Monthly Archives: November 2009

The Women and Money Myth

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It used to be ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ was the acceptable message. Money has always had a somewhat tarnished reputation with words like ‘money-grubbing’ setting the tone. It is therefore not surprising to see articles with titles like why women “switch off” over money.

Financial literacy reports continue to tell us that Australian women simply “switch off” when it comes to finance. The Women Understanding Money report found 52% of women find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming, 25% have absolutely no savings for retirement and of the women who do invest, only 5% look at a company’s background information. Is this switch off factor just because we find talking about money boring and unimportant, or is there something else going on?

Even in discussions with high-earning, independently successful women, many women weren’t really tuned in to their own personal finance situation.

Perhaps the reason women don’t tune into their personal finances as much as men do might be because of the different ways of measuring success. Men, from a very young age, compare their salaries and the increasing value of their investment portfolios, and are more likely to spend money on expensive cars as a symbol to the world that they are a success. Conversely women spend so much time worrying about their children, partners and parents, they seldom have time left over to focus on themselves, and their own finances and investments.

There has been a historical exclusion for women in dealing with money in the not-too-distant past. Many women grew up with the expectation that women would rely on men for their financial security.but this is now changing. Women are now much more independent, both socially and financially. If women lack the confidence, the experience or the interest to get involved, then now is the time to change all that.

Women must seek out sound financial information and not hang on to the money myths they may have inherited from Mom, according to MP Dunleavey. Discussions with women make it clear that their mothers are often powerful financial role models. Unfortunately that can be for better or for worse.

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Watch Out For Online Scams

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Be warned that Online scams abound even on some of the most reputable websites such as Craigslist. Apparently some buyers are more interested in scamming you than in scoring a great deal.

Alan Munro posted an ad on Craigslist to sell a windsurfer board and was asked to email the prospective purchaser an invoice through PayPal. He did so and got an email that seemed to come from PayPal, saying that a remittance had been made. But since the invoice was in U.S. dollars, he was asked to pay the exchange difference before the money was released. Paypal does not send such emails and this was a scam.

Craigslist and other similar services such as Kijiji, suggest some simple rules to avoid getting taken in:

  • Ensure that all transactions take place locally with local people you can meet face to face. Go to a public place with many people around, such as a coffee shop.
  • Never send or wire money to buyers, which includes mailing cheques or using payment services such as PayPal, BidPay, Western Union or MoneyGram.

Applying just those two simple rules will ensure that you do not get taken in by these ever more prevalent scams.

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Seniors Often Need An Ombudsman

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Seniors often may feel the need for someone who can help them in standing up for their rights when dealing with large corporations. Finding who can address your concerns in a satisfactory way becomes increasingly difficult when everyone is trying to push you to their website or insists you navigate their electronic telephone system. Thankfully some corporations take their responsibilities towards their customers seriously and are providing that much needed support.

A recent case with the Royal Bank illustrates what can happen. Seniors are living longer and becoming more educated, and this is forcing bankers to sometimes think outside of the box.

For example, a man in his late 80s went into a branch and asked to take out a five-year mortgage. He was in good physical and mental health, but the bank refused to commit him to a five-year loan that had a penalty for early termination. In this case, getting the senior his rights needed the help of the RBC Ombudsman.

Yes there is such a person: Wendy Knight is the RBC ombudsman. She was able to facilitate a resolution that kept everyone happy.

Banks are a group that is often criticized for poor customer service and the cell phone companies are on the low end of the scale too. Perhaps it is not surprising then that there is a Rogers Ombudsman, who is already making a difference. The company has now appointed its first ombudsman, Donald E. Moffatt. While he is supposed to act as a court of last resort, Moffatt will intervene quickly if he sees an injustice.

As ombudsman, Moffatt says he is independent from Rogers. He has no access to company records and has to ask for authorization from customers to check their files.

To get in touch, you have to go through three earlier steps, then send an email to ombudsman@rci.rogers.com or send a fax to 416-935-3604.

One might hope that the training that customer representatives receive would eliminate the need for an ombudsman. That is clearly not the case yet. Until it is, providing an ombudsman means that you can hopefully get a hearing even if it takes some effort to achieve that.

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