Financial Investment: Why Women Should Start Playing the Game

The time is nigh for women to overcome their trepidation of things financial. Financial matters have long been men's territory. But times are a-changing. Women need to know that taking care of their financial future has never been more pressing.

Statistics show that marriages are falling apart left and right and women bear the brunt of the tragedy. When divorce happens, women are habitually left standing on the rubble with almost nary a dime to their name. As a result of the divorce, women go through a 25 percent decline in their standard of living. Those are the figures for the married women.

Single women living in America make up 20 percent of all adult women. Some have chosen to remain unmarried. Others are widows, while the rest are divorced. Women also outlive men. And it doesn't stop there. Men are more likely to succumb to disability as compared to women. This fact ought to make women prepare themselves emotionally and financially. It's hard enough when the husband is out of action. What makes it doubly difficult is when the wife is suddenly thrust to a responsibility that used to belong to the husband - the finances. Coping with a disability and managing the family's financial affairs are dangerous ingredients to a volatile recipe.

Data also shows that in the elderly poor group, 75% are women. All these data are not to give women the creeps, although there's probably an intention. This is a wake-up call to women who up to now remain scaredy cats when it comes to finance and investing.

There are women who would most certainly think numbers are too monotonous and uninteresting, maybe unless those numbers are found on shoe price tags. And they probably wouldn't even recognize a stock even if it hits them on the face. Lying wakeful in the wee hours of the morning all edgy and nervy thinking and sometimes dreaming about falling stocks is certainly not a woman's castle in the sky. Perhaps women might not be aware of the distinction between Wal-Mart and Wall Street. When it comes to finances and everything that go with it, most women think they don't understand a thing, so why bother?

Fact is, women should be bothered. Women have this innocent notion in their heads that their husbands or sons or daughters or other relatives, how many times removed, will take care of them when they get wrinkly and wobbly. But most of the time it doesn't turn out that way.

In the case of single women, a lot of them have come to terms with their lonesomeness. They realize they only have their own solitary selves to rely on financially, so they are better off than the other groups.

Married women are another story. They trust their husbands to be in charge of financial issues. Some have even resorted to marriage to shun financial responsibilities and avoid the burden that comes with it. Unfortunately, circumstances like divorce, widowhood, lower incomes and longer lives are situations that many married women might find themselves in sooner or later.

Thus, getting involved in the financial aspects of life won't hurt. At first, women may feel uncomfortable and confused. But in due time, they will learn that financial competence will help them attain a secure financial life in the future - all by themselves.