It’s a perplexing situation.

Women control half of the wealth in the United States, yet studies have shown that many of them are convinced they are lacking when it comes to understanding finances. Too often, they believe they aren’t capable of making prudent investment decisions.

I say that’s not true, and I want to change that mindset.

As I see it, many women do face financial crises, yet they don’t realize they have the power to change that. All they have to do is learn how to manage the fears about money that have locked them into certain roles or paths.

Managing fear

These negative beliefs can affect women’s relationships, their children and even the economy.

When women feel they can’t make good money decisions, they give their power away, typically to whomever is pushing them the hardest, be it an advisor, a spouse, someone yelling at them from a TV, or a person who doesn’t have their best interests at heart.

Feeling powerless causes women to approach money decisions from a position of fear—and that is never a good place to be in when making a decision of any kind.

The key to women’s financial success is summed up best in one word: “trust.” Women need to first trust themselves, their intuition, and their hearts. When that happens, they can trust others, such as a spouse or a financial advisor.

Ultimately, this all leads to them being able to trust their own financial decisions.

3 things to do to change the stereotype

To be able to trust their own financial decisions, women need to inventory where they are in terms of finances and confidence, so they know how to move forward.

I offer three tips for making that so:

Tip #1: Uncover your money beliefs.

Your attitude about money is important because what you believe determines where you are going. For example, if you don’t think you can retire early, you are probably making choices right now that support that belief.

Too often, women’s negative views about their financial knowledge dictate their fortunes, and perception becomes reality. By exploring their views about money, women can challenge their limiting beliefs, become more confident, and take control of the situation.

Tip #2: Clarify your financial-life vision.

One of the first steps to achieving your goals is to make sure they are clearly defined. What are your goals? Your dreams? What do you truly want for yourself? How do you want your life to look?

When you get clear about what is most important to you, you create a very good template to make decisions about potential opportunities, your money and your life. Figuring out what you want is a very important part of creating wealth from your heart.

Tip #3: Capture your financial snapshot.

I’m surprised by how many women (and men, too, for that matter) only have a vague notion about how they spend their money. You need to write down how much you spend each month for expenses such as but not limited to your mortgage, car payments, electricity, cable TV, groceries and wherever else you are spending money.

Then you need to calculate your monthly income and compare it to your expenses. That way, you can see how much, if any, money you have left over to save, invest or use to pay down debt. Gathering this information gives you a picture of your current financial reality, which is an essential step to take to see if adjustments in spending, saving, etc., need to be made.

Your thoughts

What other ways do you think women can change the stereotype about them being bad with money? 

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Today’s guest contributor is Cynthia Fick, an investment advisor, advocate for women, and author of The Sisterhood of Money: The Art of Creating Wealth from Your Heart. ” She lives in Phoenix, Ariz., with her two teenage children and Goldendoodle, Buddy.

Image credit before quote added:  Gratisography