I have lost track of just how many women have said to me: “Oh, I just can’t get interested in any of that money stuff… he does all that”. That attitude allows everything from a power imbalance in a relationship, all the way through to financial abuse, where a woman can essentially be held captive by her lack of means.
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The attitude is easily perpetuated between generations, too. Recall those utterances at the beginning of this column?
Instead, I teach our young women in high schools a simple money lesson: they must have their WITs about them. Here’s how it goes:
W – you are worth it. It’s crucial to start here. You deserve the best – to be treated well, to get opportunities you have earned and to be paid accordingly. Just like a man – yet there remains a 14 per cent gender pay gap.
I – This stands for both be independant and invest. You should never abdicate responsibility for your future. There is no reason to expect that a man is any good at “money stuff” either! Secure your best life… yourself. And the way you do that is by starting to save and invest early.
T – Target goals. Money is for spending, just not all at once. It is for spending on those big, beautiful things that are going to make your life happier.
The WITs acronym sorts out the “attitude” to money. Nobody should then need too much “aptitude”.
You can watch the Women’s Work documentary. The first episode, entitled Women’s Worry, can be found at womenswork.org.au
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
