Women make important financial decisions every single day: We’re managing household budgets, weighing competing priorities, saving for retirement, making decisions about housing and healthcare, and thinking about what our families will need next week — and next year!
Yet oftentimes we just don’t give ourselves credit for being “good with money.”
But what if we recognized our financial strengths for exactly what they are?
That’s one of the ideas at the heart of FourLeaf Federal Credit Union’s Money Like A Woman movement — and the conversation HerMoney CEO Jean Chatzky recently had with FourLeaf President and CEO Linda Armyn on a special episode of the HerMoney Podcast.
Because when we look beyond how women feel about money and examine how we actually behave, there’s a lot to celebrate. And it’s time we talked about it.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FOURLEAF’S MONEY LIKE A WOMAN MOVEMENT HERE!
Pillar 1: Build Financial Confidence & Independence
Armyn says she’s heard these same five words from women time and again: “I’m not good with money.”
Her response? Tell me more. Because when you start looking at what women are actually doing every day, a very different picture often emerges.
Maybe you’re deciding how much house your family can comfortably afford. Maybe you’re figuring out how to pay for summer camp while continuing to save for retirement, comparing health insurance plans, managing the household budget, or steadily contributing to your 401(k). Those are all very important financial decisions — and there’s a good chance you’re doing them all successfully!
Part of the problem, Armyn says, is that we’ve traditionally defined being “good with money” far too narrowly. We don’t have to be an expert on Wall Street — we just need consistency. And many of the habits women may dismiss as “boring” (saving slowly over time, trading less frequently, staying invested for the long haul, etc.) are actually some of the keys to financial success.
Jean suggests a simple way to start closing the gap between how you feel about money and what the facts say: Look at your numbers. Take a regular tour through your accounts. Watch your retirement balance grow. Look at the emergency fund you’ve built and compare it with where you were a year ago.
In other words, give yourself credit for what’s working. Because financial confidence is something you can build by simply recognizing the good decisions you’re already making — and then making more of them.
Pillar 2: Spend, Borrow & Plan With Intention
Every dollar we earn comes with a choice. We can spend it today, save it for tomorrow, invest it for retirement, use it to pay down debt — the list goes on. None of those choices is inherently “good” or “bad.” What matters is that we’re making those decisions intentionally, with an eye towards what we want our futures to look like.
That means looking beyond just the price tag in front of us. (For example, we have to consider if we can afford the monthly car payment and still make progress towards saving for college… Or if we’re borrowing, we need to understand the total amount of interest we’ll eventually be paying.)
Armyn says women are already doing this kind of thinking every day. We’re constantly planning ahead, weighing competing priorities, asking questions, and figuring out how today’s decisions will affect everything else on the list.
Armyn says she remembers attending a women’s investing seminar decades ago where the speaker opened by asking the women in the audience how many pairs of black shoes they really needed…The implication was that if women would just stop spending so much, perhaps we’d be better with money.
Armyn rejected that message then, and she rejects it now. (If 10 pairs of black shoes make you happy and they fit comfortably into your financial life, that’s your choice!) It’s your money, and the goal is to make sure your choices are helping you build the life you actually want.
Spending, borrowing, and planning with intention means knowing where your money is going, understanding the tradeoffs you’re making, and making sure today’s choices are working hand-in-hand with tomorrow’s goals.
Pillar 3: Build & Grow Wealth
You may hear “generational wealth” and think you need to start with an enormous amount of money…That’s not true! It can start with a small 401(k) contribution, or a contribution of a few hundred dollars into an IRA after you get a raise. Essentially, it all comes down to putting aside a small amount of money consistently over time that will eventually become something much bigger.
And that word — consistently — matters. Building wealth usually isn’t about making one brilliant investment or picking the next hot stock. It’s much less exciting than that — and that’s a good thing! It’s contributing to our retirement accounts paycheck after paycheck. It’s investing automatically every month. It’s increasing those contributions when we get a raise. And it’s giving our money enough time to grow.
In fact, one of the most powerful things we can do is make saving and investing so routine that we barely have to think about it. When money automatically moves into a 401(k), IRA, or investment account, we’re building wealth before we have the chance to spend those dollars elsewhere. And as our incomes rise, we can gradually increase the amount we’re putting away without feeling like we’re suddenly making some enormous sacrifice.
Pillar 4: Protect What Matters
Emergency funds. Insurance. Wills. Estate planning. Fraud prevention… These are the parts of financial planning that almost nobody “loves” talking about. But protection isn’t pessimism — it’s planning. And planning things that make life easier for the people you love is a form of love!
For Armyn, this one is personal. She lost her father when he was just 42. Her mother was 40, her sister was 16, and Armyn herself was only 23 and just out of college. Her father had life insurance and had planned for the unexpected. That preparation meant his family was financially okay after an event that changed their lives. That’s exactly what protection is supposed to do.
In today’s world, protecting what matters also means protecting yourself from fraud. Armyn shared her own encounter with an extremely convincing fraudster who knew enough about her whereabouts and financial life to make her briefly question what she knew… Scammers have more technology than ever at their disposal, which is why it’s so important to verify every text or email before clicking, to hang up rather than staying on the line if an “urgent” financial call comes in, and to call your financial institution yourself (using a number you know is legitimate) if anything ever feels off.
Pillar 5: Strengthen Your Financial Community
Money was never meant to be a solo journey. During some of FourLeaf’s research, Armyn says the importance that women place on community came through again and again. Women wanted to help the people around them, share what they knew, and learn from one another.
Unfortunately, many of us grew up being taught that talking about money was “impolite” or that we shouldn’t share a financial story with friends.
And, no, you don’t have to start announcing your net worth at dinner. But you can talk about the raise you negotiated, or what you learned from an investment that didn’t work out.
Armyn already sees signs that younger generations are doing this. She shares that her own adult children talk with their friends about credit card rewards, and where they’re getting the best rates on their savings. And we love to see it, because that’s financial community in action!
Money Like A Woman — Whatever Your Gender
What does it really mean to Money Like A Woman? Be curious. Ask questions. Think long term. Make deliberate choices. Prepare for the unexpected. Share what you’ve learned.
As Armyn explains, the ultimate goal is for “anyone and everyone” to be able to Money Like A Woman, regardless of gender.
And the next time you catch yourself saying, I’m just not good with money, stop for a second. Look at everything you’re already managing and challenge yourself to acknowledge that you may be doing a whole lot better at this than you think.
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