Managing your finances, creating a plan and putting ourselves first, are not something most of us have been taught.

As women we have unique considerations when it comes to money….

Take a look at some eye opening statistics:

• 47% of women over the age of 50 are single

• Women’s retirement income will be lessened because on average a woman is away from the work force 14.7 years as compared to 1.6 years for men simply because women are typically the primary caretaker of the home.

• Approximately 7 out of 10 women will, at some time, live in poverty.

• 90% of all women have sole responsibility for their finances within their lifetime, yet 79% of all women have not planned for this.

• The No. 1 argument between couples involves the issue of money. 50% of marriages end in divorce, and in most cases women raise the children in their home. When married, there were two people supporting a family, income is reduced by half on the woman’s side and she still must provide and care for children half or more of the time.

• In the first year after a divorce, a woman’s standard of living drops 73%.

• 80% of widows now living in poverty were not poor prior to the death of their husband

• Saving for retirement is important to the majority of Canadian women but only one quarter of them believe that they are even close to achieving their goal.

Whoa. So, what do you take away from these statistics? I take away that a woman being on their finance game needs to be a major priority!

While the basics of financial planning remain the same no matter who you are — spend less, save and invest more, work from a plan — as you can see, there are a number of financial planning issues unique to women.

As women we are nurturers by nature. The Dali Lama said, “The world will be saved by the Western woman.” The truth is that it’s not the world at large that will be saved by women. It’s a woman’s immediate world, starting with owning her own power.

As women we need to nurture ourselves more. What do you want? What makes your heart sing? You have to believe that you can make money (lots of it) if you want to… and yet so many are afraid or do not believe that they can.

Why? Well that depends on the stories and beliefs that we have. We unconsciously live that story by hiding out, feeling helpless and dis-empowered  We are always taking care of others, saving them, rescuing them, and believing that it is our role. I see too many women that feel guilty or ashamed when they start to do things for themselves. They feel selfish, greedy and do not give themselves permission to put themselves first. Yet, that is exactly what you need to do!

Selfishness is in, in fact necessary for you to ‘be there’ for everyone else! The more selfish you are about meeting your own needs…first…. The more you can make a difference.

You have to take 100% accountability for your life. It can be scary, I get it. I had a mentor that helped me, and she changed my life. I would not have been able to do it by myself because I did not know what I did not know. When we are in the picture, we can’t see the frame. I gained the knowledge and the tools and strategies to get control of my life, figure out what I wanted, and then take action to get it! When you know better, you will do better!

You deserve to be an amazing, brilliant woman. Your happiness is far too important to waste time reinventing the wheel. Let me guide you to becoming a selfish woman so that you are not losing valuable time in your life being miserable or feeling that there is more to life, and yet you are not doing anything about it! I am empowering you right now to take action.

I believe in you, do you?

To your success (and happiness!)