A new study demonstrates the need to equip girls with money management skills and build their financial literacy from a young age. In the multi-country study, George Washington University professor Annamaria Lusardi discovered that many women struggle with basic financial principles -- and lag behind men in overall financial literacy. Lusardi’s study asked men and women in America, Holland, and Germany to answer three multiple-choice questions focused on interest, inflation, and investment risk. Neither men nor women scored particularly well in the study but 38% of men could answer all three questions correctly compared to only 22% of the women. These results held true for both young and old women, and women in general also expressed lower confidence in their financial literacy than men. This lack of confidence starts from a young age according to a recent study by the Girl Scouts of the USA which found only 12% of girls between 8 and 17 feel very confident making financial decisions. All of these findings point to the need to start girls off with a solid financial education. Fortunately, improving women’s financial literacy has potential to dramatically improve their financial security throughout their lives. In a helpful article on Forbes, financial planning expert Nancy Anderson discusses five financial skills that she recommends parents teach their daughters. As she writes, by teaching these skills to girls from a young age, you will send the message loud and clear: Financial planning (and investing) are for women, too.” You can read more about Lusardi’s study and test yourself with the three questions via the link below. For Anderson’s tips for teaching girls key financial skills, visit Forbes at onforb.es/SHKslp For two helpful guides on money management for girls ages 9 to 12, check out A Smart Girls Guide: Money (amightygirl/smart-girls-money) and A Smart Girls Guide: Making Money (amightygirl/making-money). For books and toys to teach young children about money management, check out our post on Teaching Money Skills to Preschool and Elementary-Aged Children at amightygirl/blog/?p=1428 For books and other resources to improve tweens and teens financial literacy, visit our post “Teaching Money Management Skills to Pre-teens and Teens” at amightygirl/blog?p=1458 For parents who would like to learn more about improving their kids financial literacy, we recommend the recently updated Raising Financially Fit Kids at amightygirl/raising-financially-fit-kids And, for an excellent way to teach kids about money management by encouraging them to save money for different types of expenses, check out these two divided piggy banks: Moonjar Moneybox at (amightygirl/moonjar-classic) and the Money Savvy Pig (amightygirl/money-savvy-pig).
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:02:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015