Savings Strategies for Women — Four Tips For Building a Nest Egg

Building savings not an easy task in the best of times has become even more of a challenge during the recession. While women typically earn less than men in most occupations, the good news is that women’s jobs have held up better. Women have a 20 percent lower unemployment rate than men, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Women also live longer and rely more on Social Security the troubled trust fund will pay out more than it receives this year than men.

So how can women build a bigger nest egg when times are tough? Here are four tips to help women take control of their finances:

1. Know the Difference between “Saving” and “Investing”

Wall Street and the financial planning industry have led us to believe that “saving” and “investing” are the same. They are not. Money put in savings is money a person doesn’t want to (or can’t afford) to lose. Money invested is subject to loss. Most people today “invest to save,” but they have no idea what their nest egg will be worth when they plan to tap into it.

This is not a financial plan. It’s gambling. And it has led to a nation of Americans wondering if they’ll ever be able to retire, and what they’ll have to give up in order to do that.

The typical equity mutual fund investor has actually been losing 1 percent per year for the past 20 years, after adjusting for inflation, according to the research firm DALBAR. The bottom line: Money a person cannot afford to lose should not be invested in stocks, real estate or other traditional investments.

2. Don’t Wait to Pay Down Debt Before Increasing Savings

Often people think they must pay down their credit card balances and other debt, before they can increase the amount they save. But that’s not necessarily true.

Case in point: A woman in her fifties was paying $600 to $800 a month more than the minimum payment due on her credit cards. She discovered that by cutting back to the minimum payment and putting the difference into a guaranteed savings vehicle, she could have a nest egg worth about $50,000 more than she otherwise wood when she retires at age 65.