For International Women’s Day, Morningstar brought together leading experts Kitty Parker, an award-winning buyers' agent, and Betsy Westcott, a financial wellness coach. Kitty and Betsy shared their expertise on some of the main financial challenges facing Aussies. They covered homeownership, investing and financial security.

The key message from the discussion was the linkage between financial independence and empowerment. Whether through property, investing, or simply establishing an emergency fund the speakers encouraged women to take control of their financial future.

Homeownership

Kitty led the discussion with the challenges that her clients face purchasing a home in the competitive Sydney market. She believes the market has changed since the Covid pandemic and become more challenging for prospective homeowners. The lack of transparency and increased competition particularly impacts first-home buyers.

According to Kitty the key is to go about the process strategically. Buyers need to be precise with their numbers, understand realistic property values and use strategic bidding tactics to secure a home.

Kitty also spoke about the pivotal role of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ for many first home buyers. Roughly 60% receive some form of financial assistance from their parents. The assistance includes cash gifts, guarantor loans or agreeing to co-purchase.

Betsy emphasises that any sort of financial aid should come with clear agreements and stresses that first home buyers should seek independent legal advice to avoid future conflicts.

The interaction of money and relationships

Money is one of the biggest sources of conflict and tension in relationships. This can be caused by differing spending habits, different familial financial obligations or income disparities. Betsy navigates these issues with the couples that she helps in her financial wellness sessions. She shared some insights on how couples can align and come to a healthy place in their relationship with their money:

Understand each other’s money mindsets: If one member of a couple is a spender and the other a saver, this can cause resentment and friction. Be open with your communication and understand where to compromise.

Have regular financial check-ins: Betsy stresses that this doesn’t have to be a chore. Money discussions shouldn’t just happen when problems arise, and they should be a regular part of your relationship.

You are your own person: You will naturally form financial goals with your partner, but it’s important that you set goals for yourself as well. It is healthy to keep your financial autonomy and achieve your own personal financial goals.

Investing (across assets) is a powerful tool to create wealth

Aussies are obsessed with property. Both Betsy and Kitty spoke about how this property obsession is partially fuelled by the poor protection for renters which drives people to try and achieve long-term housing security.

Housing security is understandably a point of emphasis in retirement. However, Betsy added that it is not mandatory to own a home to achieve long-term financial security. She stressed that women - and all people - can focus on other asset classes, such as equities, to achieve financial independence.

She shared the following tips for women that are looking to build sustainable wealth:
Start early, stay consistent: small regular investments over time can compound significantly. Don’t underestimate small savings goals. It can make a huge impact over time.

Consider a mix of investment vehicles: ETFs, managed funds, shares, superannuation – there are many ways to build wealth. Understand what works for you and focus on those vehicles.

Investing is a skill, not a gamble: Betsy compares investing to strengthening a muscle. Investing can be learned and mastered over time. It just takes repetition and focus.

She also points out that women are set to inherit a significant portion of the intergenerational wealth transfer making financial literacy more crucial than ever. Lean on free resources that can be a great starting point. Morningstar has a free ‘get started with investing’ course that you can access.

Financial empowerment is self-care

The panellists left us with the following steps to increase financial security:

  1. Invest outside of property: real estate isn’t the only wealth building tool.
  2. Plan for stable housing: whether it is home ownership, longer-term rental agreements or investing figure out a way to give you peace of mind.
  3. Financial empowerment is self-care: Betsy shares that financial literacy is one of the greatest acts of self-care and self-love. She ended the panel on a powerful note, “Buying a new handbag or taking a bubble bath is great, but having financial knowledge and control over your future will bring you confidence, freedom, and choices like nothing else.”

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