A 2010 headline claimed that boys are better savers than girls.
What do you think? It’s an intriguing topic, partly because of the possible stereotypical implications: Boys are good with money. Girls go out and spend it.
I think there’s more to the story. The gender gap still exists, with females, on average, earning less than males. So perhaps the female teens simply earned less money? Perhaps it would be more useful to look at savings as a percentage of income.
And yet…there are some very real differences between men and women, at least as far as finance is concerned. According to Ramit Sethi , there are 13 Stunning Differences in How Men and Women Think About Money. Among them:
- Males are more apt to rely on investments as a source of retirement income.
- Males report greater interest in investing, saving and entrepreneurship, while females’ financial interests tend towards saving and frugality.
- Men are much more likely to report feeling confident about money. Women are more likely to feel anxiety and apprehension.
As parents of boys, we owe it to our sons to teach them the basics of personal finance. But it’s also our job to let them know that females are equally as capable of learning about money. The boys we raise today are the husbands, fathers and co-workers of tomorrow.
