getting Billy through college or ensuring the family has a vacation home for lifelong memories, while men tend to invest simply to see their money grow.
Where does confidence come in? There’s been a ton of research on the topic of women and confidence. One of our favorites is The Confidence Code, by Katty Kay. In her research, she outlines how women are generally less naturally confident than men. Where women want to be 100% prepared before jumping in, men tend to jump right in even if they are unprepared. At Treehouse, we don’t view this as a gap in confidence, but rather as an opportunity to help you have the information you need to feel confident in your financial decisions. After all, as your family’s CFO, you have great power, and we all know that with great power comes great responsibility. It’s your family’s future after all.
So, What Does This Mean for You and Your Family?
Let’s face it, you’re educated and empowered to make things happen. Women’s enrollment in business schools has skyrocketed, with more than half of schools in the US having 40% or more women enrolled. These women then move into corporate America, where they are exposed to at least some finance and accounting, which they then use in their household financial work. Meaning that your financial knowledge crosses over from home to work and vice versa. This increased knowledge can have myriad benefits. Whether women learn finance and accounting skills in the classroom or by themselves, their skills can be invaluable to your families. Women as a collective have gone from managing their allowance to managing their family’s organization – education planning, health care, retirement, real estate, and more. The list goes on and on. Managing your house can feel like managing Google. There’s so much to consider.
Bottom Line
You are more informed than ever and taking control of your finances. Through increased research, education, and investing, women are building the nest eggs of their families with confidence.
Make a Seamless Transition with Treehouse Wealth Advisors
At Treehouse Wealth Advisors, our clients’ best interest is our top priority—always. We specialize in providing our clients advice on retirement plans, investment management, and other topics vital to the long-term financial success of you and your family. We know that life is a series of unwritten chapters that unfold with each turn of the page and that the best-written plans change with time – sometimes planned and sometimes not. That’s why we continually revisit what’s most important and the impact of your life events. No matter your financial goals, we’re prepared to help you create the life you’ve always envisioned for yourself and your loved ones.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for a second opinion!
Sources:
- https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-5/spending-patterns-of-older-americans.htm
- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/08/4-ways-real-estate-can-boost-your-retirement-income.html
- https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/managing-cash-flow
- https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2019/demo/wealth/state-wealth-asset-ownership.html
- https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
- https://www.fedweek.com/retirement-financial-planning/most-retirees-never-move-to-new-home-study-finds/
