Happy Women's Day - The Rebellion of Being a Wealthy Woman

As a woman, it is a rebellious act to say I am proud of my wealth, I am proud of what I achieved and to own my own accomplishments. Being a wealthy woman - and being proud of it - is rebellious because it challenges deep rooted societal norms and expectations around money and power.

It challenges the guilt around money. It reclaims power and authority. It sets a new standard for success.

I am a wealthy woman.

How wealthy are you ? Do you even know?

Being wealthy is both a mindset and a number. As a mindset, it's about feeling abundant, making empowered decisions and knowing you have the ability to create and sustain wealth. It's about confidence, resourcefulness and and the ability to see opportunities.

As a number, it's the financial resources that allow you to live on your terms and can be tracked in a number called your net worth.

Net worth is your assets minus your liabilities.

Net worth = Assets - Debts (mortgage, car, consumer loans etc.)

Statistics Canada provides an estimate of average household net worth by age. It doesn't provide a break down between women and men and I find this to be important. Since many women build wealth within families and partnerships, focusing only on female individual wealth can feel like it isolates the discussion from the bigger picture. Wealth isn't built in a vacuum - it happens in relationships, communities, and generational systems.

We build wealth, not by doing it all but by being strategic about what we do and what we don't do.

Wealthy women delegate.

I lean on my network. In my household that means making a chore schedule to divide the household tasks, asking for help from extended family with child care or RESP contributions. At work, that means refusing to do the busy-work and thinking strategically about adding value.

For you, maybe you don't like having to figure out the details of your financial planning, retirement, tax planning on your own. This is where you can delegate to professionals like myself for assistance.

A financially empowered woman doesn't just benefit herself- she uplifts her children, her spouse and even extended family. The same is true for men.

The goal is collective financial security. But to do this, you need to start with yourself first. "Put your oxygen mask on first". Make sure you know where you stand financially first by gaining insight into your own financial picture.

Calculate your net worth and if you have a partner do this together.

Afterwards, you can then see how you compare to the Canadian household average shown below. (Note that the median net worth is lower, because the wealthy bring the average up).

I recommend doing this so that you can gain perspective on your net worth. Notice what comes up for you when you notice how your net worth compares to the Canadian average. If you feel shame, pay attention to what you are thinking that is generating shame for you. Being wealthy is both a mindset (gratefulness and focus on abundance) and a number. If you want to change your result, that is possible for yourself and begins with noticing your current mindset around money.

If you feel guilty about how much you have, notice that thinking as well. What is the underlying thought? As women we tend to have a natural tendency to think more about the collective. Jesus says, "Love your neighbour as yourself". Women tend to be really good at loving our neighbour and not so good at loving ourselves.

We need to do both, but we can only do that once we are sure we are financially secure. Once we know we can take care of ourselves, we can reach a hand out to others not with an energy of not guilt, resentment and obligation but instead with an energy of possibility, excitement, potential. Because we can.

We are wealthy women!

So how wealthy are you?