Ladies, take control of your money

WASHINGTON -- In the 1970s, there was an Enjoli perfume commercial showing a woman, clutching a fist full of money, who proclaimed she could bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan.

The jingle empowered me. Whenever it aired, I would prance around singing it. That's right, even though I'm a woman, I can earn, spend, save and invest like a man.

But decades later, even though women have moved ahead financially, a number of studies and polls indicate that we have more to achieve and that sometimes our own doubts impede our progress.

In a poll by the National Women's Law Center, women respondents were more likely than the men to feel that they are falling behind economically. They worried more about their financial future.

The concerns are not unfounded.

More than 14 million women live in poverty. More than 17 million have no health insurance. On average, women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.

If women in the work force earned the same amounts as men of the same age who work the same number of hours, have the same education and union status and live in the same region of the country, their annual family incomes would rise about $4,000 and their poverty rates would be cut by half or more, the National Women's Law Center found.

Women tend to have clear financial priorities but little confidence in their ability to achieve those goals, a study released this year Prudential Financial found. Less than a quarter of women feel they are very well prepared to make financial decisions related to employee workplace benefits, retirement and other important financial planning matters.

Prudential called it a confidence gap.

"It's that chasm that lies between knowing something and doing something about it," said the Prudential report, "Financial Experience & Behaviors Among Women," the fifth in a series that started in September 2000.

In 2006, Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America commissioned a report to better understand how women handle their money. In the latest installment of the Allianz Women, Money, and Power Study, the insurer found more than half of all women want to learn more about retirement planning and entry-level saving and investing.

Like other studies, Allianz's found that despite their desire to learn, many women postpone long-term financial planning because they are overwhelmed by short-term priorities, such as caring for children or aging parents, working outside the home and community commitments.

The three studies offer recommendations to help women become better off financially.

In releasing the poll results, the National Women's Law Center called for a number of government initiatives, including increasing the tax credit for low-earning families and providing medical coverage for all families.

Prudential and Allianz want women to hire financial professionals to help them manage their money. Prudential says a financial adviser "may be the extra nudge some women need to get started."

I agree that our government needs to do more. And yes, a financial adviser can help you develop a good financial plan.

Walk this way

But really, ladies, more of us need to stop fearing all things financial or doubting we can manage this stuff. We certainly can't always wait on a government program. And if Prince Charming does come along, he may have his own financial challenges. Heck, his horse is likely to be leased.

To take control, start this way:

* Write down your financial goals. What do you want to do with the bacon you're making?

* Figure out where your money is going. Yes, that means doing a budget.

* Get a will. You should have one, even if you are single. Surely you've accumulated some things that could be helpful to others.

* Get disability insurance. You are more likely to become disabled than need life insurance.

* Participate in your employer's retirement savings plan. Contribute at least enough to get any matching funds your company offers. If your employer doesn't provide a retirement plan, contribute to an individual retirement account or a Roth IRA.

* Pay attention to every penny you spend. For a month, write down everything you purchase and determine which things you could do without. Then take the savings and build up an emergency fund.

The Allianz study identified the top five areas women want to learn about. They are:

* Planning for retirement and maintaining their lifestyles in retirement.

* How to start saving or investing on very little income.

* Basics of buying smart.

* How to buy the right insurance products.

* Definition of basic financial terms (IRAs, annuities, mutual funds).

So what's stopping you from learning? You can start finding answers to those questions by going to www.choosetosave.org.

Even if the money gets tight or the financial jargon makes you want to holler, encourage yourself to press on, learn and take action. You can be your own motivator because you're a W-O-M-A-N. Now say it again.