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Study Says Women Stress More Than Men About Money

Study Says Women Stress More Than Men About Money

Kiwi women are more likely to be kept awake stressing over their finances than men, new research shows.

1 November 2021

A study by Perceptive Research showed 41 per cent of women reported being kept awake at night occasionally or often by money worries, compared to 35 per cent of men.

The research shows most Kiwi women (67 per cent) are eager to learn more about their personal finances, and 76 per cent say they have good or excellent finances.

Hazel Phillips, the spokeswoman from Creditsimple.co.nz, the company that commissioned the research, says in a press release the trick is for women to build on their position now so their long-term financial outlook is rosy.

“Women have traditionally been good at short-term financial planning – managing the household budget and making sure the bills are paid on time,” Phillips says.

“However, they’ve not been so great at planning for the long term. Small steps, taken early, can make a huge difference over time. Things like sacrificing one takeaway coffee a day and putting the money in a high-interest account will all add up.”

Lynda Moore, accountant and co-founder of the Money Mentalist, says that in relationships, money and finances should be a shared role.

She wasn’t surprised at the results that more women were kept awake at night by money worries than men.

“Generally, it’s the woman who is worried about it. Part of that is because they have the perception they either don’t know or aren’t good with money.”

They could also be busy focusing on their children and family, and don’t think about whether they have enough money saved for retirement, Moore says.

However, there were a lot of women who were “incredibly confident and competent with money”.

Her best advice for a woman wanting to learn more about her finances was to “take a deep breath, open up internet banking, and look at the numbers”.

Analyse your transactions for a month, and calculate if you were spending more than you earn, she says.

“That’s a really good starting point, because that will give you the confidence to either say, ‘I’m overspending’, or ‘I’ve got some surplus’.”

The study surveyed 1005 people in February.

By Claire Connell

First Published 5 March 2018

The editorial below reflects the views of the editorial contributor only and content may be out of date. This article is sourced from a previous JUNO issue. JUNO’s content comes from sources that it considers accurate, but we do not guarantee that the content is accurate. Charts are visually indicative only. JUNO does not contain financial advice as defined by the Financial Advisers Act 2008. Consult a suitably qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.


Informed Investor's content comes from sources that Informed Investor magazine considers accurate, but we do not guarantee its accuracy. Charts in Informed Investor are visually indicative, not exact. The content of Informed Investor is intended as general information only, and you use it at your own risk.

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