How Men and Women Approach Investing and Savings

In the most recent RBC RRSP Poll, it was revealed that there is a significant difference in how Canadian men and women save and invest their money; the differences are specifically shown on what they invest in and how much money they invest with.

Within the past year, men have been more likely to put money towards their retirement savings; the comparison being 44% (men) to 33% (women). On the other hand, women were more likely than men to worry about balancing saving for immediate priorities against putting money away for a longer period. Almost one third of women across Canada have yet to even start saving for their retirement, compared to only one fifth of men.

What do these results mean?

From the results, it can be concluded that women are placing more emphasis on taking care of their daily needs; they prefer to get done what has to be done in the present, rather than focus on their long term needs.

Although it is great to get yourself sorted out financially for the present, it does not hurt to start preparing for the future. It is important that we are able to build a saving large enough to allow us to have the lifestyle we want when we retire.

The major difference seen between men and women plan to do, or already invest in within their RRSPs was also identified by the RBC poll. Men have listed stocks as the third most favored type of investment, while they sit at sixth for women. On the other hand, savings accounts sit at third place for women, whereas it tanks fourth for men. On both lists, mutual funds have ranked as the top choice, however 46% of men hold mutual funds, while only 38% of women do the same.

Lee Anne Davies, head of Retirement Strategies at RBC noted that women tend to be far more conservative when saving for the future; they have a stronger focus on investments that can provide steadier returns, compared to riskier ones.

Women have a set dollar figure when they plan on retiring, however men change their amount needed as their investment returns change.

It is always nice to see how both men and women think financially; it goes to show that men are still thinking about how to provide for the future, while women are able to balance the equation and work out how to solve everyday problems.

In my opinion, although both investing and saving habits do differ, the goal in the end is the same; that is to be able to live a stable lifestyle, without having to stress about money.

Investing or Saving, which is better?

Both investing and saving your money have its merits, in the end the choice is whichever you are most comfortable with. You will find that some people prefer to tuck their money away in a savings account that has a decent interest rate, while others do not wish to waste any time, and may invest in mutual funds, or a riskier option being stocks. Regardless, the question still lies on which of the two is the best choice. I will not lie, it actually depends on the person itself. There really is no set answer for this, personally, I find that if you are not a risk taker, saving is definitely the way to go, however there are still investing options that allow you to have growth with minimal risk.

I prefer to save my money, however lately I have felt (and seen) friends and family invest and make a good bit on it. I have the same opportunities to let my money grow, however I had been too afraid to take the risk. I hate looking back and regretting decisions, which is why I plan on sitting down and figuring out investment opportunities. I prefer to at least try it once before I completely forgo it.

What do you prefer to do? Saving or investing?