Mother Knows Best When it Comes to Finances

“Father knows best” is the old adage that we’ve all heard. But in today’s modern world, that may be a bit of an old fashioned relic when it comes to finances among other things.

Parents mold their children’s views based on their own life experience. Lessons are passed down to the next generation in the hope that they’ll grow and learn and do better in life. When it comes to money, however, it seems that Mother is a more influential figure.

A recent study by The National Financial Educators Council revealed that Americans considered their mothers to have taught them more about money and personal finances than their fathers. Although it should be noted that almost half of the respondents selected “Neither” as an option. 

The old paradigm of raising children and supporting them until they’re 18, doesn’t always apply nowadays. A lot of adult children are relying on their parents financially. In fact, over 30% of the nation’s young adults ages 18 to 31—the Millennial generation—are still living in their parents’ home. 

Also, gender roles in today’s society have shifted dramatically. As an example, there are some 1.4 million stay at home dads in America.  That’s quite different from the perfect 1950s picture of the American family.

Women now comprise 47% of the total U.S. labor force and were projected to account for 51% of the increase in total labor force growth in 2018. 

But despite the growing number of women who are economically independent, the gap between men and women is still evident partly due to the fact that a large proportion of women work shorter hours or stop working altogether once they become mothers.

And considering that mothers are a force of influence on their children and how they manage their money, it is interesting to look at that through the lens of financial literacy in women as a whole.

Women have significantly lower rates of financial literacy than men. They are three times as likely as men to say they can’t afford to save for retirement.  One in three Americans have no retirement savings at all. [Many women do not have the savings they need in order to maintain their lifestyles through their retirement years. Women also make up the majority of caregivers, and are three times more likely than men to quit their jobs to care for a family member.

Generally speaking, women earn less, save less, and live longer, but their dollars still have the same buying power and their bills aren't any less. Since they live longer, they face additional costs, including more long-term and overall health care expenses. Overcoming these obstacles demands serious dedication to planning and an absolute necessity for knowledge of basic personal finance and management.

Learning how to increase earnings and make use of available resources to the fullest potential can help you make the most of paychecks and approach financial choices with confidence. And raising kids who are financially savvy and independent will save you a small fortune as the years go by.

 

 

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