When it comes to finances and investing, we’ve found that women tend to take a backseat in decision-making while their husband or partner does all of the steering. However, women should be reminded that they are an essential part of the financial equation as well. That said, it’s crucial for women to increase their financial and investing knowledge.
Kristin Curcio, Investment Advisor at Capital Investment Advisors, joins Wes Moss to shed light on women and finance. Kristin shares how often she sees financial meetings with only the husband present and why women seem intimidated by the subject at times. She also explains that unexpected circumstances can happen leading to why preparation is key, what women should know about family finances, and why couples need to have important conversations to be on the same page. Kristin and Wes also discuss the financial habits of happy retirees regarding their children, Kristin provides financial advice for single women, brings up women outliving their husbands, and how she plans to help women overcome the fear of being immersed in financial decision making.
Read Show Notes From This Episode (click to expand and read notes from the full interview)
- Wes welcomes Kristin. He mentions that Kristin has a unique perspective and is one of our most popular guests. Mostly men are advising men and women so Kristin is unique. Wes sort of talked Kristin into leaving equity sales trading, etc. to become a financial advisor.
Kristin is a mom. Her oldest is getting his driver’s license. Says it’s very scary. Laughs. Parents are scared about that today. When Wes and Kristin were that age their parents were pushing them out the door.
Wes wants to talk about the unique challenges when it comes to women and investing. So much of the conversation is inherently and by default directed toward guys. That creates some problems. Wes brings up David Bach. (The Latte Factor) He has a really unique perspective on this.
Kirstin says yes we’re missing half the equation when we just talk about men.
Wes brings up David’s recent health scare. He had bacterial meningitis. He just got out of the hospital.
Wes asks Kristin how often the financial advising meetings are just the husband. She says 60% of the meetings. The wife doesn’t come. More times than not the husband says he begged his wife to come with him.
Wes says in his experience it starts with the husband and wife coming and then eventually just the husband comes in. He wonders why.
Kristin says for the most part women seem intimidated by it. They’re afraid they’ll say the wrong thing. Also, she brings up the demographic. 55 years old and up – they probably grew up in homes where their mother didn’t work and the father did all that.
Wes brings up his wife. Her attitude toward investing is that she seems to find it just as boring as she finds golf. She doesn’t want to do it. She does like to talk about business – the podcast and the company and taxes – but when it comes to the thought around investing specifically, she’s very bored by it. Kristin feels that is 90% of women. They feel they don’t know enough or they don’t care. But it’s very important for them to start caring. They need to feel empowered by knowing more about it.
Wes says he always hears that women are more risk-averse. Is that true? Kristin says yes she thinks so. Perhaps they are more careful with money. Wes says men seem more willing to take risks and lose money if they have to. The rates of return are actually better for women. That is a statistic. Kristin laughs and says yes and that means more women should be doing it.
Wes is saying all the questions he gets about cryptocurrency are from guys.
Kristin brings up that there is no crystal ball. Divorce can happen. Women live longer. Women need to know about their own investments.
Wes asks – what are the things you should find out about the family finances? Kristin brings up the titles for bank accounts. Logins for bank accounts and investment accounts. Where is your mortgage held? Do you have a second mortgage?
Insurance. There is so much insurance to sort through and think about.
Wes wants to do an episode about insurance. It won’t be boring because there are so many types. Even cyber and ransom insurance.
Wes surmises that men think of money like a river. Women think of it as a reservoir. Kristin says yes, to a degree, she agrees.
Kristin brings up how important it is for a husband and wife to get on the same page about what their money is for. Goals. Couples might have separate goals. They need to know that and talk about it. Kristin tells a story about a couple. The husband wants to hunt all day. The wife is from the northeast. She’s spunky and fun and wants to go go go. They want different things. That’s okay as long as they can be okay with it but Kristin loves it when couples want the same thing. Perhaps there’s a compromise they can find.
Retirement is changing all the time.
Wes brings up “same goals.” He and his wife were talking about spending time in Michigan. He loves it but he also loves being out west. If it were up to him, when they got a month off they would spend it in Park City, Utah. Wes’ wife would want that time in Northern Michigan. Having that conversation with each other and figuring it out is helpful.
Money for the kids. Happy retirees tend to live closer to more of their children. Happy retirees spend less per month on their adult children. You want your kids to be as independent as possible but you also want them to live nearby.
Kristin says women definitely want the children closer. Grandchildren are part of their retirement plan. This is true for the men, too, but the women especially feel that way. This isn’t true for everyone, but for a large amount.
Kristin gives an example of a woman who moved to take care of her grandchildren. But she met the love of her life at age 70 and now she’s out traveling. She still loves her grandchildren and makes time to see them but now she’s not beholden to them. She’s living her best life. Awesome.
Call in with your financial questions for Wes to answer: 800-805-6301
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