Financial expertise not solely men's domain

Page 11

This morning as I casually sat having coffee with my usual coffee clan, I said I was going to write an article on women and money. To my surprise my male companion choked on his coffee and muffin from holding back gales of laughter.

Sound familiar? It seems common for men to sit around and talk about investments, mortgages and RRSPs, savings, earnings and the expensive golf clubs. Women, on the other hand, are perceived as spendaholics and shopaholics, sometimes rightfully so and sometimes not. In our consumer society, buy-buy-buy is our revival chant with promises of good feelings and prestige.

However, as women of the '90s reflecting a '90s kind of economy, we know there are numerous Aboriginal women capable of taking charge of their finances and ensuring a future.

But more often than not, both the press and the community seem unaware of the abilities of women to successfully manage their own affairs and invest in their own futures.

Some of you may laugh at the idea of financial planning. But statistically speaking, poverty is no laughing matter!

Let me relate to you a short story of a Metis woman who valued the dollar, compounded interest and education. You are your future, she said to her children.

Every day she reminded them how important an education is to bring independence. She didn't want her children to grow up in poverty. So she carefully set aside a small sum of money over the years for each child. With only one salary and eight mouths to feed, you can imagine how much sacrifice and self-discipline this took.

All the while she spoke passionately about the importance of education, informal or formal. As the children grew up and were ready to enter a post-secondary school, they each had enough money to pay for their first year of university. Compounded interest and time paid off.

Today, six of the children have gone to university. She's proud of her sacrifice and the future is set for the next generation.

That woman was my mother. She's a strong Metis woman who realized the importance of education and the lack of federal government commitment to Metis peoples in the area of education. So she made a future for herself and her children.