On this episode of How To Money, Matt and Joel break down several studies and statistics that point out the different ways men and women handle money, and what we can all learn from the stereotypical patterns of spending, saving, and investing that can be found. For example, a common narrative is that women are more likely to max out a credit card blowing through an outlet mall, but one study showed that women are actually 7% less likely to max out a credit card than men. Surprisingly, though women enjoy shopping more overall, men spend more money each year – likely because they don’t find it enjoyable to hunt around for the best deals or wait for a sale. However, men are more confident about investing and much more likely to negotiate a higher salary or pay raise than women. Armed with this kind of data, anyone of any gender can start making smarter money moves as we spot our own tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses when it comes to personal finance.
The Covid pandemic impacted everyone, of course, but women have been leaving the workforce at more than four times the rate of men, primarily to focus on childcare. Unfortunately, leaving the workforce for any reason can lead to upwards of $150,000 in lost wealth over the years, since employment gaps affect job prospects, career mobility, and pay rates. And in 2019, studies found that women were still making 85% of what men were paid for the same job – a smaller wage gap than in past years, but still a considerable obstacle. These things matter because though statistics show that women save more of their income than men, they also generally have less in their savings accounts than men do. And since women live, on average, five years longer than men, they have to plan for a longer lifespan and a longer retirement on that smaller nest egg.
Women are also less interested, or enamored with, investing, the guys tell us – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Men have a lot more confidence when it comes to investing, but sometimes that causes them to mess with their portfolio too much and make too many trades. That means they get hit with big tax consequences and fees, so all that confidence could actually lead to poorer performance. Women, on the other hand, often don’t start investing at all, preferring to let the money sit in a savings account. The financial security of a ready-to-hand emergency fund is important for anyone of any gender, but long-term investing is the only way to age comfortably. Listen to this episode for all this great information and much more on How To Money.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
Photo: Getty Images