Angela Meyer’s best financial literacy tips come from her own practice. It’s never too late.
Two years ago, at the age of 46, Mayer bought his first home. She bought it alone.
“It’s been a really hard and long battle to get there,” she says. “I used KiwiSaver as a deposit.
Meyer is quick to admit that buying a home isn’t the only path to financial resilience. Despite plummeting home prices, owning a home is still out of reach for many, and there are myriad reasons why.
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“When I talk about wealth, I don’t just mean money, I mean freedom, or that confidence. You might be tempted to sit in your underwear and eat potato chips all day. [but] You want that freedom. ”
Meyer talks about how difficult it is to talk about money. She is on a mission to help women feel safe and secure in their learning.
“New Zealanders prefer to talk about the minutiae of their sex life rather than talking about money, how much they earn, how much their mortgage repayments are. is facing this real crisis over financial literacy.”
Mayer, a gender equality consultant in Mercer New Zealand, is leading a series of free workshops for women over the next few weeks for The Table’s campaign entitled Getting Financially Lit: What Your Grandma Wishes She Knew.
The Table is a Mercer-sponsored platform designed to bring women together to talk and build financial knowledge.
The workshop included Simran Kaul, a 26-year-old billionaire who hosts the incredibly popular podcast Girls Who Investment; Shen Cheng, a financial advisor to Mercer; It includes a panel of knowledgeable financial experts, such as Rachel Davis.
According to Meyer, the theme arose from the observation that financial fears and confusion can persist for generations.
This is reflected in the results of a survey conducted by the Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission in 2021, which shows that 80% of women rate their financial well-being as very low or moderate. increase. Sixty-five percent of them were worried about their monthly money, and most, more than 70%, thought their financial well-being was affecting their overall well-being.
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Hamilton fashion designer Gina SInclair upcycles unwanted clothes into new ones, saving money in the process. (Premiered on March 13, 2023)
At particular risk are women over the age of 55, who are more likely to have their lives derailed by divorce, death or illness, are more likely to face ageism, and are working less than men. For some of those generations, it may have been normal to leave the finances to the husband.
Women typically retire in fewer numbers than men, despite living longer, and may subsequently struggle to find stable housing.
“Women don’t get information in the same way that men have access to it,” says Meyer. “In the past, recipes were handed down, but would you like to hand down information about compound interest?
Because there is no financial discussion in the family, it is common for women to start thinking about money only when faced with life milestones and challenges, such as leaving home, breaking up with their partner, or going on maternity leave. Meyer says it’s a target.
Single women face picking up tabs literally alone. And older women may think it’s too late to get back on their feet financially, and she knows Meyer’s answer to that.
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Angela Meyer says wealth doesn’t just mean money, it means security, choice and freedom.
“We will probably live to be 90, so whatever we can do in terms of retirement savings, investments, or making our money work for us, it means we have more options. Freedom, security, choice. will increase.”
Growing up, money was a sensitive issue for Meyer, and his family was struggling financially. She had to change her way of thinking. I realized that money “doesn’t have to be full of emotion and shame.” it’s just money. ”
Meyer said: To be honest, I didn’t really have the basics. [hard] It was debt, we lost our home, and there was a kind of billing around it.
For years, Meyer hadn’t considered buying a home of his own. The main reason was that I didn’t know how to do it. ”
That was despite her running her own business at the time. Taking on an Australian client set her on the path to learning about her retirement pension scheme. What followed was a “really big and very powerful shift” in her way of thinking, and she hopes others can do it too.
Learn the basics and go, “Have you been there? Oh, I thought it was more complicated.”
Find out more about Auckland and Wellington workshops here and here Each. Events on the South Island will be announced later in the year. For more information, visit seatatthetable.co.nz.
