Money is oxygen – don’t let anyone control your supply

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Note: This is the last Carrick on Money newsletter for 2021. Have a happy holiday and stay safe. The newsletter returns on Jan. 4 to begin what I think will be another epic year in personal finance.

I remember interviewing Kelley Keehn about her first personal finance book and being struck by her mention of the cost burden of diapers if you’re a new parent. Female personal finance writers were rare back in the early 2000s, and so were mentions of practical, real-life matters like diaper spending. I’ve run into Ms. Keehn a dozen or more times over the years at financial literacy events and just to catch up over coffee. Since that first book, she’s built a brand as a personal finance educator who gets people as much as money. To coincide with the launch of her latest book, Rich Girl, Broke Girl: Save Better, Invest Smarter and Earn Financial Freedom, I invited Ms. Keehn to do an e-mail Q&A for the newsletter. Here’s an edited transcript:

Q: Kelley, can you tell us a bit about your background, your work and your books?

A: I worked in the financial industry for over 12 years, and then 16 years ago I left and became an educator. I found that whether my clients had millions in the bank or they were a million in the hole, they had money problems. The industry isn’t designed to allow for time to educate clients about matters of money, so I went to work writing books – 11 of them – on women and money, investment scams and fraud protection and overall personal finance. As a speaker, media personality, writer and consultant to the financial industry, my mission for 16 years was for Canadians to feel good about money. My new mission is for women to claim their wealth.

Q: I’d roughly estimate that two of every three personal finance and investing questions I get from readers are sent by men. Where are the women?

A: Perhaps they’re all e-mailing me – LOL. Women have always juggled so much – working, taking care of the family and majority of the household, caregiving for their parents and loved ones. COVID-19 has exacerbated all of these pressures. It leaves little time often to put money matters at the top of their list. The Number One piece of advice I have for connecting more deeply with women is to anticipate what they need to know and do now. I’m constantly e-mailing my female friends on financial issues that they need to be aware of and I can’t tell you how grateful they are that someone is thinking about their needs as opposed to trying to sell them something.

Q: A tonne of money has been made in stocks, crypto and almost everything in the past 18 months. Do you think women have had their fair and equal share of this wealth gain?

A: Speaking in broad terms, likely not. Women are brilliant investors and a recent investment industry report revealed that they outperform men in matters of investing. While they might not benefit as much during bull markets, I think women on average perform better in bear markets. I do worry about some women sitting on the sidelines in cash or too much fixed income, regardless of what the markets are doing.

Q: When you look at the marketing and communications from financial services companies, do you find it speaks to women as much as men?

A: Not at all. Often, there’s a gratuitous picture of a female with her kids or a splash of pink. I’ve heard from men who report the financial industry fails them, too. Women are just more likely to say something about it. The industry could stand to use more infographics and simple illustrations which would make more complex concepts more interesting and digestible for all genders.

Q: Is there a macho aspect to personal finance and investing that turns women off? I’m thinking of a focus on performance, returns, hitting home runs? If so, what would be more appealing to women?

A: You bet. Women want to know the results of investing: I’ll be able to retire without being a bag lady, I can help my kids graduate without student loan debt. There was a great deal of talk about goal-based financial planning years ago, but few advisers lead with that. Advisers need to understand what’s truly going on in a woman’s heart and mind, and how that relates to her finances. The advisers that do this are killing it in the financial industry.

Q: Let’s close with some thoughts for 2022 – what’s the #1 piece of financial advice you’d like to offer women in particular?

A: Money is oxygen. Don’t let anyone control your supply. If you count on a spouse to control your finances, you leave yourself vulnerable to divorce, their death or possible mismanagement. Remember, what you appreciate, appreciates. Matters of money and health are too important to ignore or abdicate to others.

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Rob’s personal finance reading list

The housing market in 2022

Three predictions that offer some hope – not a lot, but some – to people feeling priced out of the market.

How to make a withdrawal from the Bank of Mom and Dad

Some need-to-know information for families where parents are giving their adult kids a gift of cash for a home down payment. These gifts are helping to keep the housing market on the boil right now – for better and for worse. Parent money is a difference-maker for some young adults who want to own a house, but it also contributes to continually rising prices.

Stocks for kids

A last-minute gift idea for parents and grandparents – seven undervalued stocks that might appeal to children, as picked by the analysts at Morningstar.

How to get your financial act together in 2022

A blogger tries something a little different to help people focus on improving their finances. She put together a list of 40 questions for you to answer about your emotions and biases on money. Helpful stuff.

Today’s financial tool

A lively Reddit discussion on when to tell your significant other what your salary is.

The money-free zone

A dozen of my favourite songs from 2021. Here’s a link to the songs on Spotify.

Stand For Myself, Yola

Love and Hate in a Different Time, Gabriels

Lily, Richard Dawson

Like I Used To, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olson

Beautiful Life, Michael Kiwanuka

Souled Out on You, Robert Finley

Be Worthy, Gloria Ann Taylor

Bad Religion, Cat Power

Garden, Dinosaur Jr.

Vortex, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Beautiful Scars, Merry Clayton

Weekend Wind, Woods

In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories

• Don’t let FOMO from social media affect your investing decisions, experts say
• Tax ideas inspired by songs of the holiday season
• Wrapping up a good year for John Heinzl’s dividend portfolio

More Rob Carrick and money coverage

Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.

Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:

• 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Are your parents giving you money? • Why it’s time to stop shaming the renting lifestyle • Is now the right time to buy a house? • Why are young Canadians leaving the cities they love? • Eating in: How COVID has shifted our food spending • Crisis-proof your finances? • Can you afford to live downtown? • The cost of kids
• ✔️ The housing file: The housing boom is ripping apart the financial fabric of Canada • Shut out: A well-qualified millennial home seeker throws up his hands after losing multiple bidding wars • Big city housing affordability is over – now what? • She sold her Toronto house to retire somewhere cheaper, but it didn’t work • How young adults and the whole country win with a tougher mortgage stress test for home buyers • Can’t afford your house? It’s likely not your fault
• 📈 Investing: Robo-advisers have grown out of the novelty stage. Here’s help in finding one right for you • The 2021 ETF Buyer’s Guide: Best Canadian equity funds • The 2021 Globe and Mail online brokerage ranking: Who’s best for investing … and answering the phone • Are these the stock market returns of a lifetime? • On the cusp of retirement and wondering about an ETF that pushes the limits on aggressiveness
• 💰 Your money: The five most important numbers for checking the health of your personal finances • Today’s freakishly low mortgage rates can’t last. What will pandemic home buyers do when they rise? • There’s a cost in money, isolation and family stress when seniors choose to remain in their own private homes • Taking CPP early can cost you $100,000 and limit your long term options • Fleeing the city for the suburbs? Watch out for higher property taxes, more cars and other costs

Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money here.