Why women don’t like setting financial goals

In her book, Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich, Lois P. Frankel discusses the complex relationship women have with money and setting financial goals. She talks about a female culture that has indoctrinated women to focus on surviving, rather than thriving.

I’ve noticed this with the women around me. So many focus on the the minimum sum of money they need to contribute to the household per month. I hear them saying things like ‘I need to earn £500 per month’ or ‘I want to earn an extra £200 per month’.

And then I see them cast around for ah-hoc ways to earn their ‘survival amount’, such as a bit of extra babysitting or temp work. These are highly educated, bright and charismatic women who are selling themselves short, and who could be earning triple what their trying to reach if they knew to monetise their natural talents.

If they even simply dared set their goals much higher than their minimum, they might find they made enough to contribute to the household and still have money to spend.

Focus on financial goals that allow you to thrive

I’m with Frankel, who encourages setting financial goals that will allow you to thrive. And this isn’t a number you pull out of thin air, but a calculated sum, which you reach by combining your current savings and equity plus the amount needed to achieve your ‘vision’. And this would be your honest vision of your complete dream life, not a vision of what the minimum you want to contribute to your household.

According to Frankel, putting together the actual financial requirement to achieve your vision is an empowering exercise, and brings you one step closer to achieving that goal.

What’s your number?

So what is my financial goal to survive, and how far am I from it? Well, I’m not starting from zero, as I already own my own house (although not without a mortgage), and have savings thanks to the multiple six figure businesses I’ve built from scratch in the past five years. But there’s definitely a lot more on my wish list and in my dream life than I can currently afford, and I’m not there yet.

Here’s my dream life wish list (price tags attached)

• £2 million – property in central London without a mortgage and with a nice garden!
• £500,000 – money to invest in buy to let properties in order to create a passive income stream.
• £30,000 – a Range Rover Evoque (well she did say thrive!)
• £100,000 – to have as cash savings in the bank

Grand total = £2,630,000

OK I’ve realised I’ve forgotten money for school and university fees, and I’ve also forgotten about the stamp duty I’ll have to pay on my £2 million house, but my first thought is ‘It’s not that much!’.  I’d had a horrible feeling my dream life would cost something like £20 million, but £2.6 million – I can do that! I’m not there yet but I believe I will be there in the future.

Share your financial goals with me

So what’s on your wishlist, and what’s your figure? Be bold. How does it feel to see your figure in black and white? Does it feel far away or achievable? Let me know in the comments section.