Menopause and money; Financial future or financial failure?

 

 

 

 

 

This post has been written by the lovely Debs de Vries, a mentor for women approaching, and going through menopause. She has written on her thoughts around how finances can change for women around this time, and I think its a brilliant guide if this concerns you.

Enjoy!


Menopause and Money

What if money became a serious ‘menopause’ issue in your life? It did in mine – and not in a good way initially. When perimenopause arrived, my husband left. I had been a stay at home mum for some years: I was 48, with a child to care for and no savings to speak of, let alone a job. I don’t recommend it.

If you are to continue working into your 60s, do you know how you will you continue to maintain your current financial status?  Can you provide a decent pension for yourself, and still have a sufficient amount of funds to buy holidays, cars and so on, once you have retired?

Most advice on ‘getting through’ menopause focuses on physical wellbeing but rarely mentions the physical necessity of keeping well, financially. And this matters – hugely.

Menopause in the Workplace

Not every woman in menopause will be in the workplace. But more than 3.5 million women in the U.K. aged over 50, are. Of those 3.5 million it’s likely that 25% will be feeling the physical effects of menopause and this can negatively affect  ability at work (note: not capability) whether that’s ‘brain fog’, exhaustion, sweating or emotional upset.

A CEO stated (on the UK “Woman’s Hour” programme) that she went from deciding on multi-million pound deals to not being able to decide which pants to wear to work. Funny? Not to the person it happened to, or to the organisation she was responsible for.

“ITV Tonight” is a British news programme that carried out research into the attitudes and issues facing menopausal women in the workplace.  They found that:

  • 25% of women considered leaving their jobs because of menopausal symptoms.
  • 50% of women said life was ‘significantly worse’
  • 85% thought that specific occupational health guidelines are needed.
  • Around 10% have given up work altogether.
  • Half of the women hadn’t visited a doctor because they were ‘too embarrassed’ and only 3% had heard of the NICE guidelines

How Can Your Employer Help?

Yes: employers have a duty of care to the health and safety of their employees, and yes, there is already legislation (in the 2010 Equality Act) that protects people from discrimination of all kinds. It also  provides for employees with more than 26 weeks service to request (note; request, not expect) flexible working arrangements. If you can have the conversation about your health needs in the workplace during menopause, you will be also setting a standard for all the women that follow you.

I also know that many employers would prefer not listen, may not even have “the conversation” and also make it difficult for women to even want to mention their symptoms.

Some women have struggled so much with their symptoms, that the resulting work errors and inefficiencies have been noted as ‘performance issues’ by their employer. This can lead to disciplinary situations and potential loss of status or promotion possibilities.  I have clients who have indeed given up jobs they ‘used to love’ but could no longer cope with, leaving behind great salaries, benefits and fulfillment. “Nothing wrong with that”, you may say, and I’d agree. If you have a big, fat financial safety net, or a willing and stable partner, you’ll probably get to 66 (or the age your private pension kicks in at) and you’ll be home and dry. But I would never recommend this as a strategy for financial safety.

Menopause and Marriage

For one thing,  reality often differs from our expectations.  Financial pressure in marriages is cited as one of the top causes of divorce and depending on another for your financial wellbeing is not a sound strategy. It’s very likely that a divorced or newly single woman in her 50s, working a low paid and sometimes part time job, is going to struggle to make financial head way. Finding great new roles isn’t easy in your 50s, and if the woman is the main care giver to children or elders, she already has limits on the time available for a demanding role.

So when menopause announces itself, one way or another, it’s also a great time for a financial wellbeing review. Make sure you do this regularly. You need to support yourself and good information and money habits will help you feel emotionally clearer and stronger, I promise.

Money Dating

If you are in a relationship and it’s not yet part of your lives, then book a “money date” with your other half and make it a habit. It is surprisingly reassuring (even if the numbers scare you) to discuss these matters and get a handle on them

