The Facts Of Life - What Every Woman Should Know About Money (Updated)

Article Title: The Facts of Life - What Every Woman Should Know about Money (Updated)
Author: Craig Lock
Category/Key words: Money, Finance, Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Money Management
Other Articles: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles.html

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We hope nthat the following article (formatted to 65 characters) may be ninformative and helpful to your e-zine readers, or on your web nsite. If it helps others "out there" in any way, then we're nhappy. This article (as with all my articles) may be freely npublished, electronically or in print. n
"We share what we know, nso that you and your money may grow." n n *
THE FACTS OF LIFE -
WHAT EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MONEY (WHETHER MARRIED OR SINGLE) n
How to make the most of your money...

"Money can't buy you happiness. But it helps you to be miserable in comfort." n n# FACT ONE: MOST OF THE FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN IN LATER LIFE IS DUE TO SOMEONE REFUSING TO
FACE FACTS EARLY ON. These days there is no need for any woman nto spend the second half of her life with a lower standard of nliving. Yet many still do. This is because they continually ndefer the decision to do something about preparing for their nfinancial future until it is too late. In some instances it is nbecause a woman doesn't know exactly what financial provision nhas been made for her, or feels awkward asking. Or maybe she ndoesn't marry, in which case she MUST provide for herself, but nfails to do so. When you are young, healthy and enjoying life, nit seems unnecessary to be thinking of putting something aside nand there is always something else to spend the money on. With ngood luck of course you may never need to bother. But trusting nin luck is no way to provide for your future, how often has luck nlet you down in the past? Life, as 'they' (who is 'they'?) say, is what happens to you while you are making plans to do nsomething else. (Think it was John Lennon who uttered those wise nwords.) So it is better to make provision for the unexpected, because the older you get, the more the unexpected happens. nn# FACT TWO: WOMEN NEED TO PREPARE FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE JUST
AS MUCH AS MEN DO.
These days one does not hear so much about nthe "family breadwinner, "largely because so many women either nprovide for themselves or make a substantial contribution to the
FAMILY INCOME. But what happens if your husband dies and his nincome dies with him? Suddenly you are prevented from working.
All to often the result is a dramatic fall in the family's nstandard of living and in their quality of life. And this happens njust at the time creature comforts are most needed to soften the nblow. No amount of money can bring back a loved one, but quite nsmall amounts set aside regularly can make the difference nbetween sadness and absolute despair for you and your children. n The only way to be sure you can cope is to do something about nit yourself-- to make sure you are adequately provided for. nn# FACT THREE: THREE OUT OF FOUR WOMEN HAVE NO PERSONAL SAVINGS.
Women are natural savers. Security comes very high on their list nof life's priorities and yet so few have actually managed to nsave anything at all. Others have put aside a little in a nsavings account or building society which is fine for short term nsavings but doesn't really offer a chance for the money to grow ninto a worthwhile sum. Many who have saved watched the demand of nthe early years of marriage swallow up their nest egg and never nhad enough incentive to replace it later on, thinking that neverything would be provided for. n n# FACT FOUR: WOMEN LIVE
LONGER AND SO HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF BEING LEFT ALONE.
On naverage a woman can expect to live longer than a man. For a nmarried woman the implications are obvious but a single woman nwill also face the possibility that later in life she will have nfewer friends and relatives around. In neither case is this a ntime for financial hardship. Some women manage to lead active nand fulfilling lives in their later years even when living nalone. But in the majority of cases these are women who have nmade, or made for them, provision for their financial security. n It is possible to be happy, active and fulfilled on the State nold age pension. But this is not easy... especially these days
Anyway, State Pensions all over the world are being drastically nreduced. The politicians say with an aging population they are nunaffordable (is there such a word?)...but who can ever believe na politician! My advice: Take responsibility for your own nfinancial destiny. Make a commitment to save something out of nyour pay packet. n n# FACT FIVE: ONE MARRIAGE IN THREE ENDS IN
DIVORCE, DESERTION OR SEPARATION
The statistics of the divorce nrate don't always prove that marriage is in a bad state. In many ninstances they prove that women are no longer prepared to put up nwith all that they were asked to endure. "Sorry guys, I'm off!"
Unpleasant as it may be, divorce often comes as a blessing. But nit can never come as anything but a tragedy if the separation nmeans a lowering of standards, having to refuse the family nlittle pleasures they have grown used to. The woman who starts nout to plan her own future is not only able to cope if something nshould happen, but is less likely to have it happen. n n# FACT SIX: THINKING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN DOESN'T MAKE IT HAPPEN.
"It's morbid". "We don't want to think about it." That has been nused as an excuse time and time again. But not thinking about it nwon't prevent it happening. The time has come to be positive.
But taking a hard look now at your situation and doing something nabout it won't be tempting fate. But it will be a positive step ntowards making sure that no matter what life may have in store , ngood or bad, you can rest easy in the knowledge that you can ncope on your own if necessary. And that's a feeling every woman nin the country should get to know. Because without financial nindependence most of the other rights women now have are hardly nworth having. n *
THE FINAL WORD: Whatever you decide to do about nyour financial security, DO SOMETHING. PLAN for the future and nlet financial services products like life assurance work for nyou. They don't have to be such a "drag" or a painful nuisance nto you and your family. One of the greatest human wants is a nfeeling of security... and only life assurance can give you that npeace of mind. As Winston Churchill once said so well: " If I had my way I would write the words 'insure, insure, insure' nabove every household door." Well being an "insurance man" for nso many years, I had to say that!
In my next article we'll have a look at 'How to Buy the
Right Life Assurance for Yourself'. Exciting stuff, eh!

Hope this information has been helpful to you. n
Good luck* n
Eagle Productionsn n "Success is never ending, failure is never final."n- Dr Robert Schulle
n* "luck", as they say, is where npreparedness (is there such a word?) meets opportunity. n
"Believe in yourself and in your dream,
Though impossible things may seem
Someday, somehow you'll get through
To the goal you have in view.
Mountains fall and seas divide,
Before the one who in his stride
Takes a hard road by day
Sweeping obstacles away.
Believe in yourself and in your plan
Say not - I cannot - I can
The prizes of life we fail to win
Because we doubt the power within..." n - anon n
About the Author:
Craig has worked for "many moons" in the financial services industry. He has studied and written extensively on money matters: articles, brochures for financial institutions and books (including money books). nhttp://www.craiglockbooks.com.

Don't worry about the world ending today...nas it's already tomorrow in little scenic and tranquil New Zealand

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