Building personal wealth isn’t a solitary pursuit, it’s a team sport. We depend on our families, partners, friends, mentors, colleagues and communities to support, guide and encourage us, not only emotionally but in the financial decisions we make.
For women in particular, these relationships can have a powerful influence on our financial behaviour. The people we surround ourselves with can shape what we spend, what we aspire to, and what we believe is possible for ourselves. Money is relational in nature and all relationships are built on trust. We need to trust that the people with whom we surround ourselves have our – and not their own – best interests at heart.
Think about the friend who always orders the most expensive items on a night out and expects you to split the bill, knowing that you cannot afford her taste in food and wine. Or the friend who books an exclusive spa weekend that you are unable to decline – or afford. Each of these small decisions can have an impact on the good financial choices we are trying to make.
Choosing a life partner is also a financial decision. Shared attitudes towards money and the future can create both emotional and financial stability, while different values are incompatible. Emotional safety and financial responsibility are not mutually exclusive when you are building a life together.
If the people in your life do not share your outlook on wealth vs worth, maybe you’re with the wrong people.
This does not mean leaving friends behind, it just means being more intentional in our relationships. If the people we choose to have around us consistently diminish our sense of worth, we need to reconsider their role in our financial lives, setting new boundaries, and being clear about what we can and cannot afford.
The converse is equally as important in building worth versus wealth. The right people can help build financial confidence, provide knowledge, and practical support. Networks create opportunities. With this in mind, women’s financial communities are evolving from traditional grocery stokvels into collectives that can help members achieve larger financial goals, from holidays to property ownership.
Even our relationship with technology can have a bearing on our finances. AI has the potential to become another kind of friend and ally for women, helping to reduce administrative burdens, expand access to information and create opportunities to work and build a business more efficiently. But women also need to participate in shaping the technologies they will increasingly use, bringing the female perspective into the development of systems that will otherwise perpetuate old biases.
Trusted relationships and partnerships are especially important when it comes to financial advice. Momentum understands the role women play in society, the burdens they bear, and the hopes and dreams that sustain them. Women are more likely to engage when advice comes through someone they trust and can relate to, rather than through a person or process that feels like it was designed for someone else. In a financial services environment that has historically been dominated by men, finding advice that understands the context of women’s lives can be as important as the advice itself. Momentum’s role is not simply to help women accumulate wealth, but to understand their lives, priorities and ambitions and to provide the knowledge and guidance that enable them to make financial decisions that support the woman they are becoming.
Momentum’s recent She Owns Her Success initiative helped women to understand that real life is all about real experiences. They explored the idea of self forgiveness – we do not always get relationships right the first time, including financial relationships. We make choices based on what we know at the time, and only later understand what we might have done differently. There are important lessons to be learned in forgiving yourself for not knowing earlier what time has taught you. Experience changes not only what we know about money, but what we value, who we trust and the kind of life we want to build. Women’s resilience is their secret weapon and Momentum’s is understanding what women need to build the life they want.
Financial confidence is not something we have to build alone. Your people are part of your financial plan. Choose them and your financial partners with the same intention you bring to everything else that matters.
Qhawekazi Mdikane, Head of Brand at Momentum
Qhawekazi Mdikane, Head of Brand at Momentum