Women more stressed about finances

A recent survey has found that 40 per cent of females thought dealing with money was stressful and overwhelming compared to 26 per cent of men. Image: Thinkstock.

More women feel stressed about money and uncomfortable thinking about their long term financial future than men, according to research by Canstar Blue.

In a survey the consumer research firm found 40 per cent of female interviewees thought dealing with money was stressful and overwhelming compared to 26 per cent of men.

Likewise nearly half (49 per cent) of women found it uncomfortable to talk about their long-term financial future compared to 38 per cent of men.

A Canstar spokeswoman said it didn't look into the reasons behind the gender differences but it could be linked to women being in control of the family finances.

"We would suggest that more women are stressed about money because they are often the ones who take control of the family budget.

"There is of course, also the issue of the gender pay gap though according to recent findings, New Zealand currently has the lowest gender wage gap in the OECD."

The research found women were more likely to live pay day to pay day than men with 46 per cent of women doing this compared to 26 per cent for men.

But despite the differences both sexes seemed to be confident in managing their own money (79 per cent) with 59 per cent of women sticking to a budget and 61 per cent of men.

Canstar Blue head Megan Doyle said the best way to reduce worry about money was to really understand how you're spending, and when and why.

"It was pleasing to see that 60 per cent in the survey are using a budget as it's an effective tool for managing your money.

"Budgeting doesn't have to mean giving up the things you love, rather it shows you how you allocate your money and where you might be able to trim spending to help out when you need funds the most."

The survey questioned 2358 people.