‘She had no clue how much money she had’: Local group empowering women to understand finances

There’s no doubt managing money can be pretty complicated – and overwhelming – these days.

Financial experts say it’s important to have some level of financial literacy. They say this is particularly true for women who often let a partner take care of the family finances.

But now a new group called Purple Wings is offering women a way to learn about everything from mortgages, trusts, and investments in a comfortable environment.

“Our goal is to really empower women in financial literacy by giving them the right tools and processes and resources so they can be more knowledgeable about their own finances and make those right decisions,” explained Bala Venkat Muthukaruppan, one of the Purple Wings founders

Part of the inspiration for the group’s inspiration came from Shalini Jha, another founder.

When her father suddenly passed away, her mother realized she knew nothing about the family’s finances.

“She was grieving, but she had no clue how much money she had so she was grieving but she was also very afraid. You could see the fear in her face,” said Jha.

For six weeks, women have gathered at night in a Needham elementary school to learn a specific aspect of handing money.

“The main goal is for people to start thinking about it, and asking those questions which we probably didn’t think to ask in the past,” said Muthukaruppan. “We’re not professionals, but we are connecting them with other professionals so we can start the conversation.”

A survey by Bankrate.com found that 48% of women are confident about their finances. Only 28% feel empowered to act.

Dana Levit, a Certified Financial Planner at Paragon Financial Advisors in Newton, said “I think there’s this feeling of I’m not good at math, or I don’t understand this, and then I think the deeper these messages get ingrained, the harder it is to overcome them.”

She says women put themselves at risk if they don’t understand basic finances.

“I’ve had to talk to a couple of people this week where that happened, and they’re finding themselves in their 50s where the husbands, or now ex-husbands, had run away with the money and was spending it and they just had no idea.”

The women at the Purple Wings classes are taking notes, asking questions, and feeling more empowered each week.

One woman told us she is already feeling more confident. “I know where to look for more information, or who to ask. I know what I don’t know which I didn’t before.”

Another feels this opportunity is filling a gap in her education. “I didn’t have financial education in high school, so I’m filling in the blanks.”

Levit says it’s OK to start small and thinks this kind of community-based program is a great way introduction to finances.

Purple Wings will be starting another session in the coming weeks.

The classes are free although there is a small fee to the Needham Adult Education program.

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