Investing can feel like a chore, especially for women investors who don’t want to play the stock-picking “game.” Women don’t always care if their apples are riper than all the rest; they just want to know there are enough to feed their family.
But to grow enough apples for your family, you need to start investing — and sooner rather than later. The earlier you start investing, the more time your money has to grow. The corollary to that is the sooner you start, the less you’ll need to save to reach your financial goals.
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Here are 11 inspirational quotes from successful women (and one man) to motivate you to invest. They include pearls of wisdom from:
— Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz
— Linda Davis Taylor
— Ayn Rand
— Allison Vanaski
— Aya Laraya
— Amelia Earhart
— Tiffany Welka
— Jim Brown
— Doris P. Meister
— Ann Richards
— Princess Diana
“For women, financial independence is a matter of necessity.”
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, who has served as board chair and president of Charles Schwab Foundation and board chair of Schwab Charitable, has long been a champion of “women taking control of their finances as a means of being individually strong, as well as being strong partners and members of their communities.”
To be financially independent, women need to invest for their futures. Women’s total savings in household retirement accounts are less than half of men’s as of late 2022, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.To overcome this wealth gap, women need to invest more and invest earlier.
“Teach her about how money really works, and she can change the world.”
“Give a woman a dollar, and she can put it to good use. Teach her about how money really works, and she can change the world,” says Linda Davis Taylor, former CEO and chairman of Clifford Swan Investment Counselors in Pasadena, California. “There’s never been a better time for women to take their seat at the proverbial table. By learning about investing, women can gain both the confidence and competence to become financial change agents.”
Women control roughly a third of total U.S. household financial assets, or more than $10 trillion. And according to a McKinsey & Company study released in 2020, women will control much of the $30 trillion in assets held by baby boomers by 2030. But wealth without knowledge is wealth wasted. Harness your financial power by learning about money to fuel the change you want to see in the world.
“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”
Novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand said these wise words, and how true they are. Think of your money as the vehicle and the investments you buy with it as the road you’re traveling toward your financial goals. How you invest will dictate the shape of your road to retirement — if it’s straight or curvy, flat or bumpy — and the speed limit you must drive under.
[READ: Black Investors Rise in Market Participation, But Hurdles Remain]
“Creating wealth comes down to discipline.”
“You must be able to set aside money today, for some point in the future when you won’t have an income,” says Allison Vanaski, CEO and senior wealth advisor of Arcadia Wealth Management.
It takes discipline to live beneath your means, but the less you spend, the more you have to invest. She suggests finding one or two small tweaks you can make to your lifestyle, such as making coffee at home or increasing your savings by $100 or $200 per month.
“One or two small decisions can make a big difference over time,” Vanaski says. Every dollar invested today is worth potentially 10 times that 30 years from now.
“When you invest, you are buying a day that you don’t have to work.”
These wise words are from Aya Laraya, a speaker and investment advocate who hosted the Filipino TV show, “Pesos and Sense,” which aimed to make personal finance and investing more approachable.
It can be hard to motivate yourself to invest — or to save, for that matter. But thinking of every dollar you save today as one that’s buying your future freedom can make forgoing that new leather jacket or upgraded tablet an easier trade-off to make.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
Amelia Earhart wasn’t thinking about investing when she said this inspirational quote, but the message applies equally well to making your first investment as it does to your first flight. The first hurdle all investors face is simply starting to invest. Once you overcome that hurdle by finding an investing strategy you can stick with, it’s just a matter of continuing it until you reach your financial goals.
“Invest with intent.”
Women investors outperform men over the long term because women are inherently drawn to goals-based investing. When you have a goal in mind, it’s easier to avoid getting thrown off track. “Create a goal or investing strategy and stick to it,” says Tiffany Welka, accredited wealth management advisor and president of VFG Associates in Livonia, Michigan. “If you have what you want in mind, everything that you invest in should be working to push you further toward your goal.”
“Consistent savings and boring profits make for adventurous living and exciting opportunities.”
As Jim Brown, founder of Jim Brown Investing, points out here, building a nest egg is best done as a tortoise rather than a hare. Sure, some people strike gold on the new hot stock, but successful stock picking is as much, if not more, luck than skill.
“Would you rather be smart or lucky?” Brown asks. “Whether you’re investing in your career or the financial markets, both can be profitable, but wise women know the difference.” Make sure you know if you’re investing or gambling in the stock market.
“Take measured risk.”
“Risk should be managed, not avoided,” says Doris P. Meister, CEO and chair of Wilmington Trust and senior executive vice president of M&T Bank. Taking some investment risk is likely necessary to reach your long-term financial goals.
The trick is to make it “measured risk,” not reckless risk. Invest in stocks, but don’t throw hard work and financial planning out the window because your cubicle neighbor thinks she’s discovered a stock goldmine. Consistency and diversification are the surest path to wealth.
“If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind.”
Ann Richards, the 45th governor of Texas, said it best when she pointed out that by not taking care of yourself, “you’re simply ducking your responsibilities.” Women investors, particularly those who double as parents or caregivers, can falsely believe that saving for your retirement is selfish when loved ones need the money today.
But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you don’t save enough for retirement, you’re likely to become a financial burden to your loved ones in the future. So put yourself first and don’t let temptations like using retirement savings to pay for your kid’s tuition derail your financial future.
“They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but…”
“… how about a compromise like moderately rich and just moody?” This quote from Princess Diana rounds out our list because every conversation should end with a laugh, especially when you’re talking about money.
Having open and honest conversations about financial topics is one of the best ways to alleviate investor discomfort, yet many women would rather discuss their own death than money. If women can find ways to lighten the tone of money conversations, maybe talking about investing won’t be as unappealing.
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11 Inspirational Quotes for Women Investors originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/11/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
