Importance of financial wellness for women

One of the challenges of being a single woman can be financial wellness. Two people can make expenses easier, and historically, men have been responsible for finances. 

Interestingly, according to a new survey, single women and older women tend to enjoy better financial wellness – partly because they’re more likely to seek financial advice. 

HomeEquity Bank, which surveyed women through a self-reported questionnaire, said women who are solely responsible for their money have higher financial wellness scores than women with families.

Three-fifths of single women had scores of 60 or higher (a score of 14 is the lowest and 95 is the highest) compared to 41 per cent of women who live with family. Similarly, more than 63 per cent of older women reported financial wellness scores of 60 or higher compared to 46 per cent of younger women. 

For both older women and single women, the results indicate they’re more likely to seek financial advice than their counterparts of the same sex. 

Even if you have a partner, Pattie Lovett-Reid, chief financial commentator at HomeEquity, encourages women to take an active role: “Traditionally, it’s been easy for women to ‘abdicate’ their role in taking on any financial responsibilities in a relationship, but because they have higher longevity than men, it’s important to take a leading role.” 

She adds, “We can’t afford to abdicate responsibility to anyone at any point in our life and the reason I believe that is that no one’s going to care more about my financial future than me.”

Single and partnered ladies, take good care of yourself – and your financial future.