Women leading on household budgets planning

A study has found that whilst women are leading on budget management and day to day financial planning, they are not investing for the future and less likely than men to invest in stocks and shares according to research by Readly.

Two thirds of people (76 percent) consider themselves to be financially literate and engaged in financial management yet the majority are only saving between £100-500 a month and one in ten (13 percent) are saving fifty pounds or less a month.

Almost half of people (46 percent) plan their monthly budget in an attempt to manage their spending and saving. But nine in ten (84 percent) people believe their budget has been affected by inflation and the increased cost of living, shows the research of 2000 adults by magazine and newspaper app Readly.

Whilst 51 percent of women reported leading on the monthly budget compared with 41 percent of men, one in five (22 percent) plan it together with their spouse or person they live with and 4 percent let the other person lead. One in five (18 percent) of people don’t believe they need a monthly budget at all,

When it comes to financial confidence, 35 percent of men consider themselves ‘very financially literate’ in comparison to just 24 percent of women. This is despite 56 percent of women managing the household finances such as paying the bills, food and day to day activities, whereas 48 percent of men reported leading on this role. A third of people (34 percent) are more likely to consider it a shared responsibility.

Ranj Begley, Chief Content Officer at Readly said “Whilst the financial sector has traditionally been dominated by men with gender pay, wealth and pension gaps hot topics, the research shows that it is by no means a man’s world when it comes to budgeting and finances. Whilst women are not rating their financial competence as highly, they are leading on the family financial management in many cases. We want to motivate more women to take financial leadership to help close the gender wealth and pension gap. Economic journalism and money magazines provide particular support in this process.”