Millennial Women Are Set To Inherit A Financial Windfall, And Here’s How To Manage The Transition

A new report from investment and wealth management platform Ellevest suggests that millennial women will benefit from a massive financial windfall – known as the Great Wealth Transfer – by 2030.

The report suggests a “feminization of wealth” is on the horizon, with a large shift in who owns money in the United States. According to the report, half of all wealth is currently held by Boomers, but over the next 20 years it will be inherited and women will control more money than before.

The gender wealth gap – or the discrepancy in the amount of money men own versus how much women own – is larger than the pay gap, according to this report. The Great Wealth Transfer could improve the gender wealth gap slightly, as millennials, with its record number of single women, are set to inherit money from independently-living women Boomers and Gen X, the report said.

In the Ellevest survey, 45% of women aged 18 to 69 with a salary or at least $150,000 either had received or expected to soon receive a financial windfall of $300,000 on average. Investing that windfall was at the top of the priority list, according to the survey, and such a windfall could empower women to talk openly about money.

As we await our financial windfalls, we pulled together advice from financial experts about how to handle your money and set yourself up for a strong financial future.

It may be enticing to take a large sum of money, whether you win the lottery or receive an inheritance, and invest it all. However, financial experts say you should prioritize building an emergency fund, paying off high-interest debt and pouring into your retirement fund so you can establish a secure financial footing. Ideally, you should take some time to plan ahead or budget for potential scenarios in which you come into a large sum of money and figure out how to make that new money work best for you, both in the short and the long term.

Intentionally saving money can be a challenge – when we come into large amounts of money it feels like we should celebrate, buy ourselves a little treat and enjoy the benefits of having money so we can use it. However, saving money is a critical step in securing your financial future. Financial experts advise finding ways to save small amounts of money in a way that is sustainable, such as banking apps that allow you to create “savings pots” that round up every purchase to the nearest dollar. This allows you to cost out your savings over time and budget more easily.

When you do come into a large sum of money – and you have your debts and savings squared away – investing is a great way to make that money work for you, and hopefully grow into an even larger sum over time. There are a number of platforms for investing beginners. Forex is often identified as a beginner-friendly investing platforms, because it allows investors to speculate on the movement of one currency price against another, which allows for greater flexibility and profitability. Investing can be challenging, especially for beginners, so make sure to take time to learn how it works before diving into the deep end. If you’re interested in learning more about the stock market, check out this advice from Tela Holcomb, a stock market investor and creator of Trade Your 9 to 5.