  • Current income: Make a complete list of all your outgoings, personal needs, investments and savings contributions, and see if you can afford it fully, now. If not, you need to do some work to establish what you can do to afford your life.
  • Pension: When do you want to retire and how much will you need in your ‘pot’? How much have you got now and what contributions will you continue to make and how?
  • Home: If you own or co-own a property, and there is a mortgage, how much is it, and how long is it until it’s paid off?  Will the interest change? Is your name on the title deeds?
  • Safety net: What if the car goes ‘bang’, the dog needs expensive veterinary procedures. What easily accessible savings are in place for emergencies (tip: you need at least 3 months’ worth of income to hand).
  • Insurances: Only keep those that are necessary but make sure they are fit for purpose, so insuring your buildings, cars, health and possessions as a priority. Weed out expensive policies where saving money in an interest-bearing account may be a better idea (e.g. when you buy electrical appliances).
  • Wills: Keep them up to date, and consider having a ‘living will’ (advanced healthcare directive) which specifies what actions you want or don’t want, should you become incapacitated or unable to speak for yourself.
  • Investments; Monies you set aside to ‘grow’ and never touch. Are they in the best place? When do you review them and how?
  • Consumer Debt: Do you have any? If so, how much? How much will it cost you to pay it off and when does it get paid off? Can you ‘blitz’ it by increasing your monthly payments? Do you really need a credit card (No. REALLY – read this – “borrow £3000 at 20 and you’ll be almost 50 when it clears“)

Final Thoughts

This is a very high level guide as to what needs to be managed in your money life. It’s intended as a prompt; a wake up call, and it comes, with love,  from someone who walked into her divorce blindly and with none of this information, or even a shred of an idea that some of it existed.  So please, find support and help to answer all these questions, take control and secure  your financial wellbeing, in menopause and afterwards. That sense of security can make a huge difference to your physical and emotional wellbeing too.

You can find Debs and more helpful advice on Menopause from her website www.debsdevries.com

Now over to you: What has been your take-away point from this post? Are you going to start saving more? Maybe learn to invest? Let us know in the comments below!


I hope you found this post helpful – I think even if you think menopause is not relevant to you right now, you have the wisdom in this post right here from a woman who has been through financial struggle herself. You have the luxury of more time to correct your finances and secure your future whatever it may bring.

You can come and join us in my free private Facebook group for more support and money advice on saving, investing and retirement. And if you want to be the first to know about my upcoming investing course for beginners, fill in the form below to become a money medic!

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

P.S. If you enjoyed this, why not try:

 

4 thoughts on “Menopause and money; Financial future or financial failure?”

  1. Menopause disaster

    Menopause and Money.. my story..
    I’ve suffered horrendously for more than 10 years following a hysterectomy and no HRT ( until a few months ago ) as well as all the ‘ usual’ symptoms I also suffer with severe cptsd which was magnified significantly with the menopause.
    My coping mechanism I guess you could call it wasn’t drugs or alcohol but spending money… for a few years this ‘wasn’t an issue’ I earned good money and although i wasted money on things i didnt really need in my head i could afford it , but as my mental health deteriorated with the lack of sleep,brain fog, anxiety,low self worth, depression the whole shabang! … you get it… so did my income.
    I didn’t sleep so I shopped online, I was depressed so I shopped online, my anxiety stopped me leaving the house so I shopped online ….the worse I felt the more I shopped.
    The orders kept arriving I had no idea what was in them and most of the time I didn’t bother opening them…. I don’t know if it was the act of adding things to a shopping cart or the checking out which ‘ soothed my menopause mind’ at the time ( for those few minutes anyway) but this impulse buying was definitely a massive symptom of how the menopause was affecting me.
    The debt was mounting up but the magnitude of the problem was lost in the fog … until I was given HRT 6 months ago, within 3 months of starting it …
    It has hit me just how ill I have been over the years and how menopause has affected my rational thoughts and behaviour now that I’ve ‘ levelled’ out enough to be able to think and see how I did pre hysterectomy.
    Financially I’m nothing short of disastrous but I have got help and advice from a local debt advice charity and they are helping me to address my debt and start to pay it back..

    I just wanted to highlight the ‘other’ symptoms that can appear that may not always be obviously connected to menopause … self soothing comes in all forms… be it pills, alcohol, self harming, spending etc … if you find yourself doing any of these things and haven’t connected the dots until now please speak to someone.
    It’s been 6 months since I started HRT …. And in the last 3 months I haven’t shopped online once ( genuinely ) the impulse has gone, the need isn’t there anymore … coincidence? I don’t think so.

    1. Oh wow that’s an incredible journey, thank you for sharing that. Menopause really does impact on everything we do, I don’t think I’d quite realise how much until looking into this. I’m so glad that you’re getting help now. When will you expect to be debt free?

  2. Thank you for this article it’s helpful to know I’m just not lost alone! ❤️ I have walked out of four jobs because of symptoms I faced and the discrimination. I now have no job and am in debt with no pension. I’m fed up of feeling bullied and harrased. I’ve been ignored so many times at the doctors and sent here there and everywhere at hospital departments to be told nothing is wrong with me, that it’s all in my head. It’s cost me friendship and family fall outs as well as career and industry relationships. There is a real inequality problem in our country.

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