Women are increasingly becoming breadwinners in this day and age and yet, they have much different views on finances than their male counterparts.

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That’s according to a recent Prudential Financial study. “There are stark differences between how men and women handle their finances,” said Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach and CEO and Founder of askthemoneycoach.com. “For instance, the way in which men and women invest. Men are twice as likely as women to say that they actually enjoy the sport of investing. For women, not so much. Women see themselves as savers rather than investors. Women like to stick to super safe products.”

What do men and women say they worry about financially?

“For women, their top worry is about household bills and debt which includes credit card debt, the mortgage, student loans and that kind of thing. For men, they don’t worry about household bills at all. In fact, the chief economic worry for them is about the overall economy and the state of affairs here in this country,” said Khalfani-Cox. “There is also a huge difference in confidence levels. Only about 20 percent of women surveyed said they were very well prepared to make wise financial choices for the future, while 45 percent of men said they were well prepared.”

“I don’t know if the men are so overly confident or if they feel they have a better handle on things. I think it could be a lack of knowledge for women because if you don’t understand stocks and bonds or mutual funds, then maybe you don’t feel like you can have a safe and secure retirement because you’re not buying the products, using the tools and taking the steps to help get you there. So, we need to better educate women and recognize them as the breadwinners now in their households and to give them the respect that that affords,” said Khalfani-Cox.

“There are many factors at play that explain why women lack confidence and why they haven’t had the skill set to know and understand a variety of financial products,” said Khalfani-Cox. “From early childhood, most of our parents didn’t teach us about proper financial literacy, money management and how to save and invest. So, we didn’t necessarily learn from mom and dad. At the same time, we didn’t really learn about money management in school either. With that said, as adults, we need to take responsibility for our financial futures. No one is going to care more about our finances than we do.

It’s about knowing where to turn, how to reach out and ask for help and to not feel ashamed or embarrassed about that.”

The study also found that there are differences between women in their 30s and 40s as well.

“Younger women are more likely to take the helm, be involved in the decision-making process and they’re more financially independent. Younger women who are married are more likely to have their own, separate bank accounts as well because they want to be in charge,” said Khalfani-Cox. “But, both age groups are still lacking in confidence and product knowledge, so that’s an area we need to do a much better job addressing.”

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