How women answer 5 questions may be a financial wake-up call, personal finance expert Suze Orman says

Suze Orman at the end of each episode of her show closes with the statement, “first people, then money, then things.”

The women interpreted that to mean giving to other people and being generous, according to Orman. In contrast, men interpreted it as meaning they should put themselves first.

There is a difference between how men and women manage their finances, Orman mentioned in an interview.

Orman said, sometimes women can be their own enemies.

Whether or not one takes control of their money will have big consequences in the future, she added.

“You will never be a woman who owns the power to control her destiny unless you have power over how you think, feel, and act with your money- how you save it, how you invest it, and how you spend it,” Orman said.

“And none of you should be dependent on anybody else other than yourself,” she said.

Using her “Women & Money” podcast, Orman has been trying to communicate this message. According to Orman, the show has a “tremendous” male following due to its tagline “and everybody smart enough to listen.”

However most of the audience and listeners are old women of age 60 and above, who have no one to go to, she said.

The main reason for these women leaning towards this is the deaths of their spouses, Orman said.

This is the very point where these women realize how in the dark these women are living in when it comes to their personal finance as their spouse used to handle their finances, she added.

After talking to thousands of women over years, Orman says.

To start with in the first place women can strengthen their relationship with money by starting to save.

“There has been a time more important for an emergency savings account since 2008 than there is right now,” Orman said.

A recent survey claimed that only 24% of women say that they can pay for any emergency that comes up suddenly and which is unexpected.

Men who state the same are 41%.

The number of women with personal savings has decreased by 64% in the past year, compared to 43% of men.

By asking themselves these five questions, women can determine how well they understand their personal finances.

• Do they know what their mortgage interest rate is if they own a home?
• Your savings account currently has a rate of interest, do you know what it is?
• Does the brokerage firm insure the money you invested?
• 401(k) plans are protected, but do you know if yours is?
• Have you ever wondered what your 401(k) or other retirement plan is invested in?

If the answers to these questions are unknown, it is an indication and a wake-up call for one towards their finances.

- Published By Team Nation Press News