Fin Lit: What women want? Money and more info on how to get and manage it

By Dian Vujovich

I’m a fan of money. The more the merrier, if you ask me.  The trouble with the stuff is, some people have too much of it and others not enough. But no matter what your position is, it seems nearly everyone wants to learn more about managing it.  Particularly women.

In the recently released results of the  “2013 Women, Money and Power Study” from Allianz Life, more women than ever are interested in acquiring a financial education. Plus, their desire to become more involved in financial planning has also increased through the years. Trouble is, finding out where to get those financial smarts can be challenging.

So while saving for retirement may be the primary concern for women, learning how to do that isn’t easy given that only 58 percent of the 2000 women between the ages of 25 and 75 interviewed found the stock market interesting.

“Women are in more financial control than ever before, and regardless of their high level of interest in learning about financial topics, the information and planning resources made available aren’t doing enough to change negative perceptions about the industry,” said Katie Libbe, vice president of Consumer Insights at Allianz Life, in a press release.

To help solve this financial literacy problem that women face, I ran across a site targeted for women—Generation X and Y specifically but the information at it will help females of all ages.

The site is called Wi$eUp, was developed by the U.S Department of Labor Women’s Bureau with its curriculum developed by Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

The online ed you’ll acquire is free and well worth the time it takes to register and participate in the eight chapters that make up the program. Some chapter names include Saving & Investing Basics, Achieving Financial Security and Money for Life.

To get you interested, here’s a snippet from the introduction to the Money for Life segment of the program:

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“Life’s main money challenge is to have our money last as long as we do, or longer! And without giving up enjoyment along the way! That’s a tall order, but it’s not impossible. It starts with awareness.

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“The mistake most people make is that they don’t take the long-range view about life…..much of their energy goes to worries about current problems and issues. That’s normal. After all, bills have to be paid. But without taking a long-range view of our lives and doing the best job possible of planning for the future, we are likely to experience some unpleasant money surprises along the way….”

Please don’t pass up this easy-to-access, no sales strings attached way to learn more about money.