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Do you hide money from your partner/ family? A surprising amount of women do…
I’ve never been good at saving. Mostly because you can’t save money you don’t have – I’ve tried, it’s a bad idea. Never go into debt in order to save. It’s idiotic. Anyway, according to this year’s Female Nation Survey I am not alone. A worrying 42% of women do not save AT ALL.
And another 35% save less than 5% per month. Now while a little bit is better than nothing, less than 5% is hardly going to be enough to keep you clothed and fed in your old age.
Yet just over 1 in 5 women admitted to having a “secret cash stash”. This number stayed the same across income brackets, although married women were slightly less likely to have one (19% vs. 23%) which is saying something at least.
The concept of a secret cash stash confuses me. It sounds so… I don’t know… skelm?
Moeshfika Botha, a debt expert from Credit Matters explains this phenomenon. “Women are often the ones in control of debt management at home and this is a very difficult job. People get emotional about debt and women are often blamed unfairly. Women are often the main caregivers in families and many feel they have to hide money away for emergencies and rainy days.”
So in fact, many women hide money away out of fear and nervousness. Other reasons include:
• If they have no say in financial decisions
• An attempt to get financial independence
• So money can be spent on things the spouse doesn’t agree with
• When they want to learn about being financially independent.
Interestingly enough, there was a relationship between having a stash, and the type of investments or financial products held. Women with cash stashes were more likely than other women to have stocks (2% v 1%), unit trusts (5% v 3%), and retirement annuities (56% v 48%), and less likely than other women to have any of the other types of products, including medical aid (2% v 8%), and property (2% v 4%).
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I’ve never been good at saving. Mostly because you can’t save money you don’t have – I’ve tried, it’s a bad idea. Never go into debt in order to save. It’s idiotic. Anyway, according to this year’s Female Nation Survey I am not alone. A worrying 42% of women do not save AT ALL.
And another 35% save less than 5% per month. Now while a little bit is better than nothing, less than 5% is hardly going to be enough to keep you clothed and fed in your old age.
Yet just over 1 in 5 women admitted to having a “secret cash stash”. This number stayed the same across income brackets, although married women were slightly less likely to have one (19% vs. 23%) which is saying something at least.
The concept of a secret cash stash confuses me. It sounds so… I don’t know… skelm?
Moeshfika Botha, a debt expert from Credit Matters explains this phenomenon. “Women are often the ones in control of debt management at home and this is a very difficult job. People get emotional about debt and women are often blamed unfairly. Women are often the main caregivers in families and many feel they have to hide money away for emergencies and rainy days.”
So in fact, many women hide money away out of fear and nervousness. Other reasons include:
• If they have no say in financial decisions
• An attempt to get financial independence
• So money can be spent on things the spouse doesn’t agree with
• When they want to learn about being financially independent.
Interestingly enough, there was a relationship between having a stash, and the type of investments or financial products held. Women with cash stashes were more likely than other women to have stocks (2% v 1%), unit trusts (5% v 3%), and retirement annuities (56% v 48%), and less likely than other women to have any of the other types of products, including medical aid (2% v 8%), and property (2% v 4%).
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
