Friday, December 09, 2005

The Average Woman's Finances

The latest issue of Women's Health magazine has some interesting stats. In every issue, they have a back page feature called "The Average Woman" with statistics about health, diet, sex, careers, whatever... and this time the topic is money. I don't know where they get their data but here's a few of their numbers:

The Average Woman's annual income: $31,223
... If she graduated from college: $36,267
... If she only gradulated from high school: $22,363
The average man's income: $40,798

Average single woman's net worth: $23,028

Percentage of women who always pay their credit card balances in full: 39%
Percentage who pay only the minimum: 14%
Amount average woman owes on her credit cards: $2,522

Age at which the average woman starts investing: 30

Percentage of women who admit they have no discipline when it comes to money: 57%
Percentage of women who seek professional financial advice: 13%
Percentage of women who lose sleep over financial stress: 49%

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Maureen Dowd is right. Women get shafted, and you should leave more money to your girls than your boys, which I intend to do if I have girls.

Anonymous said...

nyc money: how lucky your sons will be. I am sure you will have no problem explaining this logic to them, especially if the "average" case doesn't actually apply to your children, and your daughters end up wealthier (either by success in career or otherwise).

Abacaxi Mamao said...

I'm 26 and I don't invest, so I'm likely to fall into the "average women" category at least as far as investing goes. But I have very little in savings and don't make much money, so I'm trying to build up savings first. For emergencies and the like. I have no idea how one goes about getting unbiased professional financial advice, either. I once met with someone from the bank, but he clearly just wanted me to put all of my money into accounts in his bank, so I didn't find that too helpful--ideas? thoughts? suggestions? all appreciated.

Caitlin said...

ALG, I *think* the key to getting unbiased financial advice is to do some research and find a "Fee-only" financial planner with a good rep. They don't work on commission, so they are more incented to make you happy as a customer since they make their money off flat fees for services. good luck!