Why it's Best to Have More than a Friend Help You Through Your Financial Resolutions
It's best to have a friend to help you weather anything — including New Year's resolutions. But beyond "Will you work out with me?" (dang it, Quarantine 15!) you may need more than a friend to help you through your finances.
Let Purse Strings help you tackle those financial goals, because it's time to stop handing over important money decisions to others who may not have your best financial interests at heart.
Purse Strings is your go-to resource as you navigate life events that impact your financial decisions over your lifetime.
Why it's Better to Have a Mentor or Expert at Your Side
It's always easier when you have a friend to help you achieve your goals. However, if you want to achieve your goals, it's an even better idea to take them a step further. Go beyond the BFF and get a coach, a sounding board — someone who will lend an actual hand.
Reason 1: You're more likely to meet your goal.
Check out the results of this experiment in the Journal of Applied Psychology: 171 undergrad college students were tasked with moving a slider across a computer screen as many times as they could over a specific period of time. They set a goal for the number of times they would complete the task on the next round. Researchers sent a "lab assistant" to review their work — either a doctoral-level student or a student employee at a community college.
When the study participants shared their target goal with the individual they believed was a doctoral-level student, they were more likely to reach their goal.
Those who shared their goals with the individual who they believed was a community college student did not perform better.
The group who didn't tell their goal to anyone also didn't see any improvement.
The study found that sharing your goal with a higher-up, like a mentor or manager, makes you more motivated. Telling someone that outranks you is more powerful for goal setting than telling a peer or friend.
Reason 2: It's easier than ever.
Women who use online social tools are slightly more likely than men to say that staying in touch with current friends is a major reason for using those online social tools (70 percent vs. 63 percent), according to Pew Research Center.
Social media, Zoom, Facebook Lives and other electronic connections can help you if you're looking for a way to connect, create relationships and look for referrals. If you're looking for help and solutions to common problems, it's easier than ever to connect online — and Purse Strings has the solutions you're looking for.
Reason 3: You can use your desire for connection to your advantage.
Ladies, you know how often you meet friends or colleagues for coffee — just to chat. Men usually meet to fulfill an objective: to watch a game, play a round of golf. However, they rarely meet to chat and check in. Women have the ability to connect in ways that are different from men, so why not use that desire for connection and camaraderie with Purse Strings?
Reason 4: Women are more successful investors than men. It's a matter of learning how to harness your investing prowess!
Women investing offer a powerful stronghold. A Fidelity survey showed that on average, women's investments amounted to a 0.40% higher return compared to men. The U.K.-based Warwick Business School, through Smarter Investor, found that women's returns were approximately 1.8 percentage points higher than men's.
Why not harness that success and get going with your Purse Strings mentor?
What Purse Strings Will Do to Help You Get There
If you struggle with money questions and constantly look for answers, Purse Strings is for you. It's a safe place where you won't get pushed toward a product. Instead, you'll get information and tools from vetted financial professionals you can work with to help create your own financial future.
Here's what Purse Strings will help you do.
1. Set a Budget — but Don't Forget It
Break it down! Set a weekly budget — it's easier to digest than a monthly budget. So many budgets fail because people don't look at them often enough. All it takes is five minutes a week to check (after you've created your budget). Purse Strings will show you how to set up a budget you can successfully create — and stick to.
2. Successfully Put Money Aside for Your Golden Years
Could you set more money aside for retirement? Chances are, you can, and Purse Strings will show you how. Whether you tap into an IRA, your company's 401(k), a 403(b) — whatever your savings vehicle, we'll offer tips and tricks to save more in the future.
If you haven't started putting any money away, now's the time to start, especially if you have a company 401(k) at your disposal. We'll show you why the magic word is "automate" and help you pinpoint an amount to sock away, starting now. We'll make it as effortless as possible.
3. Make a Plan to Achieve Your Goals
Lots of financial resolutions take a hit because you might have a goal but no plan to achieve it. Purse Strings will nip that in the bud. You want to make those goals as specific as possible. We'll help you create tangible goals, such as helping you spend less on a category you need to reduce — entertainment, car payment, house, etc.
So, start thinking about your goals — whether you want to get a college savings quick win, save for a down payment for a house (or vacation home) and more. You may want to buy stocks to fund your goal or invest in mutual funds. Whatever you choose, Purse Strings will help you nail down your goals and pave the way for you to get there successfully.
4. Help You Stay Accountable
The hardest part about goals is staying accountable to them. After a month of trying to work on your goals, do they peter out? That's why telling someone (not your best friend) about them, such as a mentor, can help you get there.
Purse Strings will help you make a plan but can also help you navigate roadblocks you might hit as you navigate your financial journey. Let Purse Strings partner with you and help you every step of the way.
Join Purse Strings Live
"Women build relationship webs, not hierarchies — and they also reach up and down, out and across to help others. The power of a female relationship as a best friend, a trusted source, a sounding board, is what women have turned to and continue to turn to for help, answers and conversations," says Dr. Barbara Provost, consultant, educator and founder of Purse Strings.
Ditch the New Year's resolutions and join a trusted community that has your back and which supports you every week. Provost and her partner, Maggie Nielsen, MBA, will host Purse Strings' Facebook Live events on Thursdays at noon Central time. Join Purse Strings' Facebook group, which will incorporate a new financial topic each week for its community of women.
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