WOMEN AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Nearly four-in-10 (38%) Canadian women admit they know “very little” about finance and investment according to the national Financial Independence survey commissioned by the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) in time for International Women’s Day (March 8).
The Leger poll asked 1,000 Canadian women about the struggles they face when it comes to feeling financially empowered.
The survey found nearly nine-in-ten (86%) Canadian women have at least one struggle when it comes to their finances, including the following:
Nearly four-in-10 (38%) say they know “very little” about finance and investment
Nearly three-in-10 (28%) are dependent on a partner or someone else to make ends meet financially
These numbers show that women still have a long way to go in terms of their comfort and understanding in regard to financial matters. It’s a wakeup call and an opportunity to seek education, grow in effectiveness and lay claim to our financial independence.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE SURVEY’S OTHER STANDOUT FINDINGS:
Single women are significantly more likely than their married counterparts to admit they know very little about issues related to finance and investment (47% vs. 35% of married women)
Nearly four-in-ten (38%) women feel uncomfortable negotiating a better interest rate
16% of women leave the management of household finances and investments to their partner
34 percent have more debt (outside of real estate) than savings
19 percent of women do not keep track of their spending
Of all the women polled, over half (56%) do not have a written financial plan (stunningly, 60% of those aged 45-54 don’t have a plan), while 42 percent do not know their credit score.
ABOUT THE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE SURVEY
An online survey of 1,000 Canadian women was completed between Feb 12-15, 2018, using Leger’s online panel, LegerWeb. The margin of error for this study was +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20. Leger’s online panel has approximately 400,000 members nationally and has a retention rate of 90%.
Discipline is what it takes to block out the noise, commitment is what it takes to walk the path to financial success and patience is what it takes to reach the goal.