Robert
Benchley, a humorist from the first half of the 20th century, wrote
a short story/essay about how he cured his wife of always telling him to ask
other people for directions when they were on a road trip. In the story, titled “Ask That Man”, Benchley
described his frustration over carefully plotting his and his wife’s trips on a
map only to have his wife worry that they were taking the wrong road or turning
the wrong direction and insisting he ask a nearby stranger or gas station
attendant for directions. He became so
fed up with it that he resolved on one trip to do just as she instructed every
time—except that instead of really asking for help, he pretended to engage in a
conversation with the stranger then came back to his wife with bogus directions
that took them ever farther afield.
Finally, after going through this exercise several times and becoming
desperately lost, Benchley himself offered to “ask that man over there” for
directions—to which his wife blurted out, “No!
Just do what you think best.” Then he easily navigated his way home.
For
any woman reading this, the lesson should be that men HATE to ask for
directions. But I suspect Suze Orman,
the personal finance expert of television fame, had that thought in mind when
she recently labeled men “financial fakers”.
Ouch.
Orman
said on several occasions she had deliberately offered male clients
complicated, nonsensical financial strategies that the men not only did not
question but pretended to understand.
She insists that 95% of Americans, male and female, are financial
illiterates; but the men are especially loath to admit their own shortcoming.
Orman
is just one of many voices that are urging Americans to learn more about
investing and managing money. A group of
women calling themselves Dow Janes (I love the clever name!) is on that
bandwagon, too, with online courses and other teaching tools for women who feel
deficient in this area.
As
I’ve written before, women stand to be the immediate beneficiaries of the Baby
Boomer wealth that will be passed on since they tend to outlive their Baby
Boomer husbands by an average of six years.
And bigger gaps in the age of the man and woman in a marriage is
becoming more common and spells even longer periods of widowhood. Knowing what to do with that wealth and how
to avoid ever-present scams to separate them from that wealth is critical. Sadly, most financial advisors are Caucasian
males, nearly half of them over age 50.
And as the Washington Post recently reminded us, a 2009 study by
Boston Consulting Group found financial services “the industry least
sympathetic to women”. Women report
being ignored in meetings they and their husbands have with their financial
advisor. The advisor doesn’t even talk
in her direction or make eye contact with her.
No
wonder women feel sidelined and maybe a bit reluctant to engage with an advisor
to learn more about handling money. Who
wants to be treated as second class? To
them, I say seek out good teachers and good classes. They are out there. Being a good listener, regardless of sex, is
an absolute prerequisite for the person you select to trust.
And
speaking of trust, don’t discount your own instincts, ladies. A study by the investment firm Fidelity found
that women on the whole are better investors than men. They are naturally more cautious and do not
panic sell when markets drop. Their
buy-and-hold strategy is a known best practice for building wealth in the long
term.
Men? Well, maybe we should be asking for more
directions.
Until next
time,
Roger
“Don’t ever
think that you are wise enough, but respect the Lord and stay away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7 CEV
