It’s easy to blame a lack of savings solely on the recession – unexpected job losses and shrunken portfolios – but I found the same issue four years ago when I surveyed midlife women for my book Dish: Midlife Women Tell the Truth about Work, Relationships and the Rest of Life .

More than three-quarters of about 500 highly accomplished women reported they didn’t have the kind of day-to-day funds and savings they thought they would have at this life stage. The result: Their career and life decisions were being driven as much by a need for money as by personal desires. Many said, quite simply, that they had bought too much meaningless stuff when they were younger – some still were – and were now paying the price.

The recession has not really changed people’s fundamental attitudes toward money so much as reinforced underlying personal proclivities. Those who, by temperament, already have a small appetite for risk and economic insecurity will become even more prudent, jealously protecting their savings and living stingily. They’ll put security over all other factors in making career and life choices, often even staying in jobs they hate, or turning down opportunities that carry more risk and less income. Others with less need for security or a more free-spending attitude were temporarily sobered by the recession. But now, they are slowly drifting back to their pre-recession lifestyle patterns and personal inclinations.

Attitudes about money are weighted by hefty psychological anchors. Continue reading » »