Mumsnet really isn't the place to look for financial advice

[ItsFineReally]

Someone said on a thread yesterday that ‘Mumsnet really isn’t the place to come for financial advice’ and it struck a chord with me.

MN is a huge community of women, and yet when it comes to money, investing, or financial confidence, we lag behind. For example:
– Only 24% of women in the UK hold an investment product, vs 39% of men
– Less than half of women feel confident managing money
– Only 10% say they fully understand investing

Most of us are earning, saving, and running households therefore money is central to our lives. So why shouldn’t MN be a space where solid financial conversations happen?

I’m partly venting, but also wondering: should we try to make MN more of a hub for financial discussions, or is it better to accept that and just signpost people to other resources (MSE, Reddit, etc.)? I’d love to know what others think.

Financial advice is a very specific regulated thing - using that language might(!) cause the impression someone’s speaking beyond their own experience
Financial conversations can absolutely happen.

True! But it was said in the context of comparing Mumsnet to Reddit, rather than caveating that the content didn't come under FCA protection.

I would suggest that the person who wrote it hasn't been on the right threads! Reading threads on here actually opened my eyes to the possibility of investing. I've looked elsewhere and educated myself more since and while I can't say I'm "fully confident", I know enough to be confident enough.
I've read sensible advice here. I've read less sensible advice too, but at least now I'm able to see which is which. Without these conversations happening here, I'd still be saving at a rate below inflation and overwhelmed by the whole concept.

I think other forums are way better for financial advice. Specifically money saving expert.

But I think where financial issues are tied in with relationship issues, divorce, or other emotionally heavy stuff MN is the best place for support by a long way.

I wouldn’t say Reddit was the place to go for financial advice either! Unless you want bitcoin bros foretelling the end of the financial sector, and gamblers day traders encouraging each other into bankruptcy.

Yes there are more sensible subreddits, but there are also sensible threads on here too.

How strange, I have no idea what mumsnet thinks is contentious about my post! 🤣

Just saying other sites are just as bad for dodgy advice! I didn’t even swear…

Mumsnet is hugely informative about a whole range of matters. Especially money.

But, just like any other forum it isn't regulated and you need to go away and do your own work.

I definitely think women especially should be talking about money more. I've had friends get a bit strange talking earnings before under the banner of it being "crass".

Nope. The more women talk about money, the more we can benchmark ourselves and take action to provide financial security. So important given the wage and pension gap and the impact of caring on lifetime earnings.

Money isn't everything. But I've known too many women trapped in terrible situations because of money reasons. We all should be talking more!

Of course I did my own research too but I found Mumsnet very helpful when I was considering, and then new to, investing in a stocks and shares isa.

There are very knowledgeable posters about and it's a great community.

I suspect it was temporarily hidden because of the reference to b-i-t-coin. I think there are a lot of spam posts referencing it.

It's not even the investment knowledge issue what's a problem here tbh. So many women here don't fully understand their bills etc.
I've seen some great advice here about that. So if we discount "can you take in some ironing" the advice on here is plentiful and generally quite useful. But as no one is professional (and the professionals wouldn't risk giving advice willy nilly on random forum) it can be more general.

So not, it's not true this is not a place for money advice imho

I think I wrote the comment you’re referring to OP.

There’s just a general lack of understanding, and advice is dominated by advice to:

• Paying off the mortgage
• Put money in your pension
• Premium bonds

Now all of these can have their value, but they aren’t the ‘go to’ actions if trying to maximise return on capital / accessibility of cash / timeframes.

So eg (and as I think yesterday’s post was), someone has eg £10k and a five year horizon - and the most common response is ‘premium bonds’. Even being ultra low risk and keeping your money in cash, you would get a far better return in a savings account at present.

People should be talking about it more, as then they would learn more about it.

I also find most financial threads end up being derailed with ‘this is tone deaf, do you not realise how other people live’ type comments, which doesn’t exactly encourage people.

It's good for pointers in the right direction or some simple challenge or sharing of experience. There's usually a good few ar5eholes sprinkled in there making some snide but irrelevant and non accretive comment about how 'well lucky you to be able to afford this' etc etc

Fundamentally, Reddit etc are not good either - you don't know the credentials etc of anyone on there either.

Have you sought advice and is this why you're peeved now?

