The Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick wants women to become more financially resilient, a situation that has become more critical since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently, higher interest rates and increasing inflation. 

According to the commission, women have shorter work experiences, make less money and live longer than men, making it harder for them to prepare for retirement. A recent poll by the commission indicated only 41 per cent of New Brunswick women said they felt good about their financial futures compared with 57 per cent of men. 

A woman’s average life expectancy is four years longer than her male counterpart, which means women have to save for more years of retirement and probably deal with managing their money on their own. 

Giving women the financial knowledge to overcome these barriers is a goal for Shannon Tatlock, CFP, in Moncton, N.B.

Tatlock said she talks to all of her clients about emergency savings – what she said should be the first step for many of her female clients. 

Cash flow planning 

But rather than calling a sit-down discussion a talk about “budgeting” she uses the term “cash flow planning.” “That seems to be a softer word that resonates better with women.” 

She also uses a cash flow worksheet that she says is completely customizable and allows clients to look at where every penny of their money goes every month. “In some cases it comes out with a negative number and that’s the first time they’ve ever seen that negative number. So it makes them think about whether they are overspending in certain areas and where they might be able to cut back.” Sometimes, said Tatlock, it’s not even about saving for retirement, but perhaps it’s their credit cards that are the problem.

There are times when clients simply don’t want to give up some spending, like their daily Starbucks visit, but Tatlock said she wants to empower her clients to be educated, to understand everything from taxes to benefits “because sometimes just those little things can increase or decrease their cash flow by $50 or $100 a month and make a difference.” 

Understanding needs and behaviours 

Elke Rubach, a lawyer, CFP and president of Rubach Wealth in Toronto, said she takes time to understand the goals and dreams of her clients and helps them understand their needs and behaviours. Rubach said that if these are not included as part of their plan, they may simply not follow it. 

Rubach said sometimes advisors tell clients to give up favourite past-times, like going to Starbucks, “but if that’s your happy place, let’s build it. Because if you don’t build it you are still going to spend money without awareness.”

Insurance and tax efficiencies 

She said once clients are happy with how these issues stand, she likes to protect what they have with insurance and tax efficiencies. She tells clients that they may not be able to solve an issue overnight, so they should slowly build up their portfolios, determine what they can do with their money while they are alive and ensure their family is ready to receive an inheritance.

“Everybody hates buying insurance but they love what it does to their beneficiary,” said Rubach. “Insurance is meant to protect a plan … and their kids.”

As a CFP, Tatlock said it’s her job to understand issues like social benefits. Many single parents or couples who are going through divorces need advice on freeing up cash flow so they can feel more empowered. 

More millennial women handling family’s expenses 

She said with most young couples, the woman is managing the money, making sure the kids get to daycare and ensuring bills are paid. “What I am seeing is that more women millennials are handling a family’s expenses – maybe that’s why the department in New Brunswick decided to gear this toward women.” 

 The N.B. Commission suggests clients: 

  • Believe in themselves 
  • Network or get a mentor 
  • Participate in a financial educational class or program 
  • Develop good savings habits, and 
  • Know it’s never too late to start learning about financial literacy 

Rubach said while she can make recommendations to clients about what they can and should do, she doesn’t give them hard and fast rules to follow, saying sometimes, people have to figure some things out by themselves.

Women have to be true to themselves and like everyone else they can’t do everything by themselves. 

“There’s this race to chase the return, the interest, the capital gain, the dividend, the whatever, because that’s how we’re trained,” said Rubach. “But you can’t be both the killer and the protector.” 

Rubach said there are some people who want to do all the hard work and thinking themselves without anyone helping them because nothing affects everyone the same way. 

She said she sends clients who don’t know what they want to a life coach before coming back to her to plan. 

To be resilient, she said clients need to tell her that they are good with what has been proposed. “Until they tell me what they want to do and who they are and what they’ve tried and hated ... a financial plan is just a chunk of paper reflecting someone else’s preference.”