What comes to mind when you think about money? Women tell us.

Women’s top 3 most common responses to ‘what comes to mind when you think about money?’ and how it prompted the creation of our online platform, Ladies Talk Money.

It’s safe to say that one of the worst feelings in this world is the feeling that you’re alone. That gnawing, nagging feeling that you’re on your own and that no one feels like you do. A lot of people, women especially, are feeling alone when it comes to money, as if they’re the only ones who ‘missed the memo’ or the only humans who don’t know how super works, or how to invest, or how to balance a budget. If there’s one thing we know at Ladies Talk Money it’s that: none of us are alone. Not you, not us, not anybody. How do we know that? Well, we asked. And here are the results... 

Back in September 2019, the idea to create a free online platform to tackle the barriers keeping women from achieving true financial equality was just that: an idea. Desperately not wanting to add to the noise and create yet another video series that is supposedly trying to educate people, but is intimidating, inaccessible and full of jargony bullsh*t, we sent out a survey to the self-identifying women in our community asking what their relationship with money was like. We wanted to know what, if anything, was holding women back from having conversations about money and what they wanted to know about their finances but have always been too afraid to ask. 

Much to our delight (and sadness), we were inundated with responses from women aged in the early twenties, right through to their late sixties, sharing their money stories. It became abundantly clear that women were craving conversations about money and are ready to break down this final taboo. So, it was settled. Ladies Talk Money started taking shape, fuelled by a desire to create something that normalised and supported women to have real conversations about their finances. 

What did we learn about women’s relationship with money from the survey?

We learned that more women are comfortable with their knowledge of all things financial than we expected, and that they are more likely to be having conversations about money with people close to them than they might have been ten years ago (42%). We learned that women are more likely to consult the internet or a family member, than a finance professional when it comes to asking a money question. We also learned that one of the highest sources of anxiety when it comes to women’s wealth is: retirement. How much do you need? How do I sort out my super on parental leave? Am I going to be an older woman living out of my car? Fear and finances seem to go hand in hand.

Though, we were heartened by the fact that many respondents wanted to conquer their fears and dismantle societal stereotypes that talking about money is ‘unladylike’, we couldn’t help but be disheartened by the most common responses to the question: ‘what three words come to mind when you think about money?’

Stress. 

Necessary. 

Freedom. 

While it’s nothing new to hear the words ‘stress’ and ‘money’ in the same sentence, with financial issues consistently rating as one of the top causes of stress for all Australians, it’s hardly the stuff great romances are made of. Same goes for ‘necessary’. It’s hard to think of a less joyful and more clinical way to describe dollars and cents. WWMKD? (What would Marie Kondo do?!)

For the women who responded to our survey, money stress and the idea of it being a necessary evil seemed to derive from: ‘not having enough’; not knowing how much is ‘enough’; inconsistent and irregular cash flow; high cost of living; being judged for what they spend their money on; fear of asking a stupid question; and not having enough to retire comfortably. Sound familiar? See, you’re not alone lady!  

‘Freedom’, on the other hand, is a word we were glad to see in the top three most common responses to how women feel about money. Freedom to live the life you want, to spend your money how you want, to leave a boring job, to outsource - essentially the freedom to be the kind of woman that Destiny’s Child always wanted us to be #independent. 

So, what to make of this and what does it mean for Ladies Talk Money? 

Harmful gender stereotypes about women and money continue to flourish whether we are conscious of them or not, wreaking havoc on women’s financial confidence, stability and equality. To add to that, the majority of resources and information from the finance sector is directed at men (often by default) and very few products and services directly address the issues that women face and the questions they have on a daily basis. In fact, one comment that stuck out to us from the survey responses, was this from a woman in her sixties: ‘I want more advice for older women who get left out of the conversation.’ Bomb dropped. Truths everywhere. 

There is no hiding from the fact that conversations about women and finance tend to be overwhelmingly white, young, and focused on higher income earning and salary-based ‘professional’ women. These conversations are really important, don’t get us wrong - but we also know that this is not representative of the reality for a lot of women in this country (or the world), and that we cannot make meaningful change if people are left out of the conversation. Not enough people are talking about money in the same sentence as women’s intersecting identities as people of colour, as Indigenous people, as low-income earners, as queer people, as older people, and as people with a disability. But we will. We must. 

Ladies Talk Money is about women learning together, and that means women-identifying, trans and non-binary people, of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses and sexualities. We are committed to making this space inclusive and diverse, and know that we can always do better in bringing voices from the margins to the centre of the conversation. As predominantly cis-het white young middle class women, we know we will not get this right all the time. But we can promise you that, as much as we want to talk about money, we’re here to listen. 

If you have a perspective to share, and would like to add your voice to the conversation, we’d love you to fill out our Leading Ladies survey, comment below or get in touch with us here. 

As we march forward towards financial equality, ladies, please know that: we are in this together, so pull up a chair.

Know a lady who you think would benefit from this conversation? Why not give it a share!

The finance info discussed in this seriously fab article is general advice only. You should consider your personal circumstances or reach out if you’d like to discuss your individual needs.