A Woman’s Worth
Can you believe that it was only 1975 that the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced and up until this point, it was still legal for banks to refuse women a mortgage without a MALE guarantor? Like WTAF?
I own my own home. I bought it, I paid for it. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to ask permission to have a roof over my head.
But it is still the case, that we women are not taking responsibility for our financial wellbeing. It’s a fact! And one which needs to change.
As a country which seems so far ahead of itself in many ways, when it comes to female investing, the UK stats stack up poorly. We share 8th lowest joint place alongside Canada, India, Portugal and Turkey. And that ain’t nothing to be proud of.
And there’s more…..
According to Addidi, in the UK, only 10% of women have stocks and shares ISA, compared to 17% men.
7% of women hold other investments or unit trusts. Guess what? The figure for men is twice this at 14%.
Looking at the bigger (global) picture and the stats are sadly quite similar. The Global split of female investors looks a little like this……76% male and 24% female.
Giiiiirl, this NEEDS to change.
Because it’s never just about the money. It’s about the freedom it gives you. It’s about choices and the ability to live life as you want to. It’s about getting you to a point where you feel confident to make those life changing, transformative decisions that lead to incredible, wonderful things.
It’s been established that women are bloody brilliant at saving. Around half of women in the UK saved money in the year up to March 2021, but LESS THAN one in ten intended to invest it!
But my goodness, we need to get better at the investing part.
And anyway, who said men were better at, or make better investors? Sure, there are brilliant male and female investors. There’s no doubt about that, but why are we, as women holding ourselves back from making some serious investment moves?
Well…..
A third of women say that they don’t invest because they don’t know enough about it. YouGov showed men express more confidence and knowledge around investing in comparison to women who felt they lacked.
Some say it’s because the financial and property sector is overwhelmingly male dominated and the sales approach just puts women off. Yep, I’ve been there.
Men and women are different and what works for men isn’t necessarily going to work for you.
Women are more risk adverse than men. Women think differently or have a different attitude to money in the way that they prioritise it.
Men don’t have the same thought process as women. We, by nature, are more nurturing with financial security nearing the top of the list so we can protect our families, our children, so our desire for high risk investment is lower. Maybe this is the disconnect. Not always, but sometimes.
Then there’s the gender pay gap (I’ll save this for another day), but less disposable income means less money to invest.
And have societal expectations, learnt behaviour from our parents also influenced our decision making too when it comes to investing?
A lot of us have grown up in family units where our Dad’s were the breadwinners, the ones who looked after the family financially. And we grew up, on some level, believing we needed to marry someone who could do the same.
Me? I much prefer the meme, ‘become the CEO your parents wanted you to marry.’
I’m not by any means adverse to the happily ever after fairy tale. I still want that, but with my equal. I will always retain my financial independence and freedom. For me personally, it allows us to have relationships we want, not need. The thing is, we cannot rely on anyone else to provide for us, either now or in the future.
I’m living proof of that. Got married, did the family thing, thought I was safe and secure, set up for a lovely life and then….it. just. disappeared. Almost overnight. And it cost me almost everything I had.
But where would I have been if I didn’t have financial independence? Stuck in an unhealthy relationship, dimming a light which I know is meant to shine bright in this world?
We have to use our brilliance, our natural desire to nurture those around us, to give ourselves a dose of self-love and prioritise our financial wellbeing because these qualities (our super powers) actually make us better investors.
Because we are more long term focused, more diligent in our attitude to research (often leading to better Return on Investment), it has been historically proven that we as women have a better approach to building wealth.
Thankfully, things are shifting and changing for the better. The number of female investors is increasing year on year. In 2020, the number rose by 354% (saxo markets)…in comparison to male investors with an increase of 288%.
Good old Covid also led to a change in attitude towards money and our priorities. Nutmog details that 41% of women felt the pandemic encouraged them to think differently about financial planning.
But, there is more work to be done.
So let’s start stepping into our power, harnessing our magic within, having more faith than fear and take action.
You are brilliant, you are capable and you can achieve anything you want. I truly believe that. I also believe that if women took a stand, leant in, elevated and lead, the world would be a better place. Just my opinion.
Part of the reason I created Property Girl was because I know the importance of being financially independent. It took me a long time, a bad relationship and a costly divorce to truly understand the importance of my own financial independence and freedom.
I realised it gave me options and an ability to make better decisions for myself and my little girl. I’d dimmed my light, sacrificed my own desires to please others, but it didn’t make me happy. But being able to live my life as I want to without asking for someone else’s say so is powerful, and liberating.
Investing in property is investing with purpose, and that is a vibe I can get down with. It transforms multiple lives, if it’s done well, and property, well, it’s my jam, my passion, my secondary love (after Nola).
And I want to help, support and guide you to avoid the life mistakes I made, to start building those foundations to set you on a path for a very different, but rewarding future. To remind you that you are an incredible badass of a woman who can do anything she puts her gorgeous mind to.
Let’s do better for ourselves.
So let me leave you with this?
Have you thought about your financial freedom and what it means to you?
Do you want to and can you rely on others for your financial security?
Do you want to ask for permission to do the things you love? Or just to be able to do it?
Do you want to start creating the future YOU DESERVE?
Are you ready to invest in you? Are you ready to invest in your future? Take a look at Decoding Buy to Let; The Fabulous Female Way.
This is the Buy to Let Basics Bootcamp, designed just for you. My tested process is now your blueprint. I’ll show you how to get your financial ducks in a row, establish who your dream tenant is, find the perfect property and check its real estate gold, talk mortgages and soooo much more.
Get ready to learn, get super confident and take action and make those property dreams a reality.
Remember, it’s not just about buying the car, the house, the holiday. Well, it is, but it’s more about how it makes you feel. Buying the thing is a transaction. How it makes you feel is the magical bit, because this is what transforms you, the confidence it instils, the elevation of you, your life, your self-worth and everything that feeds into it.
