12 financial tips for women

While neither gender has an exclusive lock on money management skills, the financial deck is stacked against women. They earn about three-quarters of what men make. In a divorce, they get less of the assets and more of the children.

They live longer, and one in eight elderly women lives in poverty, compared to one in 12 men, according to 2003 figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Unfortunately, many women view money and money-related tasks as necessary evils, not opportunities to even the odds.

"A lot of women believe that wealth is a four-letter word," says Ginita Wall, CPA and co-author of "It's More Than Your Money -- It's Your Life!" "They are particularly afraid of the negative reputation that wealth has -- power, greed, corrupt connotations."

Fortunately, there are steps that a woman can take to improve her financial future:

1. Set a financial goal. Women "have a very complex relationship with money," says Lois P. Frankel, author of "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich." "As such, we don't think accumulated wealth is important. And what you focus on is what you get."

After all, women set other goals. "There's not a woman on the face of this earth who can't tell you what she wants the scale to read when she gets on it."

But a woman doesn't have a magic number in mind "in terms of what she's putting away every year," says Frankel.

2. Train yourself to be financially independent. If you bank on Prince Charming, you're in trouble. "All marriages end eventually, either through death or divorce," says Wall. "And it's usually the woman left behind."

While women are the ones who handle most of the day-to-day finances, the majority of women leave long-term financial planning to their husbands. Mistake.

"Always be aware of the finances, even if your husband is handling the money," says Wall. "Be aware of what's happening. Stay involved."

Frankel agrees. "Go to the meetings with the financial planner, read through the statements that come in." Get an idea of exactly how much is coming in, where it's going and what the two of you are saving or investing for specific future goals.

3. Buy your own home. Women need to buy that first house as soon as they can, says Frankel. "Too many women have this vision of Prince Charming carrying them over the threshold," she says.

But a first house "will likely be the best investment you make in your future," Frankel says.

4. Fund your retirement account. For younger women, retirement seems eons away. For those nearing retirement age, it seems impossible to catch up. Investigate your employer's retirement plan, and put in as much as you can -- especially if your company matches funds. "When you don't participate in a matching program, you are giving away free money," says Frankel.

5. Opt for long-term planning over crisis management. "Women, especially, do not get serious about money until they lose a job, lose a spouse or are near retirement," says Barbara Stanny, author of "Secrets of Six-Figure Women."

For her book, Stanny interviewed women earning between $100,000 and $7 million annually. "The biggest surprise I had, bar none, was how few of these women were wealthy," she says. Many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, but at a higher level than their middle-income counterparts. 


6. Start investing. Both women and men procrastinate when it comes to investing, says Wall, co-founder of the Women's Institute for Financial Education. But while men procrastinate because they have something they'd rather be doing, women tend to put off investing because they are afraid of making a mistake, says Wall. "They want to know the exact right thing to do," she says. Instead, "the solution is to at least start in small steps to move forward."

Do some research, work with small amounts at a time and get started, she says.

7. Don't fear risk. When it comes to money, sometimes playing it safe isn't safe or smart, says Wall. "If you're investing in guaranteed income funds, you're not even going to keep up with inflation and taxes," she says.

"Women look at money as a lake," perceiving it as a finite resource, says Liz Perle, author of "Money, A Memoir." "Men look at it as a river, constantly renewing." Consequently, "women are afraid to risk."

Instead, start learning about what you fear. Resolve to learn one new financial fact every day. "Get more informed," says Wall. "And start taking some risks, even if it's just a little bit. If you've got all your money in CDs, start investing a little bit every month -- maybe even in a (stock) index fund."

At the same time, "one rule of investing is you never put money into something you don't understand," says Stanny. If you do, "you won't know how to evaluate the information that people are giving you."

8. Don't go it alone. Women who will join a group or hire a trainer to get in shape think they have to tackle their money problems solo. They don't.

"The women I've interviewed with the highest net worth, the most financially secure, are the ones who work with financial professionals," says Stanny.

Start with a CPA or fee-based financial planner "to find out what your whole situation really is," says Stanny. "Get out of vagueness and denial."

9. Get emotional support, if you need it. When dealing with difficult financial issues, "that's when we most need support," Stanny says. And just as there are groups to help with weight loss or other high-stress challenges, there are groups to help with money issues, whether it's an investment club or Debtor's Anonymous. Just find "somewhere where there are other people and you can feel that support," says Stanny.

"We don't talk about money with each other," says Wall. "God knows there are clubs for everything else."

10. Be more confident in salary negotiations. "What I've found is that women, especially, devalue ourselves," says Stanny. "We give away our time, our knowledge, our skills, for free or bargain prices because we don't believe we're worth more."

In addition, many women believe that if they just do an outstanding job, the paycheck will reflect that. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that.

The lesson: bargain at the beginning. Unless you get a giant promotion or an offer from a competing firm, you may not have that kind of power again.

"Men will compare salary negotiation to a good ball game," Perle says. "Women will say it's like going to the dentist."

11. Venture out of your financial comfort zone. Whether that means saving for your retirement instead of your kid's college education or asking the boss for a raise, be willing to put yourself first for a change. "The reason more women are not a financial success is they don't want to be uncomfortable," says Stanny. "Every time you deviate from the norm, any time you do something you're not used to doing -- ask for a raise, buy some stock -- it will feel uncomfortable."

12. Know that it's never too late. "The mistake is we often learn too late," says Stanny. "But it's never too late." She's talked with women who didn't start investing until they were in their 70s and 80s, she says. "But they started."