Perhaps it’s just a lower priority for many women ?

women are trained from birth to be risk adverse ( it’s been proven many a time ) so the safe routes - like paying off a mortgage - are bound to appeal more than stocks and shares which have an element of gambling -something many women despise

i could easily say the world has been created by men and now they want women to invest like they do because their system is failed ?

Interestingly though women who do invest do better than men..... because they are risk adverse. I think it's an education piece. When you understand investing, it seems much much less of a gamble. There's a big difference in investing in the S&P500 and day trading.

www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/news-and-research/gender-gap-in-investments/#:~:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20once,percentage%20points%20over%20three%20years.

It’s always a gamble though and not everyone wants that

like either you are short - whereupon the risk is much more threatening

or you have enough in which case the risk is pointless

many organisations do better financially if they have women involved in big decisions precisely because they gamble less

as evidence that there is a risk - why not start a business that guarantees you at least bank base rate on investment plus say 70% of anything over that ? Surely that is a more appealing investment for women ?

Ah, that might explain it! I have also had posts hidden in the past for mentioning other websites, the MN spam filter is a bit trigger-happy.

@childofthe607080sbut surely most women do already invest if they have a private pension or a workplace pension tied to the stock market?

I don't disagree in that it is a perceived risk and that other options are more appealing like paying off the mortgage. But there is also risk in the housing market etc and pretty much everything.

That's why it's an education piece about spreading risks and knowing how to manage risk. Because absolutely nothing is risk free.

O nothing is risk free but once you have a roof over your head life is simpler even if the housing market collapses

I don’t think women are making active pension choices - more a resigned “well that’s just what we have to do” reluctant choice

Not everyone is terribly financially motivated and women less so than men - they are more likely to do a job that’s worthwhile is preference to chasing the big bucks

rather than the current “encourage women to invest” you would be better devising products more likely to
appeal to women in the first place

It's so interesting isn't it. It's the complete opposite in my house. Husband is completely not savvy at all re personal finance and money and I'm the really motivated one. But it isn't typical I guess. It's more driven because I spend time in places like MN and have picked up on bits and gone away and researched. Appreciate not every woman is the same but I do think MN has helped massively and the conversations here.

I've turned my future financial security on it's head since becoming a mother (and using MN) just because of conversation I've stumbled across during the 2am feeds. I've gone from having nothing to being 100% on track for retirement and having an emergency fund and Stocks and Shares ISA, LISA and premium bonds (maxed out on all my tax free stuff). I might have come across it all if it wasn't for MN, but I'll never know!

It is interesting indeed - and it is something the government has to tackle slightly more intelligently if they want to get more money into investments

and reminds me I need to look into some of my finances in the next day or two - I do hate it though, such a lot of thinking and spreadsheets and then online security - drives me mad ! Possibly another aspect for the average woman juggling work, parents and childcare - lack of head space ( can you tell mine slept well!)

I (and several others) have literally just posted on a thread five minutes ago started by someone wanting advice about their finances. We have been unanimous in our advice. Hopefully the OP will act on the advice given.

I also suspect that (as per your first post) fewer women have investments compared with men because women are often in a situation where they either don't work at all and are a sahp, or they are lone parents or on a low income who can barely keep their heads above water, let alone save money or take out investments.

Another valid point

I'm sure those who can afford a private pension or are actually working are in their workplace pension scheme, yes. But let's be honest, someone having to work part time in a low-paid role (forced to - due to childcare or other caring responsibilities) isn't exactly going to be paying megabucks into their workplace pension, are they?

This is almost exclusively an issue faced by women, some of whom will have been left in the financial shit by their ex-partner/spouse. It is not easy to find a well-paid job that fits around school hours. It is not easy finding a job that fits around school hours full stop.

And somehow, here we are, with people assuming that women don't invest because they are too ignorant, or just don't understand how investments work. They don't need educating. They need to be able to earn more money.

Give me strength.

Some interesting comments and I'm really pleased that certain PPs have benefitted from the advice on Mumsnet.

@ThreePearsnot quite what I said was it? I was exactly that woman you describe. Low income. Very little to spare. It absolutely IS about education. Because how do people know what to do or what to do or prioritise when they do earn more?

Give over with the "give me strength" attitude. It's not helpful to anyone.