Читать книгу The Female Investor - Kate Hill - Страница 7

Hands up if you know a woman who is struggling financially to make ends meet. Maybe she is concerned about her financial future, or whether she's ever going to be able to afford to buy a property to call home. Perhaps she is nearing retirement and worrying about affording a home of her own.

She could be your sister, daughter, mother, aunty, mother‐in‐law, grandmother, cousin, or even a close female friend.

Perhaps she is single or in a relationship. She could also be divorced or even widowed. She may be in her 20s or her 60s — unfortunately, her age doesn't necessarily mean she will be financially secure.

We know plenty of women like this and we're sure you do, too.

Their situations — and their reasons why — vary widely because each of us is an individual who will experience challenges unique to us during the course of our life.

Sometimes they may not technically be struggling financially, but they worry about how they are going to retain their financial independence throughout their lives, or perhaps they're concerned about how they're going to fund their retirement — even if it's decades away.

Alas, their concerns are valid, because it's a fact that women generally remain less financially secure than men.

First up, there is the income pay gap between men and women, which stubbornly appears to not be changing significantly.

Then there is the stark difference in superannuation balances between men and women, which starts when workers are only in their 20s and never recovers.

And there are the increasing numbers of women who wind up homeless after a relationship breakdown or in retirement, because they were never able to create their own independent wealth or buy a home of their own.

Let's face it, half of all marriages still end in divorce and many women remain the primary caregivers of children — even more so during a pandemic, as it turned out.

And that means that if a women's ‘forever' union ends in tatters, she's likely to be futilely playing financial catch‐up for the rest of her working life.

Many women are worried about their lack of superannuation and about having to work until they are 80 instead of retiring. In fact, many women are forced to re‐enter the workforce in their twilight years because they can't afford to live without doing so.

A recent retirement‐income review repeatedly highlighted the inequitable outcomes for women, with women generally retiring with far fewer funds than men and also often living in poverty. What sort of end of life is that for anyone?

We want to be clear: this book is not anti‐love, anti‐marriage or anti‐joint bank accounts.

The Female Investor is a book to help women stake their claim on the property market so they have the assets to improve their financial futures — regardless of whether they choose to partner up or not; whether they are single, married, divorced or widowed.

But it's not a book to teach women how to become property squillionaires. Rather, it's a guide that will teach you about the importance of maximising your income sooner, so you have more choices later on.

Even though the salary gap remains, the number of women investing in property is rising — but more still could be done to secure your personal financial future.

Fundamentally, this book is about women being clued up, taking charge and being proactive with their finances via strategic property investment — at any age.

The truth is that most women have experienced a world in which they were not encouraged to take care of themselves financially.

We want to help change that because it potentially leads to dependency upon a spouse, another family member, continued employment late in life or even the government for financial support.

So, The Female Investor is a rallying cry from women to women — from us to you — to motivate women of all ages to get educated, take charge of your own financial future, and become proactive enough to stake your claim on the property market — now!