As adult women, our plates often seem perpetually full, brimming with midlife worries — from aging parents to perimenopause symptoms. It’s probably not surprising that financial concerns can weigh on us, but recent research suggests just how widespread the problem is.
When the Financial Health Network delved into the relationship between mental and financial well-being, their research found that money was a significant source of stress for 66 percent of Americans. Of those individuals, women, low-income households, and unmarried people were more likely to experience financial hardship, facing larger societal and structural barriers to financial health. The study also discovered that financial stress caused participants to experience negative mental and cognitive effects like moodiness, irritability, and trouble focusing.
For example, participants reported that having outstanding debt triggered stress and depression, in addition to affording food or housing, paying bills, and managing rising prices and inflation.
“Financial well-being is often representative of positive mental health as it is acquired through factors that improve one’s chances of having mental stability such as access to resources, higher knowledge, organizational skills, and oftentimes support from others,” Tirrell De Gannes, a licensed clinical psychologist with Thriving Center of Psychology, told Flow Space. “Restrictions to these factors can lead to an expected linear decline in financial well-being and mental health.”
There are several factors that contribute to why women may face challenges with their finances, including the gender pay gap, limited access to financial education, societal expectations, and traditional gender roles. According to a 2022 nationwide Bankrate poll, 46 percent of women said money issues have negatively affected their mental health, prompting feelings of anxiety, depression, fatigue and stress. That figure contrasts with 38 percent of men. The Covid-19 pandemic dealt a blow to progress in achieving equal pay for women. Since the recession sparked by the pandemic began in February 2020, approximately 1.2 million women have exited the labor force, as reported by the Department of Labor.
What’s more, women are more anxious than men about having sufficient emergency savings and paying for everyday expenses. Routine financial circumstances are also prone to evoke more negative emotions among women compared to men, such as checking one’s bank account or encountering unexpected expenses.
“Financial insecurity often links closely with feelings of shame and inadequacy which requires more stringent budgeting and sacrifice,” said Gannes. “Having less disposable income and feelings of shame and/or inadequacy can diminish social relationships as well as opportunities for connection leading to higher levels of anxiety or depression.”
So how can women take control of their finances and mitigate financial woes that often contribute to stress? Gannes says the answer lies somewhere within the intersection of financial literacy and understanding one’s options.
“The sooner people learn about financial wellness and the options they have to build on their current finances, the more options they have for self-care and more importantly; survival,” Gannes said. “As inflation increases at a rate higher than wages do, a lack of financial literacy breeds discontent and perceived malice in financial institutions which furthers the notion that others cannot be trusted. By improving financial literacy, income and net worth can improve within one generation, improving access to resources and improved survival rates for those that are truly struggling.”
While dealing with financial burdens doesn’t exactly spark confidence in one’s mental and emotional wellbeing, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. Understanding what you can and cannot control when it comes to your finances is crucial. For example, paying off credit card debt, saving for an emergency fund and creating a monthly budget, are all parts of your personal finance life you can improve. A fluctuating stock market, soaring inflation or gender pay gaps, are major issues Americans have zero control over.
“Spend time learning about appropriate budgeting, allocate finances to self-care when possible, look into fiduciaries, and understand that no one will shame you for not having the finances to live life the way you’d like to,” said Gannes. “It’s okay to ask for help and speak of your struggles.”