Twenty-three-year-old Sarah Kelsey says women have a confidence problem when it comes to their personal finances.
“Ultimately if you have low confidence, you worry more about all the ‘unknowns’ which can put women in a very isolating place and stop them from reaching out and having conversations, causing the stigma around money we still see today,” Kelsey said.
Her comments come after a new survey from the Financial Services Council (FSC) found 80 per cent of women rated their financial wellbeing as below moderate.
More than 60 per cent worried about money daily, weekly or monthly and more than 60 per cent did not feel prepared for retirement.
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Kelsey runs the OneUp Project, a podcast breaking down everything she thinks we should have been taught at school but were not.
Her podcast includes money, career, business, housing and mental health advice from industry experts, leaders, creatives and professionals.
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Women aged 18 to 29 worry the most about money, with money worries decreasing with age, the report found.
Kelsey said, for many women, their biggest financial challenge was one of mindset.
She had seen that for many women the first step into investing – which can make a big difference to financial outcomes, – was scary.
“They still see it as extremely risky,” she said.
“That’s a really huge misconception of investing for long-term wealth.”
Women aged 18 to 29 worried the most about money, the survey showed, with money worries decreasing with age. Financial wellbeing had a big influence on the overall wellbeing of about a third of women in the 30 to 59 demographic.
More than 80 per cent of women rated their financial wellbeing moderate, low or very low.
Stats NZ data shows the country’s gender pay gap is at 9.1 per cent and ASB research shows women’s KiwiSaver balances are 12 per cent lower than men’s, on average.
Catherine Emerson, …….
